Information AliExpress parts

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Many of us strive for quality parts although there are some that will ALWAYS fit the cheapest part. Experience has taught us the sensors on our cars really need to be OEM.
Now if you get into the mind set of genuine OEM being original and all other parts as "pattern parts" then the situation is not as daunting. Yes there is a range of quality in pattern parts and that varies with the price, but oddly the cheapest is not always the worst.
As our cars are now old enough to hold their own driving licence the availability of genuine parts is constantly being reduced due to the manufacturers wanting to support other vehicles.
To further muddy the waters OEM parts could be made in the same Chinese factory as some pattern parts, different quality difficult to say but safe to say once packaged in a VAG box the OEM has now increased its price over the generic packaged item.
Perhaps some of the issue is Ali Express and its previous bad press. They are only the shipping agent / warehouse and not the manufacturer of the products. All the parts need to be CE marked and to relevant technical standards. The biggest unknown is durability of the product..

So would I use Chinese parts...
My choice all depends on safety, availability and relative cost in the following order of preference
Genuine
Genuine used
OEM +
pattern
parts from other vehicles in VAG group but were not originally fitted to the A2.

Steve I agree with you but each must make their own decision on what to buy.
 

Many of us strive for quality parts although there are some that will ALWAYS fit the cheapest part. Experience has taught us the sensors on our cars really need to be OEM.
Now if you get into the mind set of genuine OEM being original and all other parts as "pattern parts" then the situation is not as daunting. Yes there is a range of quality in pattern parts and that varies with the price, but oddly the cheapest is not always the worst.
As our cars are now old enough to hold their own driving licence the availability of genuine parts is constantly being reduced due to the manufacturers wanting to support other vehicles.
To further muddy the waters OEM parts could be made in the same Chinese factory as some pattern parts, different quality difficult to say but safe to say once packaged in a VAG box the OEM has now increased its price over the generic packaged item.
Perhaps some of the issue is Ali Express and its previous bad press. They are only the shipping agent / warehouse and not the manufacturer of the products. All the parts need to be CE marked and to relevant technical standards. The biggest unknown is durability of the product..

So would I use Chinese parts...
My choice all depends on safety, availability and relative cost in the following order of preference
Genuine
Genuine used
OEM +
pattern
parts from other vehicles in VAG group but were not originally fitted to the A2.

Steve I agree with you but each must make their own decision on what to buy.
Exactly. Each to their own indeed.
Steve B
 
Many of us strive for quality parts although there are some that will ALWAYS fit the cheapest part. Experience has taught us the sensors on our cars really need to be OEM.
Now if you get into the mind set of genuine OEM being original and all other parts as "pattern parts" then the situation is not as daunting. Yes there is a range of quality in pattern parts and that varies with the price, but oddly the cheapest is not always the worst.
As our cars are now old enough to hold their own driving licence the availability of genuine parts is constantly being reduced due to the manufacturers wanting to support other vehicles.
To further muddy the waters OEM parts could be made in the same Chinese factory as some pattern parts, different quality difficult to say but safe to say once packaged in a VAG box the OEM has now increased its price over the generic packaged item.
Perhaps some of the issue is Ali Express and its previous bad press. They are only the shipping agent / warehouse and not the manufacturer of the products. All the parts need to be CE marked and to relevant technical standards. The biggest unknown is durability of the product..

So would I use Chinese parts...
My choice all depends on safety, availability and relative cost in the following order of preference
Genuine
Genuine used
OEM +
pattern
parts from other vehicles in VAG group but were not originally fitted to the A2.

Steve I agree with you but each must make their own decision on what to buy.
My philosofhy is slightly different: I always use QUALITY aftermarket parts of top quality aftermarket parts manufacturers if available for servicing: for example oil, air filters (Mahle, Meyle), brakes (ATE), shocks (Bilstein, Sachs), etc. I have not yet had a bad experience with them, so the quality is great for cca. half the price (or even less) of genuine Audi parts. I do not like to pay double just for four rings.
Though if you go to the cheapest aftermarket manufacturers, you can get burned. Many of my friends had such experience.
I agree, each makes its own decisions.
 
