www.trupart.co.uk/products.htm
Try this link, it looks kosher to me.
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There are a number of companies like Trupart and APEC that buy-in parts from various manufacturers around the world and them package and brand them under their own name. They don't actually make the parts themselves (Halfords is a better known example of this trend). So one pad may be made in Slovakia, another made in India etc etc. I think a lot of the cheaper brake discs are made in India now. You need to watch the names used - "Allied Nippon Braking" sounds like a Japanese company, but they are actually Indian.
Personally I would always stick to the 'known' brake manufacturers, who do their own R&D, manufacturing and so on, and put their own name to it. Mintex, Ferodo, Delphi etc spring to mind - all of these are OE suppliers to the big VM's. I also tend to buy stuff from outlets I know and trust. I did once have a couple of 'suspect' 'OE' VAG oil filters for an Audi (the printing was wonky) - they came from a VERY well known national chain of specialist factors. I called them and was told that the parts were definitely NOT counterfeit. Not happy, so went down to my local TS dept who took a look at the boxes, took photographs etc. and I left one filter with them. Couple of months later I got a letter of apology and cheque from the factors - apparently a 'problem with one of their suppliers'.
If you want/need to buy via mail order then try Sutton Auto Factors (www.buypartsby.co.uk) - I have used them a couple of times when pressed and their prices and service have been good for me - they sell genuine Delphi and Mintex brake parts.
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Having run older Mercs for some years always got brake and service parts from GSF or Europarts. (i often pass the GSF main warehouse at Castle Brom, they are very helpful people and i've always had the correct parts first time..unlike some of the outlying branches of various factors)
Invariably the pads were Textar or pagid, the discs cant remember, but the quality and stopping and non fade have always been excellent.
Seems that Merc and BMW run textar as OE.
reminds me i must get some new rear pads and discs for the old girl.
I used to use Ferodo pads and shoes for years, seems to be not so easy to get them now does anyone know why?
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>>If you think that factors parts are even close to OE quality; then you don't work in the motor trade.
You're right on the second part, but I've been using the same factor for the last thirty-odd years, because I found main dealers such a pain-in-the-elbow.
There's plenty of factors around I wouldn't use, but you've got me really worried now that I'll have to go back to main dealers.
I shudder at the memory of trying to get the timing chain parts out of the local Nissan dealer for a K11 Micra (I couldn't source them anywhere else).
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I feel i can comment on this with a fair degree of knowledge as i'm one of truparts biggest customers. Most of the stuff they sell is like aprilia says - mass produced and branded as their own. I don't personally use their brakes though, the samples i've seen haven't been the best of quality. As the saying goes "you get what you pay for"
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Would anyone make fake Trupart items? Surely you would fake a better know brand like Mintex etc?
So back to my original point:
>>Also, a small point, the box the pads came in was unsealed when I recieved it introducing the possibility that it is the wrong pads in the box.>>
Should I be worried, it all looks very kosher and there is one great reassurance, the pads have a manufacture date of 09/01/2007 inkjetted on to them, the same date appears on the sticker on the box.
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Invariably the pads were Textar or pagid the discs cant remember but the quality and stopping and non fade have always been excellent. Seems that Merc and BMW run textar as OE.
Yes, Textar are OE on many GErman cars, no problems.
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Didn't finish the above post, going too fast - was going to say that Textar and Pagid and same company as Mintex - just different brand names.
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I dont normally disagree with screwloose (cant remember last time I did) but I think he is a bit wrong on this one.
Electronic parts, yes fully agree.
Mechanical parts, strongly disagree. Most independants use good factors because main dealers are very poor (stockholding, availabilty, delivery, pricing) in comparison (usually!)
But there are good factors and there are total opposite! A good factor uses top brands from a traceable supply chain (direct from mintex, delphi, mahle, QH etc). A good indepandant knows what makes he will use and what he won't! too.
As regards OP query. Opened box of pads? Vehicles like clio can have 3 different versions of pads fitted, so its quite possible a box was wrongly supplied, checked to make sure; or as does happen even from main dealer, the brakes on the vehicle were not as the information states!
