Ebay Wheel Crests

[Ebell914]

I guess it is just me. I buy quality Gold Toe socks because they last...

To me, the key to long lasting love is attention to the little things as the affair goes on....I don't want my Porsche becoming more and more Chinese as the years go by. A piece here, a piece there. My car is bone stock and 100% original, with the only exception being the LN Engineering IMS bearing I am very proud of this fact and plan to keep it that way. When something is worn or breaks, I fix it immediately with a factory original part - no Chinese crap going here. But again, this is just me - to each his own.

$200 is too much? You do realize you guys bought a Porsche, right?

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Ebell914

I guess it is just me. I buy quality Gold Toe socks because they last...

To me, the key to long lasting love is attention to the little things as the affair goes on....I don't want my Porsche becoming more and more Chinese as the years go by. A piece here, a piece there. My car is bone stock and 100% original, with the only exception being the LN Engineering IMS bearing I am very proud of this fact and plan to keep it that way. When something is worn or breaks, I fix it immediately with a factory original part - no Chinese crap going here. But again, this is just me - to each his own.

$200 is too much? You do realize you guys bought a Porsche, right?

do you actually think that there are no parts in a Porsche that come from China?

[epapp]

The Porsche wheel cap factory in China is probably the same factory as the ebay knockoffs...the ebay sellers just take their molded plastic and paint it in a separate, cheaper paint booth with 'china' paints

Originally Posted by JayG

do you actually think that there are no parts in a Porsche that come from China?

[Deserion]

Originally Posted by JayG

do you actually think that there are no parts in a Porsche that come from China?

Not that a Chinese-made part is necessarily bad, depends on who made it and who it was made for. New Corollas come with Chinese-made alloys, for example. If there is proper QC in the build process, consistently, then there shouldn't be any issues with the overall quality of the part.

However, it's not exactly a surprise that there is a massive number of counterfeit parts made in China. That could potentially explain the center caps being low in cost, as genuine parts shouldn't fade within a year.

Personally I won't put knockoff parts on either of my cars. Will I use parts made by an OE supplier? Sure. In many cases, the OEM parts for my Mercedes come with the MB star and part number on them, since it's made by the same manufacturer. If I can't get an OEM part (Hella, Behr, Bosch, Reutter, Lemfoerder, etc.), then I'll go OE. Used when available if not a wear item.

[Giller]

Since we are talking a bit about quality - it is good to note that although the lower cost caps do fade (hitting them with some clearcoat does slow the fading) the OEM parts are not perfect. Two years ago rims were replaced and new OEM centre caps were installed (by previous owner). In those two years, two of the centre caps lost their logo. If you search on this forum, you will find this is not uncommon. Therefore, not sure how much higher quality the OEM caps are?

[Deserion]

Originally Posted by Giller

Since we are talking a bit about quality - it is good to note that although the lower cost caps do fade (hitting them with some clearcoat does slow the fading) the OEM parts are not perfect. Two years ago rims were replaced and new OEM centre caps were installed (by previous owner). In those two years, two of the centre caps lost their logo. If you search on this forum, you will find this is not uncommon. Therefore, not sure how much higher quality the OEM caps are?

A very valid point. One of my caps has lost the crest due to the adhesive letting go. I used to see this frequently with VW center caps in the late 1990s/early 2000s. My mom's 987 has center caps like the ones in the OP (except OE in silver), and are still looking quite minty. The caps on my dad's 964 are the all-silver debossed variety.

When I replace mine they'll be the newer style without the crest glued on.

[cardiffgiant]

wow, emotions are running high in the wheel cap thread!

mine were faded, and it looked like some punks had removed the crest from two of the caps with a screw driver or knife when a previous owner had the car. My turbo twists didn't look all that hot, so I got a new cheap pair on ebay and then plastidipped the wheels.

They look good. They cost $15. Replacing them every now and then if they fade or chip won't be a big deal.

[b55er]

My issue with the fakes are some sellers representing them as OEM at a price slightly lower than OEM, with some people getting ripped off thinking that they bought OEM.

If the selling price is $16 for 4, I'm pretty aware that they are fake and I'm okay with that. If a seller represents that they are OEM, cost $100+ or so, and are counterfeit, that's just wrong.