My philosofhy is slightly different: I always use QUALITY aftermarket parts of top quality aftermarket parts manufacturers if available for servicing: for example oil, air filters (Mahle, Meyle), brakes (ATE), shocks (Bilstein, Sachs), etc. I have not yet had a bad experience with them, so the quality is great for cca. half the price (or even less) of genuine Audi parts. I do not like to pay double just for four rings.
Though if you go to the cheapest aftermarket manufacturers, you can get burned. Many of my friends had such experience.
I agree, each makes its own decisions.
I agree and follow the same path myself.

The brands you mention above along with Bosch and many others are actually OEM (original equipment manufacturers) who make and supply main dealer parts so are equivalent to, and in many instances the same actual parts that you would buy from Audi (or any other car manufacturers dealers directly) possibly without the four Audi rings on them, or maybe even ground off that I have had on several occasions, the last being the alternator pulley made by INA part of the Schaeffler Group that also make LUK and FAG branded parts.

Car manufacturers obviously cannot and do not make all of their own parts themselves, it just wouldn't be possible, and I along with most others don't like to pay the extortionate prices that the dealerships charge and like to get the best price possible but not at the expense of poor quality which I simply refuse to use and will not buy.

I also agree with what others have said, that as the cars get older it is becoming more difficult to get some 'genuine' parts at all and the prices are then ridiculous in some cases if they are available but all that anyone can do is fit the best of what is available, whether good original used or new quality OEM, pattern or aftermarket parts 👍
 
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Those pedal rubbers look sexy!! What's the quality like?
Good and bad comes out of china like everywhere, agreed the country had it's issues but just do what makes you happy!
 
I think if it was not for the Chinese, many types of cars would have been off the road years ago😳

Politics should be kept out as sometimes the decision is whether you want your car on the road or not🤭
 
Quite an interesting read through first thing this morning and I'm sure we all buy items that are made in China or have parts inside made in China on many occasions.
Many years ago I read an article on VW setting up production in China and for every VW wage they could employ 50+ Chinese workers, or as a certain Mr Corbin said as wages stagnated in the Western countries a race to the bottom.
We all want quality items for as low s price as possible and somewhere along the line there is a price to be paid for that wether here or abroad.
Mexico (Mini parts) and the African states are other areas coming on stream.
Stan.
 
I agree about the politics, but as I become older I more and more look to buy local (Europe). Thus paying wages for my continent fellows (also countrymen, because car parts industry is important part of Slovenian economy). But of course there is a limit to overpaying.
PS: Chinese workers are not cheap anymore.
PS2: very interesting topic.
 
I agree about the politics, but as I become older I more and more look to buy local (Europe). Thus paying wages for my continent fellows (also countrymen, because car parts industry is important part of Slovenian economy). But of course there is a limit to overpaying.
PS: Chinese workers are not cheap anymore.
PS2: very interesting topic.
I agree with your comment "But of course there is a limit to overpaying"
That's why I originally said:
"to think twice before buying from China"
Subsidising obscene profit for local sellers is also not to be encouraged.
Mac.
 
I think if it was not for the Chinese, many types of cars would have been off the road years ago😳

Politics should be kept out as sometimes the decision is whether you want your car on the road or not🤭
Not wishing to argue but I would wager a bet that there are far more cars off the road due to poor quality Chinese parts than kept on the road as nothing is manufactured to last and inferior components used (cheap Turbos etc) but again everyone has their own views and opinions 👍
 
I used to purchase Spanish parts/components for my business until price spiral made me consider Chinese. The Chinese components are just as good and last just as long.
On the car front…. nothing wrong with the Volvo cars made in China…. even Elon the Tesla king thinks Chinese manufacturing is top notch😳
If you think China is a dodgy place to put your money…. have a look at the fiddling at Westminster and the White House…. and closer to home Scottish Parliament😂😂 they are all at it😳
 
Visit any northern town and it's obvious the UK was deliberately de-industrialied decades ago - instead banking sector was pushed as the breadwinner and even agriculture reduced in favour of imports.

The reason we have enjoyed such a boom in our economy after the 1970s oil crisis and 1980s "restructuring" is mostly down to how cheap the goods from abroad were produced and cheap energy. That was part of globalisation that in earlier centuries was known as Empire - be that the Dutch East India company or later British Commonwealth.

