Rebuild parts... good/bad brands?

[slogfilet]

Are there any parts brands you guys particularly love or hate? OEM/Honda stuff is always nice, but sometimes there is a better and/or cheaper alternative.

There are a lot of rebuild kits on eBay... are these a crapshoot?

[N2UAD]

When it comes to Honda I generally buy Honda OEM parts. But I decided to buy front aftermarket brake rotors for my VX. Autozone - made in China. So far after a few thousand miles they are fine.

[kamesama980]

actually a lot of autozone high-end parts are as good as or better than carquest, napa, etc mid-grade. I got a set of mid-grade pads from cq. nice black finish on the backing plates with the outline of "DURALAST gold". For a different car, I got 2 sets of rotors from carquest that warped within a mile. got a set of top-line autozone rotors and there was actually more material on them. the faces were thicker/air gap smaller. threw them on and they were still great at the next oil change. Duralast chassis parts with the better warranty are made by Moog, a brand I trust.

That being said, I've met one person working at an autozone that knows enough that I'd trust them to get the right oil and filter to do an oil change on my car. I think they have a rule that if you know too much about cars they won't hire you because you'll tell people how to actually fix cars instead of just selling az's parts.

For gaskets I used to go with fel-pro (fairly good value/price) but lately I've been spending a little more for victor-reinz from carquest. they're noticeably better without even installing them.
bearings and seals: I like timkin. never really had trouble with National either.

[bowtieguy]

depends on the part for me...i don't mind getting the cheap rebuilt GM alternators w/ lifetime warranty for example. they are easy to install. i wouldn't touch a rebuilt or aftermarket a/c compressor on the other hand. it's not something i'd like to do/pay for twice.