Car parts, genuine, aftermarket/pattern and OEM

[sealeysb21]

please can you clarify my understanding when it comes to car parts?

Genuine, made by vehicle manufacturer or a 3rd party company and supplied to vehicle manufacturer
OEM made by the 3rd party company that supplied the vehicle manufacturer but I purchase from another retailer. May not be the exact same specification.
Aftermarket/Pattern made by a company that has nothing to do with vehicle manufacturer may not be the same spec, may look exactly the same



Here is my situation
My vehicle manufacture no longer exists.
A distributor or manufacturer used to supply them with parts. I am not sure if they were a distributor or manufacturer of parts.
I go to my local car shop and buy a part, it is described and sold as genuine. It is sold as genuine because it comes from the distributor but they are not the manufacturer of this item
and the item is not made by a company that ever supplied the vehicle manufacturer.
To me this is not a genuine part but a patter/aftermarket part.
The local car shop says it is genuine as it comes from the same distributor that supplied my vehicle manufacturer.

The cost of genuine parts is normally more then OEM or pattern parts and so I'm paying more for this part then OEM

could you give me some guidance?

thank you in advance

seleysb21

[des8]

Genuine spare parts (Original Equipment) are the parts your car was fitted with when it was made. Even if they’re made by another company, they will have the manufacturer's guarantee.
Original Equipment Manufacturer. parts have been made by an external company that has supplied the car maker with components for that car at some point. The parts will be identical to Original Equipment .
Aftermarket Parts are replacement or pattern parts. This is because aftermarket companies frequently buy the rights to manufacture them using the template (pattern) from the original manufacturer. The term aftermarket covers a vast spectrum of quality.

I would suggest that you have purchased an Aftermarket part.
But this doesn't automatically mean it is inferior to the original specification (unless it was made in China}

[sealeysb21]

thanks des8. I think they are aftermarket.

now for me to decide what to do.

sealeysb21