How to Choose a Quality Part?

["The Bus Depot, Inc." <type2@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> WCM West Coast Metrics offers a lifetime
> guarantee for there product to last a lifetime and to fit
> perfectly. So how can you complain about the LAME fit.
> Just send it back for a new one.


As has been noted already, their "lifetime warranty" only applies to those
products that they actually make, which is about 60% of what they sell (and
does not include the scrapers in question).  But this raises a good point.
So here's my periodically-repeated dissertation on product quality,
warranties, manufacturers, and the like, attempting to answer the age-old
question, "How do you know if you're buying a quality part?"

First, please note that this is NOT intended as a slam on WCM or any other
vendor, all of whom sell some very fine products.  WCM is just one of
several large VW parts retailers that offer a "lifetime warranty" on some or
all of their products.  This comment is about VW parts marketing in general,
not any particular vendor.

Often people are indeed swayed into purchasing based on the fact that a
vendor advertises a "lifetime warranty," as several large VW parts vendors
do  We tend to assume that a longer warranty means a better product.  And
that if it has a "lifetime warranty", you're home free for life - you'll
never have to worry about that part again!  Unfortunately, nothing could be
further from the truth.

A more accurate way to think of a "lifetime warranty" is as an "extended
warranty," much like the ones offered to you when you buy a VCR or a
boombox.  Except that this "extended warranty" is mandatory, not optional.
The price of this extended warranty is built into the price of the part,
with no "delete option."  No, it is NOT free.  It costs the vendor money,
and the cost is absolutely passed on to you in the form of a higher price.
Had you not been paying for this extended warranty, you could almost
certainly have:
a) bought the same part for a much lower price; or
b) obtained a BETTER quality part for the same price.

And if you DO buy the part with the "lifetime warranty," you may find that
in reality, the warranty is of no real value to you.  Let's take a couple of
examples:

How about that window scraper referenced in the original email.  Let's say
for sake of arguement that it DID have a lifetime warranty, and you DID send
it back because of the alleged "lame fit."  What would you receive in
exchange?  Another IDENTICAL scraper with the identical lame fit.  No amount
of exchanging would turn it into the genuine VW scraper that it is not.
What good would this do you? Wouldn't you have been better off putting that
money into a genuine part in the first place, that fit properly, rather than
an inferior part with a "lifetime warranty?"

Or take a cheapo extractor exhaust system with a "lifetime" warranty. It
looks like a bargain compared to a good OEM style system - and it's
"lifetime warranted!"  How can you lose!  So you buy it, and, surprise, it
rusts out in a year.  Now you have to jack up your bus, remove the exhaust
system, mail it to the vendor at your expense (because the warranty doesn't
cover shipping in either direction), and eventually you MAY get another
cheapo extractor exhaust system, which will also rust out in a year. (Then
again, you may not; the "lifetime warranty" covers manufacturing defects
only, and rust-through is actually "wear and tear," technically not
covered.)  By the time you factor in your shipping expense, you could have
bought the good OEM system in the first place. Now you've paid just as much
money, and you still have only a cheapo extractor system to show for it.
Not to mention the vehicle down time, reinstallation hassle/expense, etc.
And this assumes that you can afford to wait for the replacment part to
arrive - sure hope this isn't your daily driver!!  Had you spent the same
money on the good OEM setup to begin with (even without the "lifetime
warranty"), odds are the first one you installed would still be going
strong, with no additional hassle or expense.  Which was really the better
bargain?

Now, it is true that many parts sold by vendors with lifetime warranties are
NOT cheapo parts, but good quality replacement parts, same as sold by me and
other vendors.  But in those cases, where you really ARE comparing "apples
to apples,"  you'll typically discover a BIG difference in price. What might
have cost $100 from me, for example, may be $130 from them.  The difference
is the REAL cost of that "lifetime warranty."  Is it worth it?  It's your
money and your decision, but statistically the answer is a resounding "no."
Part failure due to manufacturing defects (as opposed to wear and tear) is
quite rare, and typically occurs within the first 30 days (well within the
factory warranty period anyway).  That's why retailers push extended
warranties so hard; they know the odds are that you won't use them.

So the lesson is, make sure you're comparing "apples to apples." Don't be
swayed by a lifetime warranty. It is in fact a marketing gimmick, not an
accurate indicator of quality.

So, if you can't gauge parts quality from the warranty length, how can you
predict it?  By country of origin, perhaps?  No.