To the question of good quality or not? Nothing to prove it other than I wouldnt use those brand discs because a few years ago they caused major amounts of returns with warped discs. (made in china at the time, don't know if still are.) Stickw ith top brands and the quality controls are (normally) there. Even parts from dealers get returned too (by me anyway) becuase of issues with them, including oil filters suplied loose (not in boxes) and open to the workshop environment before use. Halogen bulbs unboxed (may have been handled wrongly etc). And I have had a cracked spark plug from dealer before now!
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I fitted Halfords front discs and pads to SWMBO's Peugeot 106 after the OE discs corroded badly. So far the Halfords ones have laster longer (time and miles than the OE ones.) - and the discs are only lightly pitted and pads half worn.
Ditto rear brake shoes.
madf
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>>Most independants use good factors because main dealers are very poor (stockholding, availabilty, delivery, pricing) in comparison (usually!).
This is definitely true for the two garages in my family (my father's which is long since closed and my cousin's which is still running). However,both these garages were/are sited in a rural area, near the Lancs/Yorks border - the delivery service from most dealers was awful, with only one van per day from Burnley, and even worse if we had a customer with something "exotic" where the nearest dealer might be in Blackburn or Bradford, with van runs to our area only once per week.
I don't know if the situation is any better in the city - as Screwloose says, you do see a lot more dealers' parts vans than you used to.
Although there can be problems with any parts supplier, I have had far less bother with parts supplied by the dealer than by spurious parts. Unless the dealer price for a part is silly, for my own cars, the default choise is original parts. I've no problem with good makes like Mintex, etc.
Thankfully, the parts nightmare that most French cars present isn't much of an issue to me now - there's only the brother in law's Pug 206 that I occaisonally do battle with! Thankfully, as we were reasonable customers of our local factors, we could ask them to put the Girling and the Bendix brake parts for nasty French cars on the van as sale or return, and let us choose which we needed when the van arrived - this saved hours of to-ing and fro-ing.
Number_Cruncher
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Franchised dealer parts supply can be very poor. Some don't even seem to keep a sump washer in stock. Our local Mitsi dealer is very good on orders (usually next day) but his 'stores' is the size of a toilet cubicle. Ditto Chrysler and Kia, who seem to keep no stock and everything takes two weeks on order!
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Standards of customer service are indeed very variable - and may shade your opinion by a large degree. I'm sure there are many excellent and friendly factors. The OP's question was about quality and my, apparently controversial, comments were related only to that. [I even saw a Bentley trade-parts delivery van dropping-off an £800 master cylinder the other week - the tide has turned all right...]
So, sticking only to the quality aspect [and it's not the quality of OE-suppliers' parts that's at issue here] take a common non-electrical part - a lower suspension arm for a mass-market car.
Just looking at one tells you a lot. Awful riveting; bad welding; inaccurate stamping; poor machining of tapers; cheap nut; badly-applied coating and no numbers at all.
Has that part passed the exhaustive testing of the OE part? Has it been proven by millions of miles in-service experience worldwide? If it breaks, how can any others be recalled if there's no number on it to ID it? Anyway; the one in the next identical box on the shelf is probably from a different supplier - in a different country.
Every time that a sub-standard "pattern" part is fitted to a car it degrades the vehicle. There are some aftermarket suppliers whose products are better than OE fitted ones; F&S clutches and dampers etc. - but they are upgrades, which is another sector completely.
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you cant run a business on dealer parts deliveries,as already said they all keep nothing in stock but overpriced batteries and antifreeze (vauxhall exempted)
my problem at the moment is my biggest local parts supplier has just started asking ridiculous prices for things like trailing arms discs pads etc etc ,so you can see why the man in the street is buying off ebay if the factors are trying to lift the leg of the garage trade and everyone else
swearing edited out
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 04/12/2007 at 10:22
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you cant run a business on dealer parts deliveries
In some areas, maybe not; but I personally haven't bought a part off a factor in years - if you exclude LSUK. I see them every day - and it doesn't encourage me to change my view....
I was sticking to the OP's question about quality, not convenience - unless it has widened.
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not having a go at u screwloose.
But aftermarket quality..
Mintex, Delphi, Mahle, Ferodo, TRW, Lemforder etc etc Who makes wheel bearings for oe? same as after market?
their qualities are all up to oe spec and in some cases better than oe and certtainly quicker to source.
