When/do aftermarket parts get cheaper?

[themirror]

Probably a question for VW/Audi fans that have been around for a long time.

I owned a B8 S5 a 5 years ago. At the time, most parts were OEM only, and ridiculously expensive. I had a quick look now (5 yrs later), and I still can't find many OE alternatives available.

I've recently been wrenching on an E46 BMW (early 2000s). There is an abundance of aftermarket parts which is a lot nicer on my wallet.

I miss the B8 S5 a lot. I want to upgrade to an RS5, but the price of OEM replacements is ridiculous (I get that these are high performance cars - so was the E46 at the time) and putting me off. When will we start seeing cheaper alternatives (if ever)?

[Don Arco]

Probably a question for VW/Audi fans that have been around for a long time.

I owned a B8 S5 a 5 years ago. At the time, most parts were OEM only, and ridiculously expensive. I had a quick look now (5 yrs later), and I still can't find many OE alternatives available.

I've recently been wrenching on an E46 BMW (early 2000s). There is an abundance of aftermarket parts which is a lot nicer on my wallet.

I miss the B8 S5 a lot. I want to upgrade to an RS5, but the price of OEM replacements is ridiculous (I get that these are high performance cars - so was the E46 at the time) and putting me off. When will we start seeing cheaper alternatives (if ever)?

If you’re worried about maintenance, then the simple answer is a warranty. If you’re keen on wrenching yourself, then it’s about knowing where to look. There’s plenty of Audi wholesale parts websites that will cut down 20% of the price. You can also search via part number to compare prices. I’ve done this for 2 Audi’s I’ve owned now, and it works out very well. I also wouldn’t put too cheap of aftermarket parts on these cars, but for example I have all new front control arms on my RS5 and I’m using 034motorsport brand.

What exactly are you having trouble finding replacement parts for?

[themirror]

If you’re worried about maintenance, then the simple answer is a warranty. If you’re keen on wrenching yourself, then it’s about knowing where to look. There’s plenty of Audi wholesale parts websites that will cut down 20% of the price. You can also search via part number to compare prices. I’ve done this for 2 Audi’s I’ve owned now, and it works out very well. I also wouldn’t put too cheap of aftermarket parts on these cars, but for example I have all new front control arms on my RS5 and I’m using 034motorsport brand.

What exactly are you having trouble finding replacement parts for?

I usually use ECS Tuning and FCP Euro - do you have any other recommendations?

There is aftermarket performance (034motorsport, etc.) and then there's OE (think Lemforder, Febi-Bilstein, Hella, etc.). I had a look at items which you can expect to replace on a 6 year old car (water pump, thermostat, engine mounts, rubber lines, etc.) - very limited aftermarket OE options. The price of the waterpump and engine mounts really made my jaw drop.

I had a lot of problems with my S5 (clutch, engine mounts, thermostat, leaking injector, control arms, aircon flap) so got pretty burnt with the repair costs. Maybe I just had a lemon.

[Don Arco]

I usually use ECS Tuning and FCP Euro - do you have any other recommendations?

There is aftermarket performance (034motorsport, etc.) and then there's OE (think Lemforder, Febi-Bilstein, Hella, etc.). I had a look at items which you can expect to replace on a 6 year old car (water pump, thermostat, engine mounts, rubber lines, etc.) - very limited aftermarket OE options. The price of the waterpump and engine mounts really made my jaw drop.

I had a lot of problems with my S5 (clutch, engine mounts, thermostat, leaking injector, control arms, aircon flap) so got pretty burnt with the repair costs. Maybe I just had a lemon.

Well, I know the B8 S5 6MT is a handful when it comes to maintenance. I like FCP Euro for their lifetime warranty, which is excellent on parts we know will fail eventually. Try also looking into http://audiusaparts.com as they’re all OEM parts but at fractions of the MSRP and they come with a limited warranty varying on the part. Ultimately, it’ll come down to whether or not you’re willing to pay the premium for FCP’s life time warranty or if you could live without it. And if it’s a major part (i.e engine, transmission, etc) then there’s always eBay for used OR you can leverage the discounts through Audi USA Parts to rebuild the engine, trans, etc. Completely up to you! The maintenance on the RS5 so far hasn’t been incredibly terrible tbh. The big ticket item was the DSG trans fluid change, but I had my shop do that bit. Apparently the actual labor portion isn’t that hard to do - just time consuming. If you’re interested, there’s quite a bit of performance mods out and more to come for the RS5.

[ENV²]

Probably a question for VW/Audi fans that have been around for a long time.

I owned a B8 S5 a 5 years ago. At the time, most parts were OEM only, and ridiculously expensive. I had a quick look now (5 yrs later), and I still can't find many OE alternatives available.

I've recently been wrenching on an E46 BMW (early 2000s). There is an abundance of aftermarket parts which is a lot nicer on my wallet.

I miss the B8 S5 a lot. I want to upgrade to an RS5, but the price of OEM replacements is ridiculous (I get that these are high performance cars - so was the E46 at the time) and putting me off. When will we start seeing cheaper alternatives (if ever)?

First question is if your e46 is an m3?

If it is anything but an m3 than im not surprised stuff is cheaper.

Sent from a misfiring cylinder

[themirror]

First question is if your e46 is an m3?

No it's not, it's a 330Ci (i.e. same line as an S5). But my point is even the M3 has lots of OE options which are significantly cheaper than OEM.

[themirror]

I like FCP Euro for their lifetime warranty, which is excellent on parts we know will fail eventually.

I never knew that. Does it apply to everything? Surely almost every part on a car is eventually going to fail - how would this be viable for them?

[Neil F]

I never knew that. Does it apply to everything? Surely almost every part on a car is eventually going to fail - how would this be viable for them?

https://www.google.com/search?ei=ift...4dUDCAs&uact=5

You can return used oil. Read in this thread https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...?highlight=FCP

[XLR8 Craig]

As far as I am aware to return the used oil to FCP you would have to purchase one oil change kit from them, run that, and purchase a second kit when the first one has reached the end of its lifespan. You drain the old oil back into the new containers, send it back to them and they will reimburse you for it once it is determined the parts were purchased from them originally. They assume the general population isn't going to want to deal with sending their old oil and filter back (which they won't) so it's really what you make of it. Good thing to keep in mind though!

If you are looking for OEM alternatives for things such as control arms, we can get those for you as well, and offer price matching along with manufacturer warranties for almost every part! We can get you things like Lemforder, 034 Motorsports, and more!

If there is something you are looking for feel free to send me a PM or an email to sales@xlr8.com and we can let you know where we are at for pricing.

Happy modding!

[Sazexa]

Depending on where you look, is really what it's all about. I found OE Hitachi HPFP's on both Amazon, and RockAuto for around $210 each. Where as almost every where else I looked at the time they were $400+ each.