As with the slave trade there is no doubt this "modern miracle" was all on the backs of poor people but with added efficiencies of technology. We learned about sweat shops in the 1990s. Cotton farms, water wastage and pollution for T shirts, etc.

At the end of the 20th century China was to be brought into the globalisation fold and introduced to Capitalism despite the lack of democracy. Some thought with vain hope that a trickle down wealth would change the governing mindset. Instead China tuned into a power house of production for western companies and the export of goods to western customers. Pretty much every mobile device including Apple is made or has parts made in China. Airbus has a factory there for airliners. China had bigger plans and began the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) in 2013.

Their mindset is to trade with people rather than start kinetic conflicts. But then these states become dependent on Chinese supply. We saw this with the Huawei 5G network which is about to restart in the USA under the Biden administration after Trump cancelled it: https://www.reuters.com/technology/...h-return-5g-phones-research-firms-2023-07-12/

Whilst there is much political bluster over Taiwan the "One China" policy never went away. In fact the WEF & senior staff in the UN fully support the Chinese version of capitalism - CCCP Government and what in the UK is called PPP (Private Public Partnership) where industry, academia and media (with views aligned with Govt policy e.g. ESG) work with "stakeholders" (not voters) to push throng policies for maximum profits. Have a look at the funding of UK universities.

In an ideal world where everyone was honest and nobody had vested interests real experts could help maximise benefits to society.

Alas that's not what happened as the tragic C19 reponse demonstrated https://collateralglobal.org/.

Here Western nations threw out decades of pandemic response plans and even ignored the WHO October 2019 ones and followed Wuhan policies - pretty much in lockstep with the exception of Sweden later Florida and most of Africa. Turned out with hindsight the latter nations/states did best overall against the threat both from public health and economically speaking.

The UK govt spent 1/2 trillion GBP on ineffective NPIs measures alone. All of that borrowed (QE/ money printing reducing the value of the £ in your pocket hence real inflation isn't simply about a tragic proxy war to the East) and soon to be taxed back. Large businesses thrived like Google, Amazon and food deliveries whilst independent small firms died. Some of those paid to stay at home or able to "work from home" and read the Guardian with a glass of Sherry thought it was a great idea - "we should have locked down harder/earlier" .

But all of that was a Chinese idea. Maybe to decimate the Western economy? Vulnerable delivery drivers and single mums in flats with kids and looked up playgrounds thought otherwise. It was far worse in Developing nations like Peru or India's temporary agricultural workers.

China is known for suppressing views the counter the state narrative. How did that go for Doctors and Scientists who spoke out against the "novel" 2020 measures? Smear campaigns, deliberate shadow banning (as Twitter files revealed this year) of those doctors (some testified in the US Senate) that found cheap, out of patent early treatments effective. Remember in the UK when 911 was used to "bury bad news"? Similar things have happened more recently.

As Java Green notes - corruption is not confined to nations or individuals outside of the West. How many are aligned with the Davos WEF ideologies? The WEF strongly supports China's ascendence in a "multi polar" world. (Uni polar being after the fall of the Soviet Union when US became major power).

Look up or ask your local parliamentarian - see if they have WEF links. Then check out how UN Agenda 2030 affects your neighbourhood and C40 cities (helps explain Sadiq Kahn's ULEZ expansion which is based on modelling by Imperial College (who did same for Neil Ferguson for BSE, SARS and C19) not empirical Air Quality harms).

For more fun check out who finances "Just Stop Oil" and XR. It's quite surprising.

Overall China just wants to dominate in every market. They are happy to make ULEZ camera technology and the the systems at your local Co-Op self service checkout which have facial recognition & cloud storage in China. The WEF will gladly link digital identity to carbon taxes and digital tokens (Chinese Social Credit score) instead of cash. We saw similar in C19 era with "green pass" in the EU. See Big Brother Watch reports:


 
These are certainly well-expressed views, but whether or not the transition towards it was inevitable, geopolitics wasn't the intended discussion topic for this thread. This forum isn't really the place for it, either. The thread is now Locked to prevent it from deteriorating if it were to continue in this vein.
 
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