These days, even the large German manufacturers have plants worldwide.
Buying a part with a German name (Bosch, Hella, ATE, or even Volkswagen)
does not neccessarily mean that the part is German made.  As we move further
toward a global economy, this situation will become even more common.  It
can even vary from one shipment to the next; what's made in Germany this
week may be Spanish next week, then German again the week after.  Does this
mean, however, that a part is inferior because Bosch is making it in Spain
instead of Germany, for example?  Not neccessarily.  Often the quality is
identical; sometimes it is not.  And even if it is German this is no
guarantee of quality. I recently sent back an entire shipment of  German
made coolant expansion tanks for Vanagons because they leaked at the seams.
Fact is, even among the best brands, it's often very true that "they don't
make 'em like they used to."  It may simply be impossible to buy a new part
that will match the quality of what VW put on your bus 30 years ago, no
matter what you buy or where you buy it.  (Then again, the price of the part
may be a fraction of what that original one cost, when it was available, so
there's that side of it too. If you had to pay original 1975 dealer prices
for everything you needed for your bus, chances are you couldn't afford to
keep it on the road.)

So, if you can't neccessarily go by origin either, how do you maximize your
chances of getting a good part?

All things being equal, my experience is that your odds are generally better
with a name-brand product, regardless of country of origin.  A reputable
company like Bosch, Febi, VW, ATE, etc. will generally be rather particular
about what they put their name on, even if they don't make the part
themselves, because they have a long-term presence and a reputation to
protect.  The same cannot neccessarily be said about Brand X, who may not
even have a US presence at all and has no reputation to uphold.  Even if the
name brand and the Brand X product are made in the same country -whatever
country that may be-  that does not neccessarily mean that they are the
same.  Just because Rolls Royces are made in England doesn't mean that every
British made car is built like a Rolls.

Secondly, if you do decide to try a cheaper alternative, instead of the more
expensive name-brand (and admittedly, we all can't afford to buy the best
money can buy every time), consider what exactly you are risking.  Can the
part be easily replaced if it fails?  Could its failure either leave you
stranded, or risk your safety?  If you opt for a cheapo body seal and it
fails, the worst is that you learn your lesson and buy a better one next
time.  On the other hand, if you opt for a cheapo brake part and it fails,
you could find yourself headed toward a red light with no brakes.

Third, be sure to check the part soon after you receive it.  Most vendors'
warranties (including mine) include the shipping cost in the event of
initial defect, whereas if the part fails months later, the shipping expense
is yours.  If you buy a new part, put it on a shelf in the garage for a year
before installing it, and then discover that it's defective, missing parts,
doesn't fit, etc., you may be out of luck.  At best, you'll have to pay for
shipping. At worst, the warranty will already have lapsed.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, don't underestimate the importance of
proper installation.  More than 50% of the "defective" parts returned to me
are actually a case of improper installation,. About 2/3 of them were
improperly installed by the end user. The other 1/3 were improperly
installed by a "professional" mechanic.  In almost every case, the customer
is convinced that the failure was due to the part; nobody wants to blame
themselves or their mechanic when a part fails.  Damage caused by improper
installation may or may not show up immediately; the part may appear to work
but its lifespan may be severely reduced.  Worse yet, improper installation
of a part can be downright dangerous.  Read the service manual.  Don't cut
corners.  Do it right the first time.  If you're in over your head, take it
to someone whom you are certain you can rely on; don't cut corners on your
choice of mechanic either.  When you are driving down the highway at 60
miles per hour, your life is in the hands of the last person who worked on
your bus.

And finally, deal with a vendor whom you feel you can trust.  My rule of
thumb is that I won't sell any part that I wouldn't feel comfortable putting
on my own bus. If I have a widespread problem with a brand or part, I stop
selling it. I'm not the only one who thinks that way. There are several
reliable vendors on this list as well as elsewhere.

Of course, you can do everything right and still end up sorry.  Even the
best products have some sort of defect rate, albeit a very low one. There is
always the chance that the super-expensive, titanium-coated, German made
part that you buy for your bus will happen to be that one in a thousand that
self-destructs a month after the factory warranty ends.  But the odds of
this happening are extremely low.  So be an informed consumer, shop wisely,
and take the money you would have spent on that "lifetime warranty" and use
it for something more worthwhile.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  (215) 234-VWVW
  www.busdepot.com

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