What are after-market forklift spare parts?
After-market forklift parts (often referred to as ‘generic parts’) are replacement spare parts that have been designed and engineered by companies other than the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
They have been carefully designed to match OEM parts as close as possible.
In this post we briefly discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of after-market forklift spare parts.
Advantages of after-market forklift spare parts
Cost Savings
After-market forklift spare parts are often cheaper and more affordable than OEM spare parts, as such using after-market spare parts can generate significant cost savings over a forklifts lifespan.
After-market part prices can be sold cheaper as they’re manufactured by third parties who often don’t need to offer a complete catalogue of spare parts for a large range of forklift models or have significant overhead costs like the OEM.
Instead they can focus on procuring affordable raw materials and perfecting a smaller range of spare parts to offer them at more affordable prices.
Wide Variety of Options
A forklift only has one OEM, so if you’re looking for an OEM spare part you only have one avenue to purchase, with after-market spare parts there are a wide variety of manufacturers to choose from.
The larger pool of after-market spare part manufacturers and suppliers leads to higher levels of competition that often can result in more affordable prices and high availability of spare parts.
You can often find a high quality after-market spare part from a range of stores, whilst if the OEM part is out of stock with the manufacturer it will need to be ordered and you will have to wait for the part which will delay your repair or maintenance.
Quality
In some cases after-market forklift spare parts may be even higher quality than the OEM part.
Through reverse engineering the part, after-market manufacturers can often detect flaws in the original OEM part and make improvements that improve durability and performance.
You may need to shop around a number of suppliers to find the best quality after-market spare part for your forklift.
Disadvantages of after-market forklift spare parts
Inferior Quality
Not all after-market forklift spare parts are manufactured equally, for every high quality part there are often multiple inferior made spare parts.
Choosing to install and use an inferior designed forklift spare part can have detrimental impacts to your forklift.
If the inferior quality part were to fail it can cause major damage to your forklift that may result in costly repairs or even require the whole unit to be replaced.
Increased Costs
A potential flow on effect of using inferior quality after-market spare parts can actually be an increase in overall costs.
If the inferior part were to fail once or multiple times you will need to cover the cost of replacement parts each time and then eventually you may have to purchase the more expensive OEM part in the end to get your forklift running correctly.
Voided Warranty
Depending on the manufacturer warranty terms and conditions for some forklifts the installation of after-market spare parts may partially or fully void your warranty.
It is always imperative to read and understands the terms and conditions of your warranty as the savings you may pocket from purchasing a lower cost after-market spare part are comparatively small to the cost of having to pay for major repairs or unit replacement if your warranty has been voided.
Adaptalift Group after-market forklift spare part sales
Adaptalift Group sell a wide range of high quality after-market forklift spare parts from leading manufacturers for all forklift brands.
We offer these quality after-market spare parts alongside our range of OEM forklift spare parts offering viable alternatives.
Customers can view and conveniently purchase some of the range of available spare parts via our online store, alternatively view our full range of high quality spare parts in our online Rapidparts catalogue.
For assistance in finding the correct spare part for your forklift contact our expert team of parts interpreters on 13 22 54 for assistance or submit an online parts enquiry and a member of our team will respond.