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THE PARTS CONUNDRUM When buying replacement parts, which do you
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prefer: OEM or vehicle manufacturer-branded? It's nearly a split decision: 45% opt for the former while 39% lean towards the latter. Hire or reward hauliers are more likely to opt for manufacturerbranded parts (43%) than logistics and contract distribution firms (38%) and own-account operators (35%). Clearly any operator running trucks on an R&M package will never have a choice; nevertheless, we sought further views on the matter from respondents. Here's what they had to say: • "Depends on how much labour is required to do the job: if it's difficult and time-consuming, go for the name brand part that's not likely to fail in a reasonable amount of time — more than likely it's the most expensive, but in the long run it's the cheapest."
• "I drive Volvos — nobody else measures up on their spares."
• "There are so many forgeries around with a chance of failure that could have dire consequences. With original parts, one is covered somewhat against these failures."
• "Our fleet engineer does what is best at the time."
411 "We buy whatever is suitable for the job that needs to be done, price is not the only issue: reliability of service from the supplier and quality of the part is taken into consideration."
For more on the parts conundrum, refer back to the 24 March issue of CM.