Not all parts are equal. A few years ago I felt the under-tray screws were getting a bit sad looking so rather than wait until they became a problem I replaced them. Not a critical part so I just bought some cheap aftermarket ones off eBay. Look much the same, right?
How about now?
One year later, the aftermarket screws were looking terrible so I fitted new ones. This year, after just one year, they were badly rusted again and several would not come out. The socket was sufficiently corroded than the tool just turned. Notice the difference in the thickness of the head? Apart from rusting quicker, the eBay screws have a socket depth of 2mm while genuine VW ones are 3mm. Guess what I’ve just bought?
So stick to VW/Seat parts? Mmm.
My car came with VAG branded spark plugs, which are made by Bosch. Last change I fitted the same ones, supplied by the Seat dealer. This time, for no particular reason, I bought NGK ones. Never thought there was an issue with the old plugs. After all, it’s just a spark plug. It kinda either works or it doesn’t, right? And modern ignition systems are far less sensitive to plug gap etc. Does the car feel smoother? Well, it would be easy to put such small changes down to imagination so who knows.
But there’s this. Ever since I got the car it’s had a very slightly lumpy idle. Nothing very noticeable or a problem in any way but it’s there. Just a very slight vibration at idle. Noticed it on the test drive years ago and never gone away, just assumed it was a characteristic of the car. Yip. It’s gone!
I can’t pretend to know how that’s possible but there you go. Make of that what you will.
How about now?
One year later, the aftermarket screws were looking terrible so I fitted new ones. This year, after just one year, they were badly rusted again and several would not come out. The socket was sufficiently corroded than the tool just turned. Notice the difference in the thickness of the head? Apart from rusting quicker, the eBay screws have a socket depth of 2mm while genuine VW ones are 3mm. Guess what I’ve just bought?
So stick to VW/Seat parts? Mmm.
My car came with VAG branded spark plugs, which are made by Bosch. Last change I fitted the same ones, supplied by the Seat dealer. This time, for no particular reason, I bought NGK ones. Never thought there was an issue with the old plugs. After all, it’s just a spark plug. It kinda either works or it doesn’t, right? And modern ignition systems are far less sensitive to plug gap etc. Does the car feel smoother? Well, it would be easy to put such small changes down to imagination so who knows.
But there’s this. Ever since I got the car it’s had a very slightly lumpy idle. Nothing very noticeable or a problem in any way but it’s there. Just a very slight vibration at idle. Noticed it on the test drive years ago and never gone away, just assumed it was a characteristic of the car. Yip. It’s gone!
I can’t pretend to know how that’s possible but there you go. Make of that what you will.
