Bosch reman starter vs. Napa reman starter.

turbocharged798

turbocharged798

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The starter is finally starting to die on our 99.5. When it's warm it cranks fine, but first thing in the morning when it's cold, it cranks over very sloooowwly.Battery was replaced not long ago. I guess it's finally done at 253K miles. What a piece of junk, LOL. :p

Anyway, I originally wanted a Bosch reman starter, not some cheapo one that will go out in 1 year. Napa seemed to have the best price on them. $223.49 including a 73.83 core charge.
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/De...n=599001+102000+50074+2074021+4074023+5999999

But then I was looking an napa has their brand for $124.79 including a 82.50 core charge. I really didn't want anything other than a Bosch reman, but wow, that is a LOT cheaper. And it's in stock at my local store as well, the Bosch reman is not and I would have to order it.
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/De...n=599001+102000+50074+2074021+4074023+5999999

What do you guys think, spend the money and order the Bosch reman, or chance it and get the cheaper Napa reman that is in stock?:confused:
 
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DanG144

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Any guarantee's with either, past a month or so?

On my big block Suburban, I seem to go through one of the NAPA reman's every 18 months or so.

I went with a lifetime warranty starter from someone (Autozone, I think). It still justs seem to last about 18 months.

I would either go with a Bosch Reman or have a local starter and alternator shop rebuild it. Heck, if the commutator is in good shape, you could probably clean it, put in new brushes, and use it another 200k.

You could get the brushes from your local starter & alternator rebuilder, or from the closest Bosch approved service center. It would likely take you only about an hour longer to disassemble your starter for cleaning and new brushes than it would to simply swap them.
 
turbocharged798

turbocharged798

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I believe napa has a three year warranty on theirs.

I found some brushes on line, but I don't know which it uses. Does anyone know what is the part# of our starters?
 
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Franko6

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Sw Missouri
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Ditto on the Bosch...

I've seen that 'warranty' work with Napa. If I remember right, after the first replacement, you are on your own. Even if they warrantied more than one, who wants to be stuck with that?

The story on the Napa is who rebuilds them and how complete a job they do.

Much like another vendor who rebuilds 'only what is broken', that is a real lousy way to do business.
 
turbocharged798

turbocharged798

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Yeah, I think I might just swap it out with a Bosch reman and be done with it. That's assuming that I don't match up a set of brushes online.

Hey Frank, don't forget my nozzles! Patiently waiting for my sprint 520s to be pop tested!:)
 
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White Crow

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NAPA does have life time warranty starters for a few bucks more they are betting on you not keeping the car too long.
 
Abacus

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Bought mine from Autozone with a lifetime warranty, it's a Bosch, complete with all the VW and Audi symbols on it. It was also cheaper than NAPA. I think they reman whatever people give them, so it's a crap shoot as to what you get.
 
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DanG144

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Yeah, the key is that it be rebuilt by a Bosch Reman center. Or your local guy if he is good. A Bosch starter is good, but the rebuild is only as good as the tech and the parts.
 
PDJetta

PDJetta

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DanG144 said:
Any guarantee's with either, past a month or so?

On my big block Suburban, I seem to go through one of the NAPA reman's every 18 months or so.

I went with a lifetime warranty starter from someone (Autozone, I think). It still justs seem to last about 18 months.

I would either go with a Bosch Reman or have a local starter and alternator shop rebuild it. Heck, if the commutator is in good shape, you could probably clean it, put in new brushes, and use it another 200k.

You could get the brushes from your local starter & alternator rebuilder, or from the closest Bosch approved service center. It would likely take you only about an hour longer to disassemble your starter for cleaning and new brushes than it would to simply swap them.
Click to expand...
"Heck, if the commutator is in good shape, you could probably clean it, put in new brushes, and use it another 200k."

That is exactly what I did with my '85 Jetta TD and it worked great, other than a little inconvenience of waiting a week to get brushes while my starter was disassembled on the bench (I took the bus to work that week).

--Nate
 
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SuburbanTDI

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Abacus said:
I think they reman whatever people give them, so it's a crap shoot as to what you get.
Click to expand...

Most likely they're given VW/Audi.

