At 03:03 PM 05/10/2000 +1000, you wrote:

>Got the part, came in a wonderful Mercedes box all wrapped up and sent it to
>him.
>
>When he opened it, I can imagine what he was thinking.  This Mercedes part
>had been manufactured in Japan.  YES JAPAN !!.
>
>The point is  Dont trust genuine parts to be made by the manufacturer even
>they sub contract out their parts to cheaper sources.

Got my OEM Meyle water pump today. Nice German workmanship throughout. If a
part was inspected and approved by Mercedes, I wouldn't be too concerned
about who manufactured it for them or where, unless MY inspection revealed
something specious. If you hold them to a serious specification the
Japanese can do very good work. I haven't yet received a Mercedes box with
other than a German part in it, but it is bound to happen sooner or later.

Not so the Mexicans. The large majority of parts I've seen from there have
flaws, sometimes minor, sometimes absolute junk. Melt them down and make a
boat anchor out of them to get value.

T.P. Stephens
San Juan Island, WA