Hello
I'm looking to replace one of my rear hub assemblies on my 2009 Pontiac Vibe and I'm finding a lot of choices at a wide price range.
What I'd like to know is how to choose a quality part. I've read a couple of posts here and there that swear by OEM parts and they're worth the extra money (in this case, we're talking ~$300 versus ~$100 for an aftermarket part). And there's probably a source for this part with a price anywhere in between these two extremes.
So, I'm looking for some experienced input. Is it a bad idea to go with the cheaper part (e.g., aftermarket NSK)? Is it not worth the extra money for the OEM part? And if OEM part really is the right answer, where's the best place to buy them? A dealer? Someplace online?
Thanks a bunch in advance for helping me with my newbie questions.
Best source for replacement hub 2009 Pontiac Vibe?
Re: Best source for replacement hub 2009 Pontiac Vibe?
OEM parts generally are much higher quality. It's not always possible, but the best way to go about it is to find the actual manufacturer of the part in question. In this case AISIN makes the rear hubs for Toyota. If you look around online you can find AISIN parts re-sold under different names, such as Timkin and Beck/Arnley. Rockauto.com is one good source for OEM parts without the dealer markup. In this particular case it looks like both the Timkin and Beck/Arnley ones are the identical OEM AISIN part but Beck/Arnley are much cheaper.
Re: Best source for replacement hub 2009 Pontiac Vibe?
Rayven01 thanks for the reply. That information is quite helpful.
Trying to find that kind of info about suppliers seems difficult. For example, I did encounter the Timkin made parts, but I read on another forum a review from a user who had tried 3 different makes of a specific part, one being Timkin, one the OEM, and one from some other overseas manufacturer. They claimed the Timkin was somewhere in the middle on quality.
Then in another thread I was reading, there was a manufacturer the OEM used (I think it was NSK) but they commented if you looked up the same part from NSK and bought it yourself, it wouldn't be the same part that NSK sold to the OEM, but a lower quality version.
I came away from my small bit of research confused about how to tell what I was really getting. Even if I go down to the dealer and order the part, how do I know they're not just buying them from the same, inexpensive supplier I could get them from and marking them way up?
I'll go check out the Beck/Arnley parts, that looks promising. I appreciate the advice.
Trying to find that kind of info about suppliers seems difficult. For example, I did encounter the Timkin made parts, but I read on another forum a review from a user who had tried 3 different makes of a specific part, one being Timkin, one the OEM, and one from some other overseas manufacturer. They claimed the Timkin was somewhere in the middle on quality.
Then in another thread I was reading, there was a manufacturer the OEM used (I think it was NSK) but they commented if you looked up the same part from NSK and bought it yourself, it wouldn't be the same part that NSK sold to the OEM, but a lower quality version.
I came away from my small bit of research confused about how to tell what I was really getting. Even if I go down to the dealer and order the part, how do I know they're not just buying them from the same, inexpensive supplier I could get them from and marking them way up?
I'll go check out the Beck/Arnley parts, that looks promising. I appreciate the advice.
Re: Best source for replacement hub 2009 Pontiac Vibe?
Yeah, you really have to go part-by-part rather than always picking one brand. In this case, both reseller brands use the same OEM part, but in other cases they may use cheaper non-OEM versions that are supposedly "OE-equivalent" but obviously are more cheaply made. That's the nice thing about Rockauto having actual pictures of most of their parts. It's easier to tell if it matches the OEM part on the car you're replacing.