I've personally never seen a FEBI part that looks 'exactly' like the same VAG item. - even water flages, rubber bushes etc - all seem to last 2 years when the originals last 8 Topran - utter rubbish! Also very important is the quality of parts supplied to VW from SACHS / SKF / MANN is different to the stuff that goes to pattern suppliers... Compare a VR6 clutch kit - the VW one is noticably more heavy duty than a SACHS or LUK boxed item and interestingly uses parts from both manufacturer. I have seen Some MANN air filters have extra finns. For servicing parts I'd go to TPS always - cheap and reliable!
Who cares who make the VAG parts. At the end of the date they ARE much better quality especially when it comes to rubber items.
To just blanketly slate an export houses name is not the way to go. Do you not realise that many of their parts are genuine with the genuine numbers and logos hatched or burred off? Or again are from the OE suppliers just in a different packaging. To blanketly say Topran is utter rubbish again when they do various wqualities. German OE, German Replacement and Chinese OE or Chinese Replacement to name but a few types is uninformed.
so true. i recently bought a ribbed belt tensioner for my audi, it came in a battered LUK box, but no brand on the tensioner itself, just some numbers. it didnt have a roller though i couldnt get the roller so had to buy the whole lot from audi. i google searched the numbers on my no brand thing, turns out it was LITENS. the audi OEM part (old one and brand new one) were both LITENS where the LITENS name would be, it had been milled off on the "cheap" no brand one. shame i couldnt get a roller to screw onto the end of it.
Mate it sounds like you have already decided what your doing. For your info: I bought Febi track rod ends 9 months ago, fitted to car. Checked then a month or so back and the rubber has already split and the MONKEY metal has got the beginning of some serious rust forming, not just surface but pitting and inter-granular. Just another 2 pence for your thoughts.
It is trade only, but you can still get served, depends on your branch and how necky you are. Pretend you are a trader, set up an account, but say you will always collect and pay on collection. If they ask why have you not used them before or why you do not use them regulary say that it is not often you get VW's in but when you do you use them. Also use frases such as 'price and availibilty please on these parts...' or 'just pricing up a job will get back to you when spoken to customer'
There are a couple of guys in here who work for them. Apparently they're allowed to deal with joe public, as long as the parts aren't in stock at the dealer. I've used them to buy 20L drums of synta silver, and the odd other part 'while I'm there'. I usually turn up in a boiler suit too
Ian I'll sort this all out for you tomorrow when I'm back in now-Friday got ran over by webshop build and general chafes in the office (credits for returns etc being end of week and a man down!!)
