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Am I Getting the Right Kind of Parts For My Import Car?

What's The Difference Between An Import Car And A Domestic Car? Actually, there's really no difference under the hood. A car (or truck) that's built to be used in the United States has to be built to certain specifications, no matter who makes it. As a result, all the major systems - cooling, fuel delivery, emissions, ignition - work almost exactly the same way, using virtually identical parts. Is My Car One Of Those "World Cars" People Are Talking About? It is, indeed. "World Car" is a term coined to describe a vehicle manufactured with parts from so many different sources that it becomes hard to attribute a nationality to it. Today, many parts for "Japanese" cars are manufactured in the United States, Indonesia, Mexico and many other countries. Parts for "American" cars come from just as many different countries, including Japan. Many "imports" aren't even assembled in their home countries, but are built from the tires up right here in the United States. Is It Hard To Maintain Or Repair My Import Car? Today's cars with their advanced electronics - be they Buicks, Hondas, Volvos or Fiats - can't be tuned up "by ear," as many do-it-yourselfers used to do. A trained professional technician with the proper equipment needs to do more of the maintenance and repair on every car these days - import and domestic alike. Professionals have also learned a way to make repairs on imports quickly and easily. Instead of using parts made by your car's manufacturer - which are only available from a single source and may not always be in stock - they use parts made for your car by other reputable, high quality parts manufacturers instead. You'll find well-known brands like Borg-Warner are frequently used, because your service professional can get the precise part that's needed without waiting or having to make you wait. Don't I Need Special Replacement Parts For My Import? As a matter of fact, you do. Today, many different manufacturers make parts specifically designed for use in your make and model of car. Not all of them will give you the same level of performance and length of in-service life. There is a quality standard in the automotive industry called "original equipment or better." Sometimes it's called "OE or better." For maximum protection of your engine, long engine life and optimum performance, it's always better to use "OE or better parts" instead of standard or bargain ones. This is true for domestic makes and models as well as for imports. How Can Some Import Parts Be Better Than The Original? Technological advances are constantly taking place in the automotive industry. New, stronger materials are brought into use. New manufacturing processes are developed. As a result, many leading parts manufacturers are able to introduce improvements in performance, life or cost to a part as time passes. Frequently, these improved parts aren't available from the car manufacturer because the car maker has to concentrate on developing improvements for next year's models, not last year's models. That's also, by the way, why you may find that sometimes you have to wait around for repair work that's done with "factory" parts. How Can I Recognize An "OE Or Better" Part For My Import? You can't do it by sight or touch - replacement parts have to be relatively the same size and shape to fit properly, and almost all the advantages that make a part "OE or better" are built into it, not onto it. One good way to guarantee an "OE or better" part is to rely on a brand name you trust - one that's kept a top reputation for quality for many years. Another way is to ask your service technician. Few professionals will use a part that isn't "OE or better," because a standard or bargain part that can fail prematurely or won't provide optimum performance costs him business. Niehoff, for example, is one well-known brand of parts for your import that is warranted to be "OE or better." Where Should I Take My Import For Maintenance Or Repairs I Can't Do? With the tremendous number of import vehicles now being used in the United States and the great similarity between "import" and "domestic" engine systems and components, most professional repair facilities have the training and equipment to maintain or repair your import today - including your neighborhood service professional. Whom you choose is largely a matter of your own personal preference and the degree of satisfaction you've received in the past. If you're in the process of looking for a new service professional, you'll want to make sure the individual is ASE-certified, ask about experience with your make and model of car, and the warranty on all work performed. You may also want to ask about the quality of parts for imports that are regularly used. If the answer is "OE or better," you're off to a very good start.

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