As the owner of a classic car that is increasing in price, the credo applies: OEM first. After all, almost every owner would like to get the long-awaited H license plate not only for tax advantages.
In order to be able to obtain such a number plate after 30 years, however, the car must not only be in good condition, it must also correspond to the year of manufacture.
However, the car does not necessarily have to correspond in appearance or function to the model that previously rolled off the assembly line, because replica parts, contemporary tuning or conversions are permitted, provided that they were already implemented in a decade before and after the year of construction. Old books, newspaper articles, certificates or documents help the TÜV to recognize such conversions as timely. A TopSecret wide body can also be licensed as a classic vehicle and thus contribute to value retention.
Wear parts and spare parts from the accessories trade
When purchasing spare parts, many people go to Toyota first, which is not possible otherwise, especially with model-specific parts such as headlights.
But there are now many alternatives on the spare parts market. From windshields, various sensors, seals or wear parts such as brake system components. A water temperature sensor at Toyota costs around 90 euros. An exactly fitting one from the spare parts dealer, on the other hand, costs around 15 euros.
One can now philosophize about whether the original sensor justifies its higher price in terms of quality or service life. In practice and about 6 years after changing the temperature sensor, I cannot report negatively on either one or the other. The cost/benefit factor here is simply enormous.
Of course, this cannot be ported blindly to other parts, because the market and the range is quite large, especially when it comes to wearing parts such as the brake system. From unknown brands to well-known Brembo products from racing.
True to the motto: "What costs little isn't worth anything" is usually a convenient statement, because brake components from the spare parts catalog are in no way inferior in terms of braking distance and braking power, as a test by the ADAC shows.
A comparison can be worthwhile, because many of these spare parts often come from the same factory.
