OEM U-JOINTS, I MUST BE MISSING SOMETHING. 70.00/DEALER 18.00/AMAZON

So I'm having my u-joints replaced and looked online what are the best ones to buy and OEM is what people are saying. They go 200,000 miles they say. So I ordered the 4 for my 2007 Tundra 4x4 5.7 from an online dealer and paid 66.00/tax + shipping. I received them today and looked at them to see what the big deal was and on the side it has SPICER stamped also, in the cross-section it has SPR 199. they have white plastic collars between the ends. I looked online and find that these from Amazon are $18.44/pc. What the heck am I missing? I thought these were supposed to be the best? If that was the case you'd think it would be well known that you order the 18.44 ones for the same quality? The labor to have these put on is what I don't want to pay again. Should I be putting a more expensive brand/model on? these ones are non-greaseable. I must be missing something Online cost almost 300.00 for all 4 when according to the model it appears I could have had them for 74.00/ for all 4. I have to be missing something?

 

$18.44 u-joints! Too good to be true! Chinese knock offs for sure stay away. They are good at copying everything down to the packaging. Just not good at making good quality!

 

reference
https://www.tundras.com/threads/real-vs-fake-denso-plugs-w-pics.60880/page-2#post-1607321

 

Toyota has Spicer supplying parts to them (along with a lot of other companies). When you buy it from Toyota you are paying the mark-up from Spicer selling it to Toyota and then turning around and selling it to you. Plus it has to go through the full inventory chain. I would also imagine there's something int he contract about failure rates. I don't know where they make them but buying the Spicer version would be no different than buying an Aisin water pump from a parts store vs the Aisin one they sell to Toyota.

 

Yup, Spicer makes the “OEM” driveshafts, including the U-joints. You can install greaseable ones, just remember that they need maintenance. A neglected greaseable u-joint will not last as long as a non-greaseable one.

 

if it makes you better, ford uses the same size and the ford version is $96 all oem part numbers cost more. oems spec them and buy them from the manufacturer which costs the oems money. same thing applies with everything else. water pump is $140 from toyota, aisan probably made it and their version is $69. a chinese knockoff is $38. figure out who manufactured whatever you need and buy that brand. avoid the chinese knockoffs.

 

I think the parts that are sold under the manufacturer brands are OEM brands relabeled and repackaged from shipments that were rejected from car manufacturers. Therefore creating a "surplus" of equipment that may be sold at full price but under a wholesale price and OEM quality moniker. Like stated above we pay a premium for name, label and packaging, but the exact same equipment, but those Chinese knockoffs are something else though... so I guess buyer beware??

 

I purchased replacement Dana U-joints from NAPA for less than half of what Toyota wanted.

 

I replaced my starter for a 1/4 of what the local Toyota dealer wanted for it...