The cost of OEM parts. I do not understand.

[djcamera]

I needed a CDI/switchbox for my older Mercury the other day. My local parts guy had one (he only carries OEM), but it was $360. He was as shocked as I was.

Amazon carries a few. Non-OEM, or course. They're in the $35-$50 range. Here's what I'm talking about: AMAZON LINK

I knew the OEM part would be more at my local parts dealer, and I was ready to pay a premium for the convenience of having it right down the road. But not ten times more.

I bought one through Amazon. Less than $40. Installed it in the other day and all seems well. The ignition/power problem i was having is gone, so I'm happy.

So...can someone explain to me why OEM (in my case Quicksilver) parts are marked up so crazy high?

 

[maintenanceguy]

If you can sell 1/10 the parts at 10x the price you made the same money and did 1/10 the work.

 

[LDUBS]

Maybe it relates to the available supply of older OEM parts. Also higher demand for OEM vs aftermarket parts.

 

[overboard]

You think that's bad! A self destructing Tracker capacity "DECAL" is around $75.00, a replacement metal capacity plate from the state that will last forever was $5.00.
I usually buy OEM parts when needed, especially electronics, but for the price difference you are quoting for the CDI/switchbox I think I would cross my fingers and take my chances like you did at least once and go from there.

 

[MrGiggles]

I went through the same thing last year. I opted to get a pair of the $35 dollar ones, and keep a cheap socket set in the boat so I could swap it on the water if I had to.

I ran that switch box for 6 months and never had an issue with it.

The way I see it, the OEM may last longer, but surely not 10x longer.

 

[JL8Jeff]

I just had to replace my regulator/rectifier and tried the cheap chinese $20 one that lasted 2 days before it went bad (at least I got my money back). The oem is close to $300 so I decided to buy a used oem off Ebay for $25 (so far so good) and also grabbed a used CDI (which is supposed to be better than oem) off Ebay as well. I'm sure oem is better quality but it can be tough to justify the cost. If my boat were heading out into the ocean, it would be a no brainer. But I go upstream on the river and if the motor quits, I can always float back to the ramp or my dock.

 

[eeshaw]

I'm trying to rebuild a 60hp Mercury. Boy do I feel your pain! I think parts are made from unobtanium so that's what's driving up the cost.

 

[gogittum]

I owned and operated 2 restaurant service businesses in 2 areas for years and ran into that constantly. Many companies would order batches of generic motors/parts from a manufacturer, but with a twist - mounting brackets, plugs, something, would be different and unique to their application. A very good example is the condensing fan motors on Tecumseh refrigeration units - what I used to call "watt motors." 5 watt, 7 watt, whatever. A $15 motor would cost $75 and would bolt right in. Buy the "almost" identical generic motor and it was "possible" to make it fit, but took a lot of fussing and fiddling. They had us effectively locked into their product and made very high profits.

I recently sold an older Suzuki V-Strom motorcycle that gave me fits with endless problems. I went the routes listed above. OEM was silly. Why spend $100 for a part that I could buy on eBay or where-ever for $20 ?? Well....some of those parts - some straight from China - worked well, others failed quickly. Frustrating, but we're stuck with it. Even if you hafta fix it twice, you're still many dollars ahead.....but being broken down away from home is very inconvenient.

 

[gogittum]

I owned and operated 2 restaurant service businesses in 2 areas for years and ran into that constantly. Many companies would order batches of generic motors/parts from a manufacturer, but with a twist - mounting brackets, plugs, something, would be different and unique to their application. A very good example is the condensing fan motors on Tecumseh refrigeration units - what I used to call "watt motors." 5 watt, 7 watt, whatever. A $15 motor would cost $75 and would bolt right in. Buy the "almost" identical generic motor and it was "possible" to make it fit, but took a lot of fussing and fiddling. They had us effectively locked into their product and made very high profits.

I recently sold an older Suzuki V-Strom motorcycle that gave me fits with endless problems. I went the routes listed above. OEM was silly. Why spend $100 for a part that I could buy on eBay or where-ever for $20 ?? Well....some of those parts - some straight from China - worked well, others failed quickly. Frustrating, but we're stuck with it. Even if you hafta fix it twice, you're still many dollars ahead.....but being broken down away from home is very inconvenient.

 

[turbotodd]

OEM is more expensive for a lot of reasons

Remember, most OEM stuff is just that, OEM. Same part that is put on a brand new motor/boat/car/whatever in most cases. They have a warranty, so manufacturers must be able to source a particular part from someone who's going to stand behind it if there is a part failure. That in itself is one big reason for a higher cost. But keep in mind, it's generally gonna last a lot longer than aftermarket part, which doesn't have to carry a warranty to speak of.

Aftermarket parts are generally lower quality. Acceptable lower quality is what I was told once. They don't have a 3 year or 5 year warranty on new equipment, they might have 90 days if you're lucky. If it's a chinese part, expect zero warranty.

 

[eeshaw]

Well a warranty might explain part of it but I've gotten into a rebuild and I don't think that's all of it. Valves for example shouldn't be reground because they are case hardened during manufacturing. I don't know why they chose to do the hardening the way they did but automotive applications you can regrind valves. I just think it's another way to get you to use their parts. Another example is their use of odd size bolts. Head bolts are 9mm instead of using something common like a 8mm or 10mm. There again, it about forces you to use the manufacturers as your source. I have a friend that had to replace two bolts on his Evinrude motor, that ran him 80.00 total. That's just a gouge as far as I'm concerned.

 

[GTS225]

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

Now do you understand?

Roger

 

[crappie bass]

Sears branded lawn mowers had a different crankshaft, Dad tried to source one from the regular parts chain and was directed to Sears at 3x the cost because of the one 'difference'.....I think it was part of the parts I scrapped when he passed. he was the small engine whisperer...

 

[LDUBS]

When I recently replaced the high pressure fuel strainer in my Honda outboard, I had to pay $21 for this little o-ring. Nothing special about it that I could see. I would have used the old one but the shop manual said to replace it so I did. I'm glad that maintenance item doesn't happen very often. I figure with my current usage, it costs me about 90 cents/month just for that little o-ring. haha.

 

[KMixson]

You ain't seen nothing yet. Wait until the day you have to buy the part for your particular motor serial number. It has to be married to the motor and vice-versa. It will only work on your motor and not another although they may be the same brand and model motor.