Its the lesser unkwnown stuff that should be avoided (as per the op)
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One of the bike mags recently mentioned that a fuel filter for a Ducati 916 motorcycle that costs over £50 from a dealer can be bought for £15 from a Vauxhall dealer (it's identical to a certain model of Vectra), and for £8 from a motor factor. When this was investigated by the magazine, they found the same manufacturer's stamps on all three items. The only difference is the box they come in. Made on the same line in the same plant.
Extreme example, and of course not transparent to the buyer, but it shows how this can work.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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I think Screwloose is right in that there is some rubbish floating about, usually its unbranded (or totally unknown brand) and poorly finished. I don't think many reputable repairers use this stuff. I have a theory its mainly used when someone is about to get shot of a car and wants to get it fixed or through the MoT at minimal cost. Certainly false economy to use this stuff on anything you're going to keep for longer than 3 months.
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yorkie
not having a go at u
Feel free; I'm very used to it, as I know that my views [on many things] leave me in a minority of one - I really don't mind at all that everyone else is seeing things the wrong way. [It's not your fault; I put it down to the cumulative effects of strong ale.....]
I have clarified my initial post to just "factor-branded parts" so there's no distraction from the OP's question about these unknown brands. I don't think he was asking if the "household names" were now dodgy.
[And if you want to talk counterfeit parts - bearings just have to be the classic case.]
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Different areas different problems possibly?
I prefer wheelbearing kits from my factor over dealer supplied ones. Complete kits, same make (traceable source), better price and availability.
No doubt there are countefeits around of them (but I dont buy on price alone).
i see my trading with my factor as 2 way loyalty. I help him, he helps me and i dont try to play him off against the others out there. been trading with him for years and had very little in way of quality problems.
Now, as for main dealers (who I am sure you will know) often source from factors for speed and are not fussy about anything other thanprice! Especially for their 2nd hand cars not of their marque! in my area at least.
I do think the glass palces do a good job for the marketing boys. If it comes out of their doors it must be perfect! Not so in my book. Had small number of problems with dealer supplied stuff but more hassle with returning it and trying to claim warranty costs etc.
Example ( I know its true) car gets serviced by dealer; but they didnt have part in stock. it is sourced from elsewhere and charged at normal dealer price to customer. On the invoice it has a * against part which refers you to small print which says something along the lines of "sourced from other supplier".!
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All this is a bit of a worry. Surely trading standards should be taking more of an interest.
When travelling around Derby I see quite alot of factors vans making deliveries, usually driven by a pretty blonde! I don't know whether garages choose the prettiest girl's firm or not.
A factor in Derby that I have bought Varta batteries from, has just changed from Mintex to Apex brakes. I suppose they make more money on the latter. Most of the factors in Derby sell Apex brakes.
When the Focus needs new pads I was going to get Mintex, but I don't know where to get them, or even if I do whether they will be genuine.
How can you tell which factors are genuine, they all sell Apex and Carplan oils, they all seem to be the same. It would seem that the only safe places are the dealers and Halfords. It is a pity because all the factors can't be crooks, can they?
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I work for a motor factors and our personal battle isn't with quality issues, but the VMs' various trade clubs. The retail punter won't see this because the retail prices remain inflated but at garage level it can be an issue. Today for example I supplied a clutch (LUK)
for a 110JTD Multipla (they are currently on B/order with Fiat) to a Fiat dealer. Now the part cost us 88+vat from a National wholesaler with green vans (those in the trade will know who!), Fiat retail? £105.46 + vat!!
If the vm's got their act together regarding deliveries, customer service, attitude & general helpfulness then we would be in trouble!!
Regarding the parts we supply:
Premium quality Discs,Pads & Shoes = Mintex
2nd line short range (Fast movers) = Veco
Brake Shoe & Cylinder kits (already built up with adjustors) = Bendix Super Evo kits
Filtration = Mahle, Blueprint & Coopers.
Brake Hydraulics = Lucas
Spark Plugs = NGK & Denso
Belts = Gates
Clutches & Shocks = Sachs
Anyone who is in the trade will recognise these parts as quality products and often the guarantee is longer than those offered by vm's particularly on Brakes, Clutches and electrical products.
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