How important is it to use OEM parts? I need to do my timing belt soon, and might as well do the water pump at the same time.
The Acura belt is 150 and the pump is 250. On Rock Auto, the belts range from $15-50 and the pumps are $20-70. The car is a 2011 MDX probably worth like 10-12k.

>>28458653 (OP)
Try to find the manufacturer that makes the OEM timing components and buy from them instead of from the dealer. For example Aisin makes the OEM timing components for my shitbox and Rockauto carries those for half the price of literally the same thing from the dealer.

>>28458653 (OP)
If there is an aisin water pump on rockauto or another parts site then that would be good.
I would go oem for the belt.

>>28458653 (OP)
Most of the time you can just find the manufacturer of the belt and get it directly from them. You pay for the badge at the dealer. I get dealer parts because that's my version of Gucci. Having that Honda badge in my parts makes me smile

>>28458656
You need to caveat this that this isn't always the case. For example fram has made Hondas OEM filters for years now, you going to go out and buy a fuckin fram and expected to be the same quality? OEMs may have contracted their manufacturers to make whatever thing in a higher quality with better materials so that obviously components with their name on it are less likely to shit the bed, at the cost of well cost. When that manufacturer goes on to sell their factory direct, they may possibly decide to lower the quality to save money. This isn't always the case of course, but again see my example.

>>28458653 (OP)
I don't cheap out on mission critical parts, especially when they're a bitch to change. What's the point of buying into the Honda/Toyota meme if you're going to replace your parts with chinesium garbage?

>>28458653 (OP)
not important at all for as long as you do not buy chineseum and bottom of the barrel parts. there are some parts worth buying OEM such as wheel bearings, parts on the accessory drive, HVAC components, but buying OEM for most other parts categories is wasteful. every car is different. keep in mind that a large fraction of parts in your car are solid state hunks of metal or rubber, especially when it comes to suspension parts. these days 3rd party parts are higher quality than the original OEM parts. i drive an old 02 shitbox and the OEM parts are unpainted, untreated, and much more expensive than modern aftermarket parts.

>>28458697
FRAM has multiple lines of filters, so if you got the equivalent filter that was supplied to Honda, then yes, it would still be the same filter. Also filters are a terrible example; most OE suppliers aren't tooling or sourcing for a cheaper version of what they make and supply already. OES parts (usually) don't have tiers for the same part, and if they do, avoid unless you know exactly what the original was

>>28458707
>there are some parts worth buying OEM such as wheel bearings
imagine not buying the superior product

keep in mind cheap aftermarket might actually be worse than oem
as an example i have two metal pentastar oil cooler assemblies on my parts shelf, one made in china, and the other one made by dorman.
the chinese one is literally just a metal recasting of the plastic part, the dorman one is clearly re-engineered to be cast and machined
you can also find these weird metal intakes which you think woah cool metal right
except
they just recast the metal part from a plastic part and kept the fucking plastic molding flash inside the intake runners
like ??????????

>>28458752
>FAG
Well that's rather rude.

>>28458707
t. Poorman shill

>>28458653 (OP)
Dealer parts are "Geniuine" and have the car brand stamped on them, just find the usually cheaper OE or OEM equivalent, and you're good.

>>28458712
I'm thinking now with that stated it must be frams uber cheap filters that get them the flack

>>28458653 (OP)

we're way closer to the problem of even finding a replacement part of any kind, rather than if its oem or not.

>>28458759
Aftermarket can also be better though.
ARP is a quick example.

>>28458653 (OP)
It varies. Give me 10 minutes and I'll make an autistic flow chart.

Honestly op I just buy the oem or whatever is next best.

>>28461404
*some variations may apply

>>28461449
kek this is great

There is a third factor that everyone conveniently forgets in all cases of a part malfunction.
the part where you fucking stare at it and figure out WHY it failed.
in a lot of cases it could just stem down to age, wear level, or most common of all a rubber seal decaying and causing environmentals to get in to do that faster.
but you have to keep in mind that in a normal road going car, 100% of part failures (which have a part number) are because of something else failing. either a component of the part itself, or a cause from a different part.

if you want to ignore all of that heres a list.
>it is a water pump
OEM
>it contains encased ball bearings as a component of the part
OEM
>it is any part that goes between the steering wheel and the front knuckle
OEM
>it goes anywhere post throttle blade (Including throttle body, any sensors, excluding hoses)
OEM
>it goes inside your engine and costs less than OEM would have
OEM or performance aftermarket
>it goes between your engine and transmission
Aftermarket
>it goes inside your transmission (touches fluid)
OEM
>it isnt any of these
Aftermarket unless oem is cheaper and it isnt an upgrade

If you use 'oem' parts, you are gay beyond replacement

>>28461496
OEM, to anyone who actually wrenches, includes the actual oem.
so as example for Mercedes, it's sufficient to use Lemforder parts.

>>28461449
kek, have an updoot (you)

>>28458653 (OP)
never skimp on timing components, pay top dollar for better or oem ones
if the water pump is driven off the timing belt/chain, top dollar that bitch too
if the water pump is driven off the accessory belt then you can cheap out if you want to roll the dice on replacing it again. i've seen motors grenaded from cheap or neglected water pumps

tl;dr
timing, oil and water pumps are the most importing thing in your motor dont be cheap

>>28458752
That's OE for most german cars.

>>28458653 (OP)
If it's not holding up the weight of the car like a ball joint, I would run aftermarket stuff like starters, alternators, brake jobs, whatever else.

>>28458653 (OP)
>belts, tires, brake pads, oil
doesnt fucking matter, brake pads and oil might be specified to meet some retarded service interval or to keep corrosive dust off alluminum wheels
>alternator, water pump, wheel bearings, door handles, gaskets
tossup, sometimes aftermarket is significantly better, the cheapest thing on the shelf will probably work but it wont last as long
>o2 sensors, mass air sensor, temperature sensors, shift solenoids, thermostats, oil filters
this is where buying aftermarket will really fuck you, the shit will work correctly enough to not set codes but will cause other issues because the data it supplies to the computer isnt in spec, making it a bitch for anyone else to diagnose, some manufactures (ford) intentionally copy protect circuitry so that cheap copies dont work correctly, then discontinue the supply of functional parts, there are even counterfeit oem parts that don't work
>engine bearings, piston rings, pistons, transmission clutches, u-joints
most of these are standardized parts and suppliers wouldnt dare fuck up, no reason to not buy the cheapest shit on the shelf unless you need softer bearings for racing applications

>>28458653 (OP)
I can only speak for my Crown Vic, but I've bought and installed aftermarket parts and fluids instead of OEM Motorcraft and they've all worked fine.