Do you Care Where your stuff is Made

M

mobiledynamics

New member
My iPhone is made in China......
100% of my cookware is primarily Belgium, France, Germany and 3 Pieces of USA made 3MM thick copper

I am OCD about everything I own.
The contractors who come work on the house...the know it`s either perfect or it ain`t completed !


As I sit here and think about it, at the end of the day, everything and anything doesn`t matter where it`s made.....to some degree these days !

Today I won a battle that I thought I did not win
I obsessed ,argued with my insurance carrier and demanded a OE replacement windshield $300 vs $1000K. I get it. OE vs OEM. At the end of the day, insc wasn`t budging and whatever good luck charm happened, somehow I ended up with OE glass.

As I sit back tonight thinking how much I fought to get OE, then settle for OEM since insc. was not budging, and somehow I got OE today....I realize at the end of the day, the reality is, parts/products are a global market these days and as long as the quality is there...that`s what matters. Hell, I`ll have to check the cars out tonight in the garage, and run the DOT # to determine COO
 
I prefer to buy stuff made in the USA, but nothing much is made here anymore. I’m happy Rupes is making polishers here now and I don’t mind paying extra—to a point. If something was made in the USA and it was crap I would look elsewhere and not feel bad at all.

I want OE parts for my car where possible, but it is dependent on the part. I had a 2006 VW Jetta that had a water pump that had plastic vanes inside it. When it went bad I bought a different one made with metal. So OE is not always the correct answer.
 
I’m all for best quality I can afford and my preference is to buy USA goods. That said sometimes these edon’t live in the same world.
 
There`s been many cases of those plastic water pump blades breaking. Then getting lodged in a passageway and causing a overheating issue. That`s why the aftermarket made ones with metal impellers.

To the op`s question. Where it`s made means where it was assembled. The parts it`s made with may or may not be from that country. I like companies like weathertech, the question I have is where do they sorce their materials from. Plus where did that company get their raw materials from. Like it or not it`s a true global economy.
 
If a quality option exists, I prefer and will pay extra for local. A lot of the stuff we use is made all over the place, but the company that actually puts their name on the package and sells it is local/domestic (cough... Griots polishers ...cough). That means some jobs and people to talk to.

Not detailing/tool related, but a great example of this is beer. I`m not a beer snob - but when I`m out I will always ask if anything local is available. Don`t care about the beer, but I like supporting the local businesses.
 
Cast metal is heavier which causes more wear tear in the bearings. Stamped impellers with poor spot welds break. The bearings IMO are usually what goes out in these things.
 
JSFM35X said:
I’m all for best quality I can afford and my preference is to buy USA goods. That said sometimes these edon’t live in the same world.
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That`s about how I am too. I`m probably more likely to *avoid* stuff from sources/vendors I, uhm...don`t esteem...than I am to be positively influenced by those whom I do.

I find it hard to "just not support [an evil empire] " for real compared to talking about it...you gonna avoid stuff that`s made in China/etc.? Good luck with that...
 
Coleroad said:
There`s been many cases of those plastic water pump blades breaking. Then getting lodged in a passageway and causing a overheating issue. That`s why the aftermarket made ones with metal impellers.
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On my MK6 GTI, I believe the fourth generation of the water pump which I got free as part of a VW-wide maintenance campaign returned to the metal impeller. My car shipped with the second generation, with plastic which failed, and was replaced under warranty with the gen 3 pump which also had plastic. It worked just fine, but I was glad to get the fourth gen one free about a year later.

One problem with OE vs OEM debate is the parts are often made by the same company and it`s only the packaging which changes. You can often get the exact same part for much less simply because it wears the the labling of the company who made it vs the brand of the auto maker. This is espicially true for parts from companies like Bosch, Mann, NGK, etc. If my car is in the body shop being repaired after an accident, I`ll go OE simply to make sure everything is right. If I`m doing maintenance, I`ll go OEM with companies I know build the exact same part for the OE and save some money.

Country of origin gets sticky too because of globilization of industry. To build an iPhone, Apple designs and engineers everything in the US and has 200 suppliers from all over the US, Europe and Asia ship parts to the Foxcon assembly plant in China. These days, the auto industry is great example too. Parts from vendors all over the world are shipped to assembly factories all over the world. Four of the top 10 cars sold in the US with the highest content of US made parts are Honda`s. Every BMW SUV sold world-wide is built in the US. Several Japanese vehicles sold in the US are US-specific models which are designed and built in the US. Even design and engineering gets complicated when many manufactures have design studios in California and engineering centers spread out across all of their major global market areas developing components based on capacity at the location for vehicles sold all over the world.

I`ll always go for best quality product I can afford from a reputable company. If a product has a low-budget clone from an unknown source at a cheaper price, I`ll always go for the known vendor and pay extra. Even though the products probably roll off the same assembly line, I`ll at least get better after-sales.

I too go with local food and beer. In those areas the quality is often better than the mega-chains and breweries, not to mention helping a local, small buisness stay viable.
 
Hmm...I gotta admit that unless I actually know them (and sometimes because I do), I don`t do the "buy local" much, if at all :o Let`s just say that the local businesses that make a big deal out of that make it very easy for me to just be cynical about the whole thing even though they make the right noises...at least in public.

