Replacement parts OEM vs generic what is the actual difference now

I had a 5 year old Samsung washer that threw an error code for the control board. OEM board was $215 from the supplier and would take 4 days. Generic was $85 on Amazon and showed up next day. I went with the generic figuring how different could it be. Board worked fine for about 3 months then the washer started acting up again with the same error. Put the OEM in and it has been running steady for 6 months now. Has anyone else seen generic boards fail faster or did I just get a bad one?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah1988d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain on this one! I tried a generic thermostat for my oven once, thought I was so clever saving forty bucks. Worked fine for exactly two weeks, then the oven started acting like it had a mind of its own, bouncing between "frozen pizza" and "cremate everything" temperatures. I swear generic electronics are like gamble boxes, sometimes you get a winner, sometimes you get a fancy paperweight. Ive totally learned my lesson the hard way too, OEM stuff just seems to have that secret sauce or maybe its just better quality control. Cant help but wonder if those cheap boards are just rejects that fell off the back of a truck somewhere, right?

martinez.anna8d ago

Heard a story from my buddy who tried swapping out the control board on his washing machine with some cheap off-brand. It worked okay for a few loads but then just started beeping nonstop and blinking lights like a Christmas tree, totally bricked his washer. Ended up costing him more to get the OEM part and pay someone to fix the damage than if he'd just gone with the real thing from the start.