Either way, there's little reason not to consider re-man with a lifetime. It's a pretty simple process to re-man them, they almost never fail too early, easy home install - and think about it, if you really intend to own the car forever you're still going to need to replace it again anyway. At least with the re-man the part will be free.
 
jasonTDI

jasonTDI

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I use remans. MOST end up Bosch units.(Valeo also made them) Having tried a couple different re-builders and a lot of the new $125 Mexican/Chinese new units I prefer the rebuilt ones.

Go for the best warranty. They all end up about the same in most cases but I have pretty good luck with Metron units. FWIW I do 4-5 starters a month on average.

The over run "Wirrrr" is caused by the units that use a bushing instead of a bearing and it hangs up. This is according to the biggest electrical re builder in my area. 2 blocks from my shop.
 
A

ACHTUNG TDI

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Go with the Bosch remanufactured, and give RPM autoparts in Stanhope NJ a call. They have good prices, and they aren't too far from you as they're in NW New Jersey.
 
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Rod Bearing

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I'd get another NEW BOSCH unit. The price may seem high but how many reman units will you buy in the same time span?

Put a new starter, new cables (OEM parts not some goo ga company) and battery in and forget aboot it, eh?
 
Ol'Rattler

Ol'Rattler

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SuburbanTDI said:
Most likely they're given VW/Audi.
Either way, there's little reason not to consider re-man with a lifetime. It's a pretty simple process to re-man them, they almost never fail too early, easy home install - and think about it, if you really intend to own the car forever you're still going to need to replace it again anyway. At least with the re-man the part will be free.
Click to expand...
Not all re-mans are created equal. on the 93 Cavilear, went through 5 re-man Shucks alternators before switching to Napa. no problems since.

1977 Scirocco automatic. Tried some re-mans from Shucks. never did get a starter that didn't have the same problem as the old one I was replacing. I had to hit the starter with a rock so the engine would start when it was warm.

to me, the lifetime warranty is a crock. I do not think exchanging a part repeatedly is a very good idea. That was what I was doing with the Scirocco. Keep your ridiculous warranty. just give me a part that performs and lasts for a reasonable amount of time. Is that to much to ask?
 
tdidieselbobny

tdidieselbobny

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Hmmm-cheapie on fleabay was $71.99 + $14.99 shipping-member was california starter and alternator-no core(which means you keep your old original one to do what you want with)-I'm using one of these(along w/ bigarniedog) for about a year and still cranking just fine-to each his own though.I still have my old one sitting underneath my bench in the garage I think.I went with the cheapie Chinese starter because car is rotting away w/ rust-the body only has 1,maybe 2 years left.I reluctantly spent money to get the rear brakes done a few weeks ago,but if it gets me more time out of car,I'll be happy.Don't really need a car payment now....
 
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Lex4TDI4Life

Lex4TDI4Life

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tdidieselbobny said:
Hmmm-cheapie on fleabay was $71.99 + $14.99 shipping-member was california starter and alternator-no core(which means you keep your old original one to do what you want with)-I'm using one of these(along w/ bigarniedog) for about a year and still cranking just fine-to each his own though.I still have my old one sitting underneath my bench in the garage I think.
Click to expand...
Ditto. A lift pump and a good battery help. This thing turns over quickly. One crank even in 20 degree weather.
 
jasonTDI

jasonTDI

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20F isn't -5F. There is a huge difference in battery performance.

Those are the Chinese starters most retailers sell FWIW.
 
turbocharged798

turbocharged798

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Got the new starter in and holly crap, the car starts so easy now! I cannot believe how much better the new starter is. I barely hit the key and the car starts. AWESOME!

I took apart the old one before I send it in and I guess what happened is that due to the 99.5 hot start issue, the brushes overheated and locked up in their carriers. They will all deformed and blue. Comm didn't look that hot either.

I would bet a lot of people probably have half-dead starters and don't even realize it until they put in a new reman one.
 
jasonTDI

jasonTDI

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I've done a bunch of 99.5-00' starters this fall and talk about happy people! No worries about cold starts in BFE any longer.

Just finished a 5 spd swap, TB, intake on a car visiting from Nebraska. He's on his way to get it right now. My day isn't right unless I fix something.....
 
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fruitcakesa

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The Bond auto reman I bought was a Bosch labelled unit at $229. I went through 3 of them {under warranty] until I realized the flywheel had some broken teeth and was destroying the starter gear. New flywheel and starter = no problem now.
 
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