Japan vs Korea

[nxski]

I'm wondering about parts made in Korea vs Japan. If you look at the price of a new Korean vehicle, compare that to a new Japanese vehicle and subtract labour costs, (which are very similar between the 2 countries) you're left with the cost of parts. This was a comparosson shown on Topgear bit has a lot of merit. The cost of Korean parts is 1/3 that of Japanese parts (on average). So what makes for this difference if it isn't labour costs? Material quality, durability, etc?

The reasoning behind paying more for a Japanese vehicle over Korean is that it will cost less in the long run because the parts last longer. Conversely the reason for buying Korean is that the initial cost is more manageable. This has been the case in the past and may or may not be the case now.

All that said, I purchased a Japanese Delica and have no intention of making it less reliable so I only use OEM parts. I know many people on this forum use Korean as well though. Is the reasoning behind this simply because of initial cost or are the Korean parts now more reliable than they used to be? Maybe I'm missing the mark entirely though in which case what do you attribute the lower cost to?

[jessef]

I think you would have a hard time to find concrete proof of which specific part/material is better than the other - Japanese vs. Korean.

You're talking about thousands of parts so the question is kind of broad.

If you reference one specific part that can be compared side by side and material composition, then perhaps a call can be made to see which is better vs. cost.

There is only one clear and consistent fact. OEM will always be OEM and the quality of the part should not change. Non-OEM regardless of what country it comes from or name stamped on the parts box will never had the reputation or consistency for quality vs cost that an OEM product has. This is a generalization.

One can go right down to the threads on a 2mm bolt is finer on an OEM part #XYZ vs. a coarser thread on the same application on a non-OEM part #ABC.

Kind of a loaded question but can be fun to discuss.

[nxski]

I don't think it's too general. If you take 2 equivalent vehicles, one from Korea and one from Japan the Korean one will be cheaper. That is like comparing an equivalent American vehicle to Japanese, the American vehicle will be cheaper as well. Or looking at it the opposite way, a comparable German vehicle will be more expensive. For the most part "you get what you pay for" in my opinion German vehicles are OVER engineered so I simply don't want to pay for that.

If anyOne can find the Top Gear episode I was referring to in my op please post.

[jessef]

Here's a related article.

http://autonews.gasgoo.com/global-news/ ... 0102.shtml

Japanese automakers are increasingly looking to South Korean companies for components to reduce production costs of their low-priced vehicles, dealing a further blow to Japanese parts makers.

Mitsubishi plans to procure about 160 billion yen ($1.95 billion) worth of parts this fiscal year from South Korean and other foreign makers, up considerably from 110 billion yen in fiscal 2009.

The increase means that about 20 percent of Mitsubishi Motors' costs for supplies will go toward foreign-made parts.

[tonydca]

IMHO, the Koreans are now where the Japanese were in the late '90s. They have been working hard for a very long time, and now offer generally high quality products at competitive prices. I also think Japan is suffering under the burden of their own extended successes and subsequent excesses for a while. The Chinese would like to be where the Koreans are now. Maybe at some point?

[nxski]

They have been working hard for a very long time, and now offer generally high quality products at competitive prices. I also think Japan is suffering under the burden of their own extended successes and subsequent excesses for a while. The Chinese would like to be where the Koreans are now. Maybe at some point?

This is what I was wondering. It seems that Korea has gotten a lot better at making reliable cars in the last couple years (I suppose time will tell though).

Here is the video I was thinking of...

http://paultan.org/2006/02/18/top-gear- ... rean-cars/

[RichD]

Resist the temptation to put things into black and white boxes and spend more time learning to discern between the many shades of grey.

[Firesong]

I loved my Hyuandai Elantra. That 2002 car was fantastic for power, fuel consumption
and reliable. Until my wife had an oops with it.

Now driving a Subaru Outback.. Always wanted one of those.

So, would I buy another hyundai? You bet!

FS

[nxski]

Resist the temptation to put things into black and white boxes and spend more time learning to discern between the many shades of grey.

For the most part "you get what you pay for"

There are some shades of grey BUT for the most part These comparisons hold true. If they didn't everyone would just buy the cheapest thing every time.

