[big rockpile]

Ball Joint went out on my Old Chevy,Guy at the Parts Store asked if I wanted to get Lietime Warranty.He showed me what the difference in parts were,if your wanting to just get by don't get it,but if your wanting to keep your Truck until it falls apart by all means get the Warranty and put all Papers in Envelope in the Glovebox.Well worth the extra $$$$

big rockpile

 

[Jan in CO]

b.r., Hubby always gets lifetime warranty parts if possible. The extra couple dollars has saved us a TON of money in the long run! On our income, we have to drive these things until they either rust into nothing, or quit running completely! Jan in Co

 

[mikell]

Lifetime shocks and plug wires and change them every other year.

mikell

 

[Beeman]

In many cases the "lifetime warranty" parts are not high quality parts. The store that sells them pretty much bets that most will not return them so they make their money up front and bet most won't come back. In some cases it's better to use higher quality parts and do the job once than keep replacing the lifetime warranty parts. Spark plug wires are a good example. I can put a high quality set of wires on a car or truck and not have any problems with them for many years. I have put lifetime wires from a parts supermarket and had to replace them in weeks. In my shop I wouldn't use anything but a major companies top line plug wires to avoid the comebacks and aggravation.

 

[Jan in CO]

I'm sure Charles is right about using quality parts if you run a shop or repair business, but for some of us on a tight budget, it helps to have the part replaced if it does go out. We've bought really expensive break pads and had them not last any longer than the lifetime warranty type, so now we just get l.w. types. Jan in Co

 

[WanderingOak]

My truck never sees anything but ACDelco or Chevy dealer parts, and I have never had any problem with them. They may cost more, but I know they are going to work. I made the mistake of trying a generic ignition module on my truck. I wound up with three bad modules right out of the box. I brought the last module back to the big name chain parts warehouse for a refund, and went to the Chevy dealer. The GM module costs half again as much as the one out of the parts dealer, but it worked. From what I understand, a lot of the electronic components sold at the parts warehouses are refurbished rather than new.

I made the mistake of getting a refurbished radiator once. The POS rusted through less than a year later, and all the warranty would give me was another refurb. The original parts store told me that it was new . They saw the crew cut and military ID and automaticly assumed that I'd be long gone before I had any problems.

 

[Beeman]

Wandering Oak,
Good point about junk parts and also price. Just because it's a name chain and what you think is a name part(but usually is a companies second line in a different color box) at what you think is a good price it actually might be more than the original part from the dealership. My privately owned parts store with the true quality parts is cheaper than the discount stores pretty often.