Orij’no or China? Lose-lose spare part dilemma

Whenever you buy a spare part for your car, there has always been an option of buying something better…or a bit cheaper. A simple balance of quality versus price. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • While waiting for policy to address these negative patterns and with a tear in your eye and a pain in your pocket, Orij’no remains the “must” choice for any part that is safety critical (ie whose failure is likely cause an accident), a “strongly recommended” choice for any part that is cost-consequence critical (whose failure could cause severe damage to other  components); and a “wise” choice if reliability is high on your agenda. 

It has always been the case that genuine (“original”) parts generally fit well, work better, last longer… but cost more.

Bandit parts use inferior materials and are more prone to premature failure… but they are cheaper. You weigh the upsides and downsides and make your own win-some and lose-some choice. It is not a question of one option being right and the other wrong; it’s a matter of preference and case-by-case circumstances.  In the past, the genuine part was sometimes twice or even three times as expensive. But it was still relatively affordable to the majority of people who owned and operated motor vehicles. Non-genuine parts were significantly cheaper and usually still serviceable for those with stressed budgets. The “choice” of whether to pay more for something a bit better, or to save a bit by buying something less durable, was marginal and therefore reasonable.

Not any more. Because today the price of the good stuff is so high and the quality of the bad stuff  is so low. The  differences are now so eye-watering that  neither is a “reasonable” choice. Even the rich flinch at paying many thousands of shillings for a part that costs a few cents to manufacture. And even the poor grimace at fitting a cheap part that doesn’t do its job properly or promptly falls apart. Either way, all motorists are having to make “lose-lose” decisions. Workshop slang addresses this issue bluntly. Customers are asked whether they want “Orij’no” or “China”, with a clear understanding that one is a rip-off and the other is rubbish. Which way would you like to lose? In theory, market forces should prevent such extremes. On quality, standards should prevent the sale of shoddy products. They don’t. Regulation systems focus overwhelmingly on the highest quality new parts from the most established international manufacturers, while dumped junk enjoys the freedom of an avalanche…and the patronage of consumers who either cannot afford anything else or are not aware how false that economy is.  In most county towns, “China” is the only brand available.   

A typical choice is Sh500 here and now for a part that looks right at your local duka or Sh8,000 for the real thing two days later via an internet order and courier.   On price, open competition should curb excess.  It doesn’t, at least in part because it can’t. Global business strategies cut margins on whole cars and recuperate on profitable parts, by making them well, by making them unserviceable, and by making them expensive. 

Add exchange rates, shipping costs, miles of red tape, high local taxes and some very high costs of doing formal business in this economy, and there can be no such thing as a “competitive” price. 

While waiting for policy to address these negative patterns and with a tear in your eye and a pain in your pocket, Orij’no remains the “must” choice for any part that is safety critical (ie whose failure is likely cause an accident), a “strongly recommended” choice for any part that is cost-consequence critical (whose failure could cause severe damage to other  components); and a “wise” choice if reliability is high on your agenda.