At Roberts Country Vehicles we are proud to help you get your Land Rover or Jaguar back to its best with one of our comprehensive services. With our many years of experience as a Land Rover specialist, we have finessed our methods to ensure you only get the best possible service at the best possible prices with the best possible parts.
That is why we use Original Equipment Manufacturer Parts to ensure your Land Rover is treated in the best way possible.
What are they though? Well, in this month’s blog, we thought it would be a good idea so that next time you visit RCV, you know exactly what is being fitted to your Land Rover.
What Does Original Equipment Manufacturer parts mean?
Original Equipment Manufacturer parts or OEM parts are those used for a vehicle repair that match those originally on the Land Rover. This means you can benefit from the same quality and reliability of the part as you would if you had bought the Land Rover directly from the dealership.
Across motoring, an OEM part is often made by a third party that supplies those same parts to the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicle manufacturer then assembles all the parts to make the complete vehicle.
This can mean they are often not branded when you opt for them when getting your Land Rover repaired as they have come directly from the parts manufacturer and not Land Rover itself. For a trivial example, a motherboard for a smart TV may be manufactured by an OEM who then sells that board to Sony who makes the TVs and sells them to the public.
OEM parts are often confused with genuine or aftermarket parts which is understandable, if you were to ask for a specific part for your Land Rover, and were presented with one OEM, one genuine and one aftermarket, there is every chance you may not be able to tell the difference. There are some advantages to choosing Original Equipment Manufacturer parts though. We will cover those later but for clarity, we will explain what the other part types are!
What are aftermarket parts?
Should you be seeking a part for your Land Rover, you may find yourself being offered aftermarket parts as an option. Aftermarket parts are parts that have been manufactured by companies that have purchased the rights to make parts for the vehicle. As a result, you can have several companies all making the same parts for one vehicle. It is then down to you to judge which of those companies is offering the best quality and best price. Where each OEM part is made by one parts manufacturer, aftermarket parts can be made by anybody who has purchased the rights to make them.
What are genuine parts?
The genuine parts are the parts installed on your vehicle when it was first made. So like OEM, they go perfectly with your Land Rover, the only difference is, these were the parts in the vehicle when it left the factory.
What are the advantages of Original Equipment Manufacturer parts?
When you get your Land Rover repaired, you want full confidence that it will work just as well as it did before the fault occurred. Original Equipment Manufacturer parts allow for this. OEM parts are the same as what appeared on your vehicle when it was originally built. With an exact fit, an exact finish and the same levels of performance and quality, OEM parts are often the best way to get your Land Rover back to how it needs to be. In most cases, OEM parts also come with a warranty giving you additional protection should something happen to the newly installed parts.
One benefit that customers tend to rate highly is that with an original equipment manufacturer part, they know exactly what they are getting. As a result, it gives the added confidence that this is a reliable and trustworthy part to have added to the Land Rover.
Disadvantages of OEM parts
As with anything, there can be a few disadvantages, but at RCV we work hard to eliminate those as quickly as possible for you. In some cases, OEM parts can be a little more expensive than aftermarket parts but we always work hard to keep prices as low as possible. In some cases, we can save you up to 40% on main dealer prices! OEM parts may also be harder to find occasionally. However, with more than 30 years of working on Land Rovers, we can source a huge array of OEM parts that can get your Land Rover back to how it needs to be.
What are the advantages of aftermarket parts?
With aftermarket parts being made by a host of different companies, it often means you can be spoilt for choice when it comes to sourcing them. This wide-ranging availability can mean a fast turnaround should your vehicle be out of action. A further benefit is often seen to be the cost as aftermarket parts do tend to be cheaper than OEM. This can prove to be of detriment though as we will explain in the next section.
Disadvantages of aftermarket parts
The increased availability, cheaper price and wide-ranging selections can all lead to it being quite an easy choice as to whether you pick an aftermarket part over an OEM part but this should be done with caution. Quite often, aftermarket parts do not come with a warranty and the quality is unknown. Factor in the wider range of suppliers and it can be difficult to assess which one is providing the best value and the best quality.
The last thing you would want is to have saved money on finding a bargain part and then have it fail on you within a few days leading you to need to send the Land Rover back for repair and pay again!
At Roberts Country Vehicles we use Original Equipment Manufacturer parts or those that are approved genuine parts when we are required to repair your Land Rover, giving you full confidence that your vehicle will be at its best, fast. Our Land Rover servicing costs are among the most competitive around meaning you can have your vehicle serviced without fear of it breaking the bank. Why not contact us today to find out more? Serving Kent, London and beyond, RCV are the leading independent Jaguar Land Rover specialists in the South of England.