Huge home appliances such as dryers, refrigerators, washers, and ovens are all manufactured with the parts that come from the original manufacturer. However, the parts may fail and the efficiency of the appliance may slow down over time. It is at this point that you may need to consider getting a new part to repair your refrigerator, stove, or dryer.
When you need to purchase and use a lot of appliance parts, it may be more attractive to purchase generic appliance parts compared to OEM parts. However, the cost of purchasing replacement parts should not be your only consideration in deciding on the type of part to buy. In addition, the quality of the replacements is very dependent on the manufacturer.
If you are unsure about the difference between OEM parts and generic appliance parts, we have summarized the key information for you below.
OEM PARTS
OEM refers to original equipment manufacturer. OEM replacements are parts that are supplied by the same manufacturer that created the appliance. Whenever possible, it is recommended to first search for genuine and real factory repair parts. As time passes, material and design flaws tend to become more obvious and modified versions are created to prevent any potential premature failures. The manufacturer of the appliance will be able to best monitor the failure rates and decide if any changes should be made in the material or design of a specific part.
It is best to use OEM appliance parts due to the following reasons:
- OEM parts are of high quality as they come straight from the original manufacturer of the appliance.
- OEM parts help to protect the warranty of your appliance as some warranties only accept the use of OEM parts for any replacement or repair works.
- OEM parts allow you to save money in the long run. Although non-OEM parts may cost lesser, it could also result in more harm if the wrong part is being utilized.
There are some items that have specific design requirements that need to be satisfied to offer a satisfactory life span or allow the appliance to even start operating. Using a universal replacement part will most likely remove any warranties that are left on the appliance. Products such as dishwashers and refrigerators usually have an extended limited warranty on many of their components.
GENERIC APPLIANCE PARTS
Should the original manufacturer decide to discontinue supplying the original parts, it is time to search for generic appliance parts. The available parts are usually known as “functional” parts. Functional parts refer to those that are in charge of doing the work on the appliance. Controls, belts, switches, and elements are considered functional parts.
Generic appliance parts could be made by a firm that is not affiliated with the manufacturer of the appliance in any way. The same firm that supplies the original appliance parts to the manufacturer may also produce it. In most instances, these parts will be a very close or even exact fit as the original one, although the specifications may differ slightly. There are also adaptable or universal appliance parts that contain a variety of pieces that needs to be assembled together.
