A talk with a farmer near Topeka made me question the 'always use OEM parts' rule

I was working on his old John Deere 4020 last week, the one he uses for everything from tilling to hauling. He needed a new water pump, and I told him flat out to get the Deere part, that the aftermarket ones are junk. He just looked at me and said, 'Son, I've run this tractor for thirty years. The last three pumps were from the parts store in town, and each one lasted me eight seasons. The one factory pump I tried gave up after five.' That hit different because it wasn't just talk, he had the receipts in his shop book. It made me realize I've been repeating what I heard in the shop without seeing the long haul for myself on older machines. Maybe for a new rig under warranty, sure, stick with OEM. But for a workhorse that's paid for? A good aftermarket part can keep it running just fine. Has anyone else had a customer prove them wrong on parts like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.barbara24d ago

That farmer kept receipts for thirty years of water pumps. I can't even find my coffee receipt from this morning. His real world proof is hard to argue with.

the_ben24d ago

What if that farmer just got lucky with his batch? I've seen cheap parts fail way early and take other stuff with them. Sometimes that OEM price is for the engineering that stops a bigger problem.