> I'm wondering what the differences are between the OEM and
> aftermarket heater blower motors I've seen on some FLAPS web sites.
>
> This job is such a bugger I wanna know if spending the extra
> $$$ is truly worth it.

Having sold many of both (we list both on our website), I've seen a slightly
higher defect rate on the aftermarket one, but still under 1 percent so it's
negligable. That's a good sign. But it's only been on the market for a
couple of years, so long-term reliability versus the OEM one is still
unknown. Ask again in 5 years. Speaking as a Vanagon owner, if it were my
van I'd use the OEM one. Since it's a major hassle to replace, I'd gladly
pay a bit more for a part with a proven long-term track record that may
increase the interval before I had to do it again. Of course it's a
judgement call; the aftermarket one could prove in a few years to last as
long as OEM (or you could sping for an OEM one and get that rare dud). But
as a rule of thumb, I lean more toward using aftermarket parts (especially
ones that don't have a 4 or 5 year track record yet) in cases where
replacing the part will not be too hard or expensive if I later have reason
to regret that decision.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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