AliExpress car parts. Anyone used them before?

[Sam87]

Define "genuine" though.....Mercedes make next to nothing......there are many many different parts manufacturers supplying to Mercedes.....sometimes four of five different makers have made the same part over the models production life (which is why you often get slightly different part numbers for exactly the same part....so they can tell who supplied it). Nothing to say that non OEM suppliers parts wont be as good if not better than the Merc supplied OE part.....they may have tendered to supply the part but were just too expensive so Merc went elsewhere. At the end of the day some parts from you local Merc dealer parts dept will be good quality....some wont be as good....same as some after markets are good...... others?....well, not so much! As to coming from China or Korea or Indonesia?.....well look over any modern Mercs (or other car come to that)......it will be full or parts from the PRC!
When I was working for VW/Audi we had a book which enabled us to decode which maker a certain part had come from.....it was about an inch thick and had literally hundreds of different parts makers in there.....very few parts were made "in house".

I understand what you're saying and I also know that not all the parts are made '' in house ''. I have a family member that has a factory and makes parts for different companies. He makes certain parts for a car manufacturer so yes, in the box lets say there is a Mercedes stamp but it wasn't actually made by them.
My shock absorber took over a month to arrive in the UK. Mercedes in Germany didn't have it either so it had to go to them first before Mercedes in Germany would send it to UK. It made me wonder where they got the shock from?
The main reason why I have gotten the parts from Mercedes dealer for this car is because when I decide to sell the car one day, it will just make it easier to sell.
The body kit is the perfect example that just because it's not genuine, it doesn't mean it won't fit just as good. Even the material felt the same as the genuine bumpers I took off my previous S class. This is the reason why I am considering getting bumpers from China

 

[Smiley]

Don’t get me wrong Smiley, I’m not holding amazon up as some sort of paragon of business virtue. It’s just that it’s not so easy for them to sell moody stuff and if they do, you’ve got some comeback.

i‘m not sure how many people get their money back when they find they’ve bought a snide set of Brembo or whatever from Aliexpress

That's a good point - at least Amazon is quick to issue a refund.
But how many people think before they buy on Amazon about the damage being done to the UK economy? A lot of purchases on Amazon in the UK must be from UK businesses - bought direct and all of the money stays in the UK.....bought via Amazon and a % is lost to the US. Add it up across all of the US businesses operating here and taking a bite every day - and it makes a difference.

 

[chic0821]

Sam, I have bought a few pieces in the past from China. Panamericana grille for my S63, still not fitted but that's down to me. Very good quality. For my last Range Rover, facelift rear lights & facelift temp console. All very good. They have customer service down to a fine art, any questions are answered on whats app almost by return. Considering the time distance, they obviously take their work home. I have asked a question at about 10.30pm their time & been answered within 15 mins. Not just once. Delivery is in about a week, not like here. Once had a delivery in 2 days, unbelievable. All import duties are included in the price. Will pm you some info