If it's new it's crap

[Chernosoth]

Car mechanics are learning to avoid new parts because they're poorly made, by all brands made anywhere. Now they look for "new old stock," old unused parts. That shows in the prices. New old stock boxes are worth gold. Cue the next scam, the crappy new parts in boxes that look old. Newer car owners may be shit outta luck. Phones show the same decline in quality and durability, deliberately so in some cases to push newer phones. And generally anything else mass produced.

 

[FataMorgana]

Fuck.

I thought this was an antiques thread.

 

[Chernosoth]

Antiques in working condition have growing value, such as treadle sewing machines.

 

[juttjaw]

Car mechanics are learning to avoid new parts because they're poorly made, by all brands made anywhere. Now they look for "new old stock," old unused parts. That shows in the prices. New old stock boxes are worth gold. Cue the next scam, the crappy new parts in boxes that look old. Newer car owners may be shit outta luck. Phones show the same decline in quality and durability, deliberately so in some cases to push newer phones. And generally anything else mass produced.

I've noticed the push for "factory parts", for newer vehicles. I just had this on my 2020 Jeep. Some idiot backed into it leaving his driveway and I got it repaired. The body shop called and said, "Your insurance pays for "aftermarket" parts, they aren't the best, but, for $xxxx we can put "factory parts" on it and it'll be perfect, never knew it happened." I'm sure this was part of their up selling goal, but it made me think. I bought it. Paid extra for factory parts, cause I'm a sucker. Maybe I'm not and saved a whole bunch of disappointment. I'll never know.
Of course, this is with non mechanical parts. Not much more than sheets of steel and plastic.

 

[Saint_Ann]

I just bought 2 new seat cushions for my deck chairs and they are awesome.

 

[eomerson]

Its like always...caveat emptor. The problem is we don't get to see the quality beforehand when we buy from online sources so check those return policies!

 

[ronde]

Car mechanics are learning to avoid new parts because they're poorly made, by all brands made anywhere. Now they look for "new old stock," old unused parts. That shows in the prices. New old stock boxes are worth gold. Cue the next scam, the crappy new parts in boxes that look old. Newer car owners may be shit outta luck. Phones show the same decline in quality and durability, deliberately so in some cases to push newer phones. And generally anything else mass produced.

Having worked in the auto parts supply industry for more years than I care to admit, I understand what you mean. The problem is partly with the auto manufacturers and also with the aftermarket parts retailers.

Because the cost of new vehicles continues to rise every year, auto manufacturers are always looking to reduce their costs in order to keep their stockholders happy. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, most parts of the American made car you drive are not manufactured by the auto manufacturer. They're contracted to various parts manufacturers who make the parts to the auto manufacturer's specifications. Over the years. what that means is they squeeze the parts suppliers to reduce the cost of the parts they supply while demanding significant increases in part quality. Those are two opposing goals, so many parts suppliers can't afford to supply parts. That's when the auto manufacturer's go to other countries. The costs are lower in say, Mexico or China, and the quality is often not as good. I know of one American parts manufacturer who designed their part to have a mean time to failure of 100k miles. That means half of the parts they manufactured would last in excess of 100k miles and some were tested to last up to 400k miles. The Korean company that took their business guarantees their parts to last 100k miles, and will warranty any parts that don't. Instead of getting a very high quality part, you have to option to have that part replaced at no cost to you.

The aftermarket parts retailers used to buy their parts from the original parts manufacturers, but in order to stay competitive, they've now turned to offshore manufacturing. In the case of my company, the price our Mexican and Chinese competitors sold their parts for were less than it cost my company to purchase the raw material. You can guess who got the business.