Maintaining Superior Vehicle Performance

By: Erica Jones

Knowing more about the auto industry helps a lot in the desired customization of your vehicle. With so many parts and accessories around, it is rather difficult to determine which part suits perfectly to the specifications of your ride. Investment also poses utter importance as to getting the best part that offers the biggest bang for your buck. Thus, parts are categorized in many labels in order to offer a wide variety of selection and freedom of choice for an auto part buyer. From aftermarket parts to OEM parts, these components cater well to the specific needs of your Volkswagen which demand nothing but quality parts to enhance its already remarkable overall performance.

A Volkswagen OEM part refers to the part made by the same manufacturer as the genuine part you get from the local auto dealer. In reality, car makers do not make the parts they use in building their vehicles. Most of the time, they would utilize independent companies in helping the design the vehicles, just like the case of Volkswagen. You may wonder about the availability of these parts, though. But after a certain period of time, they already have the go-signal to sell these Volkswagen OEM parts to the wholesale distributors for resale. In this instance, the parts are packed in the box bearing the actual name of the manufacturer of that part. Quality-wise, it does not pose any difference at all. It is even cheaper (by almost 70 percent) than the dealer originally sold for and continues to sell.

On the other hand, an aftermarket part refers to the product purchased and installed into the vehicle made from a company other than the original manufacturer of the car. Majority of the performance parts are made by aftermarket companies since they have specialization in a particular field. From catalytic converters to tail lights, aftermarket parts abound and excel in what they thrive in. Aftermarket companies purchase the rights to reproduce these parts and supply them to the same wholesale distributors as the OEM parts. These parts are generally produced with the same machinery and materials but because they were not designed in the same manner the part may have minor differences in appearance and feel. There's no big difference between a Volkswagen OEM part like an air intake with a Volkswagen AEM air intake.

Some aftermarket companies, upon getting the right to produce a part, may indeed find a way to improve a part by redesigning it. This results in a better part, and quite possibly, a less expensive one. There are a variety of high quality aftermarket parts that can be purchased and live up to all the expectations of the original at a much lower price.

But what kind of part may be, OEM and aftermarket parts are manufactured to perform the way it is designed for. A Volkswagen OEM part like a catalytic converter performs the same caliber as an aftermarket one. It is up to the owner which kind of part he chooses to fit well to his Volkswagen.

Car Focus
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 

» More on Car Focus