"An inherent or distinguishing characteristic, superiority of kind, a degree or grade of excellence."
It should go without saying that the original manufacturer parts installed on your European car set the standard for which quality European replacement parts should be measured. Replacement parts from the Original Equipment Manufacturer, OEM, are typically less prone to failure as they go through refinement to improve their "quality". That does not mean that in all cases the OEM part is superior to an aftermarket European part. In some case a part supplied by an aftermarket European part manufacturer may be equivalent or sometimes, although rarely, even better that the original equipment.
We strive to help you make a good part choice by telling you where a part comes from, in the "Parts Details" section of the parts information when a part is displayed. When a part is from the Manufacturer, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, etc., and is in the Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, etc. packaging, it is described as a "Genuine Mercedes", "Genuine BMW", "Genuine Porsche", etc. part.
Part of that help is research and our experience with the manufacturers of the products we sell here in epsparts.com. You can benefit from that research by learning more about those manufacturers in our extensive Manufacturer Information Database. We would also like to hear from you if you have any concerns or experience regarding a particular product.
When a part is from the OEM, or Original Equipment Manufacturer, that made the part on the new car, it is described as OEM. For instance, Ate and Girling are big OEM suppliers to the European car manufacturers, so a brake master cylinder might be described as "Ate-OEM" or "Girling-OEM".
You can be confident that the OEM and OE parts are equivalent to or an improvement, to what was originally installed on your car.
Many car manufacturers make their own brake discs, water pumps, body sheet metal and other parts, so there is no OEM, or rather the car company IS the OEM in that case. That is why you will rarely see an OEM brake disc shown. This does not mean the other brands are not as good as or better than the OEM.
You can, however, be assured of one thing. European Parts Specialists, and our suppliers strive to carry ONLY the finest manufacturers of parts based on quality and not based on economic advantage. Sometimes this means discontinuing a certain brand or part from a certain manufacturer and replacing it with a superior brand or manufacturer.
At European Parts Specialists, Ltd., and epsparts.com you can be assured we stand behind our products with our full customer satisfaction guarantee!
You can rely on European Parts Specialists to supply the highest quality parts and accessories for your Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo, Saab and Mini automobile!
