[jftu105]

It seems that Bosch has gone all the way into china. I bought a few Bosch filters and wind shield wipers. All made in china. I should have known because they are so cheap form autohousAZ. My future filters will be Mann or others, not Bosch. I hope that they don't make spark plugs and wires in china. Behr seems to be doing the same. The new GEBA water pump is from Germany but I had to do it a few times to get a genuine Nissens radiators. The thermostat from Carquest is made in Germany, fortunately. Had to return a neutral safety switch from eBay ($23) and bought one from the dealer for $89. Another case is to return a new rear axle from eBay and got a used one for over two times in price. The new rear axle looked so rough and I did not trust that thing was made properly to spin at high speeds without causing other problems.

JT

 

[necromancer]

Three letters. NOS

 

[Rob552]

Got my fuel filter from dealer in MB box , made in South Africa

 

[semis1]

A bunch of German cars are made in the States.
A bunch of German parts are made in China, a bunch of American cars are made in Mexico, Canada, Italy etc. a bunch of Asian cars are made in America, Turkey etc.
Are they better or worst?
If the engineering and specs of the parent company are good, then the products should be good no mater where they are made. I refuse to believe that Bosch just told the Chinese built these parts as you see fit.
My 2006 ML500s transmission grenaded at 65k miles. Was it made in China? No.

 

[chabanais]

Got my fuel filter from dealer in MB box , made in South Africa

MB makes a lot of cars there.

 

[justboo2u]

A bunch of German cars are made in the States.
A bunch of German parts are made in China, a bunch of American cars are made in Mexico, Canada, Italy etc. a bunch of Asian cars are made in America, Turkey etc.
Are they better or worst?
If the engineering and specs of the parent company are good, then the products should be good no mater where they are made. I refuse to believe that Bosch just told the Chinese built these parts as you see fit.
My 2006 ML500s transmission grenaded at 65k miles. Was it made in China? No.

Im sorry... but just because Bosch asks them to conform to a quality standard does not NECESSARILY mean that they do it on more than a select few that they show to Bosch...

There are shortcuts that CAN be taken... and there are shortcuts that undermine quality and saftey... and sometimes unscrupulous cost-cutting manufacturers do both.

... and they are not ALL chinese....

my 2 'cents'...

 

[necromancer]

Im sorry... but just because Bosch asks them to conform to a quality standard does not NECESSARILY mean that they do it on more than a select few that they show to Bosch...

There are shortcuts that CAN be taken... and there are shortcuts that undermine quality and saftey... and sometimes unscrupulous cost-cutting manufacturers do both.

... and they are not ALL chinese....

my 2 'cents'...

When your operating margins are 1 penny to the dollar there isn't muh room for QC.

 

[justboo2u]

When your operating margins are 1 penny to the dollar there isn't muh room for QC.

I suspect the chinese margins are a tad wider than that...

 

[jftu105]

It is all about statistics which is the key for quality control. Bosch does not have a full staff to monitor everything made there as closely as they want. If they can, the cost will be high and they might as well stay in Germany. The Bosch filter for my e320 which I bought from AutohousAZ simply does not look as well made as those by Mann. The paper filter is thinner and the packaging looks cheap. I don't mind to pay a higher price. It is fine, if you are willing to take the risk but I refuse to. There are always a percentage of products fall outside of the spec (lemons) and we should not judge one incident to deny the whole thing. However, the reason why I don't trust chinese-made stuff is due to the high percentage of failures I experienced before and the obvious cheating going on there in china. Food products are even worse. Again, I choose not to award companies which have their products made in china to cut cost at the risk of quality. Bosch probably is the worst among Germany companies. My problem is that when order from these on-line suppliers, I don't know where the part was made until I get them. For example, the Nissens radiator I got was a fake, made in china. Autopartswarehouse.com sells both the fake and the genuine Nissens radiators. The fake one actually costs more than the genuine one. Counterfeit products made in china are another problem all together.

JT


JT

 

[chabanais]

My previous starter, made by Bosch, was in my VW and was made in Germany. When I had to get a new alternator 2 failed. They weren't made in Germany... I got a re-built one... works.

 

[necromancer]

I suspect the chinese margins are a tad wider than that...

Many factories in China are constantly being retooled to make whatever the factory owner thinks they can sell @ that particular time. So if you do GAAP numbers on these businesses you will realize that most actually don't make any $. The number that floats around the Chinese Canadian business community is 1-2% margins after all expenses.

Kynikos Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos correctly refers to it as the "treadmill to hell".

 

[nkosi]

Im sorry... but just because Bosch asks them to conform to a quality standard does not NECESSARILY mean that they do it on more than a select few that they show to Bosch...

There are shortcuts that CAN be taken... and there are shortcuts that undermine quality and saftey... and sometimes unscrupulous cost-cutting manufacturers do both.

... and they are not ALL chinese....

my 2 'cents'...

Do you have any specifics to back up what you are saying? I have an iphone which was designed in the U.S but manufactured in China. To date I haven't had a single issue with it. It is an amazing piece of technology.

 

[semis1]

I agree with all the above. But it is very hard for any company to compete.
Do we prefer stuff made in countries with better QC? Of course. But it does not make financial sense any longer.
Heck, a bunch of car manufacturers are building or have build car plants in China, including BMW. Will these cars conform to the standards that BMW implements? Time will tell.
We need to locate the best parts for our cars, even if they are not made from the original manufacturer, due to the fact that the OM has lost it's ways.
As mentioned above, MANN filters could be better than Bosch, etc.
It is unfortunate that quality products are not a given any longer.
As a side note, I was at Costco buying some stuff, and Asparagus was from China. What? It costs them less to grow it and import it than to grow it here? Apparently yes.
Sad but true.

 

[chabanais]

It is unfortunate that quality products are not a given any longer.

The consumer demands lower prices, this is the logical result.

"Profit" has become a four letter word.

 

[jftu105]

Speaking of COSTCO, you can buy California Garlic for $3.99 a bag. Nice garlic. My Japanese friend bought a bag to bring back to Japan (probably not legal). Almost all garlic in supermarkets are from china. I don't buy and eat stored made Kimchi anymore because they will use garlic and red pepper from china to save cost. Sams' now carries garlic from Florida for $4.85 a bag.

JT

 

[justboo2u]

Do you have any specifics to back up what you are saying? I have an iphone which was designed in the U.S but manufactured in China. To date I haven't had a single issue with it. It is an amazing piece of technology.

...and you paid out the ass for it, too.

IOT keep this civil, do not bring up apple. please.
Never mind... I will simply avoid this thread from this point on.

 

[necromancer]

...and you paid out the ass for it, too.

IOT keep this civil, do not bring up apple. please.
Never mind... I will simply avoid this thread from this point on.

Foxconn is the largest sweat shop in the world. 1 million strong and growing!

 

[nkosi]

please do.

 

[nkosi]

Foxconn is the largest sweat shop in the world. 1 million strong and growing!

Wow, thanks for letting me know. I've never heard that before. Nonetheless, the subject isn't whether or not Foxconn is a sweatshop, the subject is whether or not one can buy quality products that is designed elsewhere but manufactured in China.

I have a lot of respect for members of this site, please don't lower yourselves with bigotry and racism.

 

[w1240]

Bosch and others outsource to foreign countries because it's cheaper. They don't have a bunch of employees demanding an ivy league education for their children.