General Question

mofugr · Post by **mofugr** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:53 pm

I have a 1993 Cobra, black with gray cloth (1 of 327), vehicle is totally stock with 20,000 miles. I want to change out some items to "freshen" it up a little such as wiper arms, wiper cowl, radio antenna, etc. Anything on the outside that has faded from the years I am going to replace. My long-term plan is to keep the car entirely stock. I am willing to pay extra for OEM parts (when I can get them). My question is this; on an item like the wiper blade arm, the wiper cowl is it worth it/and or necessary to buy OEM versus aftermarket that looks the same? Some of these items you wouldn't know stock versus aftermarket once put on the car (like the wiper cowl) for instance, any ideas? Thanks.

CobraStrike93 · Post by **CobraStrike93** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 5:56 pm

On some of the trim items on the outside of the car, I use black magic back to black. It works excellent. Not the wiper blades and mirrors, I just had the stock ones painted. So I could keep it all OEM.

Post by **BADBOY** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:27 pm

You would be suprised how close the aftermarket items look.

First you should try and see if they are still availible from Ford.

mofugr · Post by **mofugr** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:24 pm

Some of the parts are available from Ford, the wiper arms, the wiper cowl, the antenna, etc. I don't mind paying the extra money for the OEM parts, however if nobody can tell the difference then why pay the extra? For instance, the wiper cowl OEM is about $110.00, aftermarket is $45.00. I think that the piece would look identical.

Post by **BADBOY** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:05 pm

Man, I dont want to be rude at all but why would you question the $$ difference if you want OEM parts ?

Just buy the OEM parts and know whats on your ride !

svt2205 · Post by **svt2205** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:05 pm

What's important to you, visual or functional. Sometimes aftermarket or repro parts don't live up to the quality level of the OEM. OEM's spend a lot of money, even on simple stuff, designing and evaluating performance and reliability. Both from a functional perspective and an environmental perspective.

If money's not a concern, go OEM. Part will fit and function properly. If you need to save a few bucks, get what ever you can afford.

My money in many areas is on OEM. But then again, I used to work for companies that made OEM parts and know what goes into them. In certain industries, the aftermarket is a dumping ground for parts that may create warranty issues.

CobraStrike93 · Post by **CobraStrike93** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:51 pm

OEM to me is always the way to go. I just try to freshen up what I already have because it came on the car originally.

General Question

General Question

Replacing parts