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[TheBoy]

Vauxhall Parts are made and tested to a higher spec than most "pattern" parts (as already stated).

There are a few notable cases on "pattern" parts that have failed. The main on the springs to mine is the lower arms for the Mk3 cavalier.

There had been a few accidents where the lower arm broke while the car was going through the corner/roundabout.

Vauxhalls got slated for this, by a top TV car program for one, that there parts are crap.

Vauxhalls had a look and found the the failed parts were "Pattern" and very badly made, thing is they carried the GM parts lable.

It wasn't until you had a good look at the lable that it turn out to be a forgery.

it turned out that a big shipment of fake OE parts had come into the country and the "pattern" boys were buying these cheap as they had been told they were genuine GM parts.

this has also happened with brake pads as well thats why all OE GM parts now carry hologram.....if that helps i can't say.

At the end of the day you pay your money you take your chance. If you fit poor quality parts to save a few bob and they fail and you take out a bus stop packed with kids ..................

Nearly all OE GM Parts also have carry a European wide. unlimited mileage warranty agains manufracture failure and as europe is opening up more & more do you want to get stuck with have to fork out more money to get your car fixed at some barn in the middle of France.

Same goes for the cambelt kits. Yes i know they are made by Gates and they are the same, but next time you buy a kit a kit from the Factors ask them what would happen if: your driving down the auotbahn in Germany and the belt lets go because there was a problem with a bolt and its snapped, your doing, say 90mph and total the engine.

I'll put a tenner on it they will only replace the belt kit, but your engine is trashed.

Now i'm saying for one mintue that if it was a GM part you could claim everything back but at least you have a starting place.

Look at it another way, how cheap is a piece of mind!!!!!

Ok sort of rant over

Andy        

Andy, I would have totally agreed with you 100% 6 months ago but when it comes to shelling out money for your Omega, VX seriously take the pi**. I was looking for some wishbones for my Omega and almost died when I heard the price.

Anyway I knew someone who bought some vx wishbones for the Omega and I bought my ones from eurocarparts. Side by side they are exactly the same, apart from the VX ones having the gm sticker and number, the ball joint is made by the same company Lemforder and the bushes are the same, a company called Boge makes them for both.

So you either fork out £200 for a vx one or £60 for the same OE one that doesn't have the gm sticker and number.

as for a guarantee.....  if your VX timing belt goes and they never installed it you will get a new belt but no new engine. If they fitted the timing belt and it goes then you might have a case for a new engine.

When I bought my Omega the last guy had VX change the timing belt. So when I went around to change it at 80k myself I found that each bank was around 3-4 degrees out, with nice white marks to help the Muppet mechanic line it up. Obviously they never had or couldn't be bothered using the proper alignment kit.

So needless to say I don't hold VX in high regard when it comes to service or part price. The only time I will use VX, is to supply parts if I can't get them from the OE directly. My advice is to take a good look at the part you’re trying to replace, get the OE name and shop around for the part.

Another example, prop shaft centre mount (OE febi bilstein) vx = £57 exc VAT, febi bilstein supplier (dingbro in Scotland) = £12 inc VAT

My advice…. shop around mate, since vx are taking us to the cleaners. Avoid ebay unless you trust the seller….. too many bad experiences to mention.

Remember, even though an OE may make a pattern part, it will likely not be same quality as the part they make for GM

[theowletman]

I find that pattern exhausts, even the better quality ones like TI Max are sometimes a pain to fit. If we put an exhaust on a Renault we always buy genuine, especially the clamps, pattern ones are useless. As for cam belts we tend to go on price, thanks to the various manufacturers trade clubs, genuine kits are working out the same or cheaper, VW Passat 1.9 TDi, £57 on TPS trade club from VW dealer. Gates make the belts for most of the big boys anyway, Renault dealer belts always have the Gates logo on them. If a manufacturer like Vauxhall have warranty problems with parts they tend to re-engineer them, do the makers of copy parts do that ?

[Andy B]

......
Remember, even though an OE may make a pattern part, it will likely not be same quality as the part they make for GM

Agreed! Heinz make HP beans but they're not the same.  

[MikeDundee]

I dont rate the GM cambelt kits at the moment, they clearly changed the supplier about 2 years ago and the quality has dropped (they can be noisier to) so I suspect they are no longer Gates belts!

Interesting:  just fitted a GM kit and yes the belt is noisy:  screeches on start up but soon goes away.  I double checked everything super carefully so I'm certain it is the belt 'bedding in'.

I now have a screeching noise, not too sure what it is, tends to happen when depressing clutch and accelerating from stand still, not sure if linked to cambelt or aux belt change, or something else :-?  

[andyc]

as for lower arms i've got some in group that i can do for about a oner each!!!

Andy