[jessef]

same story

we had a 96 Hyundai Elantra. It went forever until an oops. Then replaced with a 95 Toyota Tercel that now has 390,000km's on the clock and running strong in whistler.

[impalator]

Well, just to add my two cents... I have a Japanese vehicle (1993 Delica L300) and a Korean vehicle (2012 Kia Sportage)... Today, with the exeption of maybe Mazda and Mitsubishi, most Toyota's and Honda's that cruise around in North America, are actually made in North America... Subsequently, so I am told by reading consumer reviews, car magazines etc., the quality on these "Japanese" vehicles has gone down... My Sportage was built in Korea and is backed by a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty... on everything, the entire car... The same vehicle in Europe is backed by a 7 year bumper to bumper warranty... So I have a really hard time believing that Korean parts/vehicles are supposedly worse in quality than Japanese (North American) parts... Any manufacturer offering a 5 (or, as is the case in Europe, 7) year warranty appears to be very confident that their quality is going to hold up. I believe, the only Japanese manufacturer who offers such kind of warranty, or maybe even a bit better than that, is Mitsubishi... At least that is the only one that I am aware of...

To Jesse's point: I believe that it is very difficult to make general statements about parts and their quality based on the country of origin... In fact, iPads, Digital Camera's and many more high tech, high quality consumer products of reputable and high quality companies are made either in, or by using parts from China... So, despite the often bad reputation of stuff made in China... There are so many parts that are made by one and the same manufacturer that are used in various car brands, makes and models... These different car brands again are often perceived to be of different qualities (I am sure that some of the same Magna parts are built into Chevy's, Toyota's, Ford's and other brands...)

Anyway... Just my thoughts on this (otherwise "of limited use") post...

[CREGAN]

We are on our second Hyundai Santa Fe (wifeys wagon 2008, traded up for 2010) and it has been perfect. Very reliable and the dealership has been great with any warranty work. I did have a screw fall out of the dash onto my foot while driving and when I put it back it was to a KIA modulator. I think Hyundai and KIA make great vehicles now. It is like the flag-ship siter brand deal like Toyota and Lexus or Honda and Acura. Many parts interchangable just one is the upscale version. I would look at a Korean car first now because they want your business, judging by the warranties and what you get standard.

Craig

[impalator]

By the way.... Love the Sportage... Had a Kia Soul before... Great car too, but just a tad small for us... The Sportage is an excellent, and cost efficient alternative to the CRV's, Outlanders, Rogue's and RAV4's... And it even looks better (in my humble opionion...)... Now, this has really nothing to do with Delica's...

[ccautos]

We do the maintenance for the local Lordco store that run the little Hyundai Accents. Most of their cars are at 400,000 + km now and are still running/driving well. They have regular maintenance and have remarkably had very little major failures that were not caused by drivers. Initial cost was minimal and they can afford to throw them away at 500,000km !!!

Most of the well known Japanese brands such as GMB and 555 now have manufacturing plants in Korea so are we buy Jap or Korean ?? Who knows . So long as the part is of good quality and reasonably priced with a warranty to industry standards really who cares where it is made ??

[MardyDelica]

now a days car parts depend of the car parts cost to be reasonable.
some japanese replacement parts company let korea made there parts as its cheaper for them
as i believe it cost them cheaper as japanese yen is higher than korean wan.
so kind of mix up now.
but i believe also when its a big automaker like toyota, mitsubishi, nissan, honda.
they dont do this thing thru korea.only company who do replacement parts only i think.
like toyota , mitsubishi and honda.
honda philippines make transmission and export to diff country.
mitsubishi phils do exports some parts also.
toyota thailand make original parts for toyota even filter and other parts.
its just go all of them thru the parts price they have to compete and be reasonable to sell this parts
so people can buy there cars.
as you guys knows china cars in asia are all available and cheap.korea car also cheap.
but jap car need to compete on there prices to sell there car.
thats why they do assemble there car in some asian country.
but in some way they have to maintain the quality of the parts they made.
cheers:
Mardy