I'm talking water pumps, belts, seals, etc. I have a friend who's telling me I should definitely buy straight from Honda. He says that's what he has always done. I told him I didn't want to simply because of the extra cost. He has the "Oh well. You get what you pay for." attitude. As far as I know, there's nothing wrong with Dayco, Felpro, etc. I can actually afford that stuff (the stuff at Advanced).

He's got me worried that I'm going to replace a timing belt with a Dayco instead of Honda and it's going to snap.

Anyone car to chime in on this?

 

Can't see any reason to pay extra for a little "H" on the product. Research the part. Find out who actually manufactures the part for Honda and see if you can buy direct. 90% of the time you'll save money.

Also, online stores like Cheaphondaparts and Hondapartsnow sell factory parts at a 20 to 30 percent discount from retail.

 

I've used a mixture. Honda doesn't actually make timing belts, but I'm not sure who actually makes the belts for Honda. I bet there's at least 2 suppliers for any given part.

I haven't found a comprehensive list of the actual suppliers for Honda all in 1 place.

Somehow, I take into consideration how much pain & agony if the part doesn't last long and I have to replace it again sooner than later. So I'll use a good brand for timing belt, but local parts-store for alternator belt. Felpro valvecover gasket from AutoZone or someplace like that. I'll go to the dealer for a thermostat & for steering-fluid because those are not awfully expensive.

So I use an inconsistent mix of dealer & local-store.

 

Gates makes fine timing belt sets and they are just as good as the OE, if not better. One thing I wouldn't skimp on is the waterpump, dealer prices shouldn't be that much more for it.

 

OEM seals, usually NOK, seem to be better constructed than aftermarket seals.

 

Gates makes good timing and balance shaft belts. I have them on mine right now. My front main is an aftermarket seal and is holding fine with over 50k on it. AutoZone sells felpro so my valve cover is just that. My waterpump is actually airtex. Still lifetime warranty. However be picky on your front end parts. AutoZone has good prices and usually the best. Use those prices to get other stores to price match. AutoZone recently stopped carrying greasable parts for sealed. Eff that sorry but advance sells trw parts that have a lifetime warranty also but can be greased. I have wrenched my own vehicles. I have been working in parts since 98. After awhile you use what you see works best. OEM seals are awesome go for those I'd say. But anything that comes with a traceable lifetime warranty otherwise get it. In the longrun it pays off.

 

I buy all my maintenance items and parts from online dealerships. The local dealership couldn't match the prices for the timing belt parts. I paid a little more for a Honda, so I want to keep it all Honda. Try to find an online dealership that's close to where you live, so you save on shipping. I will usually order enough maintenance items to last a couple years (6 packs of oil filters etc.), which also saves on shipping costs.

 

I've had Honda cars since 1993 when I bought my first new one. Changed many a timing belt using parts from OReilly"s (when they were due to be changed, not because they broke), and never had a problem.

As for other parts...same pattern for me. The Dealer is always my absolute last choice because their prices are predatory.

Actually, I've had so few problems with all my Accords, that the purchasing of ANY parts has been few and far between.

 

I will buy OEM Honda parts if the price for the part is not ridiculously higher than the aftermarket part.

Sometimes the parts supplier will be listed next to tshe Honda part on OEM online sites like hondapartnow.com. For example, the 94-97 accord O2 sensor was made by Denso.

There is no right or wrong answer on where to get parts. At the end of the day, it comes down to what brand/quality part you are comfortable installing on your car.