Best place to buy an used alternator? (auto, difference, cheaper)
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I've bought remanufactured ones before that were bad as soon as I installed them. Pay the extra money for a new one, it's worth it for the peace of mind.
Always have them test it before you leave the store.
new or reman.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southernnaturelover
I've bought remanufactured ones before that were bad as soon as I installed them. Pay the extra money for a new one, it's worth it for the peace of mind.
I've bought remanufactured ones before that were bad as soon as I installed them. Pay the extra money for a new one, it's worth it for the peace of mind.
That was probably a part that was rebuilt, not remanufactured.
*NOTE: Rebuilt parts have only had the worn/broken components replaced. They usually carry only a 90-day, or 1-year warranty. Remanufactured parts will have been completely disassembled, cleaned, and all wear-components replaced.
Actually, remanufactured parts are sometimes better than new. For instance, the alternators that came on the 1st Generation GM 3.1 engines had TINY bearings in them. The remanufactured alternators had larger & heavier bearings. The new alternators cost 50% more than remanufactured, and only had a 1 year warranty, whereas the remanufactured ones came with a life-time warranty. Kind of a no-brainer on that particular one.
Moral of the story: Go remanufactured, not rebuilt.
There's nothing wrong with buying used as long as it has some type of warranty, the price of a used one is significantly less than new or reman, you don't plan on keeping the vehicle a long time, and the alternator isn't difficult to change for some reason (it's a pretty easy job on most vehicles). Just be sure to test it before you install it so you don't waste time putting one on that doesn't work. Most salvage yards have a bench tester, but if they don't you can take it to pretty much any parts store and have it tested free.
I probably wouldn't buy a used one from anyplace but a local, reputable yard, though. Buying one from an individual would be a gamble, although it might be a worthwhile gamble if you could pick it up for just a few bucks. Shipping will be significant if you buy online, and you will be on the hook for return shipping if you have to send it back.
You're a little limited in options. Pretty much everything out there is going to be a remanned and I would go with that long before a used alternator. Partsgeek has three remanned options:
Pure Energy - $114 + $99 core
USA Industries - $154 + $80 core
Bosch - $212 + $79 core
Bosch is the OE manufacturer, so that explains the price. I looked at the other two options and the USA Industries one is an OE Bosch remanufactured piece and I would take that over the Pure Energy one. The core charge is something you need to pay upfront and then they will refund it to you when you ship/return your old alternator to them.
I go to a small shop that specializes in automobile electrical components and buy one of the rebuilt units. They include new bearings and diode arrays. Everything else is tested and reused. Cost is less than half of new.
Look in or on yellow pages.
Have fun replacing it if your car has a serpentine belt.
try www.rockauto.com. Their prices are usually really good even on new parts. I've never had luck with remanufactured alternators. I always end up replacing them within a year. I had one car that would eat a remanufactured unit every 3 months. Since it had a 1 year warranty I was able to replace it for free and got to the point where I could swap it out in under 10 minutes (5.0L Ford... right on top).
Rebuilt = some kids "thought" the used parts "looked" good so they were re-used.
Reman = everything short of the casing was replaced
Buying a used alt at a salvage yard = not knowing what you're getting and w/o a warranty
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