Sigh...perhaps the only time I do pay real attention to where my $ will end up is with regard to supporting entities that oppose my values (to put it very, very broadly). I can`t even enjoy lots of popular entertainment because I just *know* where they put some of the $ they make off me: right into efforts to [mess] with stuff I care about, or even directly [mess] with *my* life. Keep off my lawn.
 
Accumulator said:
Hmm...I gotta admit that unless I actually know them (and sometimes because I do), I don`t do the "buy local" much, if at all :o Let`s just say that the local businesses that make a big deal out of that make it very easy for me to just be cynical about the whole thing even though they make the right noises...at least in public.
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I`m the same when it goes beyond food or beer. Even in those cases I won`t sacrifice quality for locality.

Every holiday season, one of the small municipalities puts up banners about not shopping on line and going to their stores. However, most of their stores are small, very niche, boutiqes or rather run-down thriftstore-esque shops. Not my thing either way. The banners almost make me want to fire up the Amazon app on my phone right on the spot.

Sigh...perhaps the only time I do pay real attention to where my $ will end up is with regard to supporting entities that oppose my values (to put it very, very broadly). I can`t even enjoy lots of popular entertainment because I just *know* where they put some of the $ they make off me: right into efforts to [mess] with stuff I care about, or even directly [mess] with *my* life. [/quote]

I try not to think about it. 90% of the time I`d probably end up thinking the same thing and it would ruin whatever I was doing and I couldn`t shop anywhere.

Keep off my lawn.
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Hear! Hear! Darn kids...
 
Nope. I`m all for buying made in US products but unfortunately that usually doesn`t mean better quality IMO.

Also, "Assembled in the USA" is not the same as "Made in the USA"
 
RaskyR1 said:
Nope. I`m all for buying made in US products but unfortunately that usually doesn`t mean better quality IMO.

Also, "Assembled in the USA" is not the same as "Made in the USA"
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The Irony sometimes. So this summer, I bought added another grill to my stash. This was interesting as it was cast aluminum (never would rust), etc,etc. In their marketing videos they show american workers and different subs making various components of the grill. Even pouring molten aluminum into castings. The unit I got was made in the PRC. Turns out their *original* model, which is still made in the USA. But the one I bought, which is their *premium* model, which cost 3X as much - is not made in the USA. Here I was thinking I was buying a `merican made grill, supporting a `merican worker. The youtube video, which they proudly link in like 3 places on their website seemed to suggest it was `all american made. Sadly not...
 
mobiledynamics said:
The Irony sometimes. So this summer, I bought added another grill to my stash. This was interesting as it was cast aluminum (never would rust), etc,etc. In their marketing videos they show american workers and different subs making various components of the grill. Even pouring molten aluminum into castings. The unit I got was made in the PRC. Turns out their *original* model, which is still made in the USA. But the one I bought, which is their *premium* model, which cost 3X as much - is not made in the USA. Here I was thinking I was buying a `merican made grill, supporting a `merican worker. The youtube video, which they proudly link in like 3 places on their website seemed to suggest it was `all american made. Sadly not...
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LOL! Nice!
 
I`ve owned more foreign cars than American cars but I also generally try to buy USA labels on many other things.

I had a another Accord sometime ago and the wheel bearings went to crap,,ordered them right from Honda and the bearings were made in USA,,

not even 2 months later the bearing in the front of my wifes 01 Sierra turned bad,,another OEM bearing ordered and this time the label was Made in China

like was said,doesn`t matter where you buy it anymore the chances are high it`s Chinese.
 
Farmall-luvr said:
I`ve owned more foreign cars than American cars but I also generally try to buy USA labels on many other things.

I had a another Accord sometime ago and the wheel bearings went to crap,,ordered them right from Honda and the bearings were made in USA,,

not even 2 months later the bearing in the front of my wifes 01 Sierra turned bad,,another OEM bearing ordered and this time the label was Made in China

like was said,doesn`t matter where you buy it anymore the chances are high it`s Chinese.
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Indeed. Original coil pack - made in germany. Same replacement *branded logo* coil pack was PRC....
 
Farmall-luvr said:
I`ve owned more foreign cars than American cars but I also generally try to buy USA labels on many other things.

I had a another Accord sometime ago and the wheel bearings went to crap,,ordered them right from Honda and the bearings were made in USA,,

not even 2 months later the bearing in the front of my wifes 01 Sierra turned bad,,another OEM bearing ordered and this time the label was Made in China

like was said,doesn`t matter where you buy it anymore the chances are high it`s Chinese.
Click to expand...

Of all the cars I`ve owned I`ve found the ones that were made in Japan to be the better built, more reliable ones.
 
RaskyR1 said:
Of all the cars I`ve owned I`ve found the ones that were made in Japan to be the better built, more reliable ones.
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That was our experience for quite a while, but the last few (Subarus, Mazda) were absolute, complete junk that couldn`t even fulfill the "disposable car" role. Zero interest from the Dealer/Reps either, and it was *strongly* implied that they can afford to just blow me off since everybody else will just buy another one.

Sigh...they guessed right, I didn`t try to Lemon Law/etc. them...I just walked away from the experience to get on with my life ASAP. Eh, not just the Japanese ones either, but those were the most recent pieces of [crap] and it was especially disappointing because I bought them thinking "I`ll sacrifice what I really like to get cheap reliability".
 
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