For a blog post on another site I did an overview of Aftermarket/OER/OEM/OE parts and the differences. Since it is such a good example I did ihe Panamera (believe it also fits 911 among other Porsche models) oil filter. Figured I'd share the picture and the specifics here in case anyone still has a question on whether its worth the savings.

Which is the dealer part and which is the $14 shipped Mahle branded version (from Amazon)?



View the spoiler if you don't know.

 

Interior support structure comparison

 

I'm not sure what is being shown here. Dealers always charge more for the exact same part. The catch is that getting stuff off of Amazon, you're never really sure it's legit or a knockoff.

 

I'm showing two things. First, many people still assume there is something special or superior about parts because they are from the dealer. I'm attempting to illustrate he $14 Amazon Mahle is nearly equal. The other is as you note, while there are some knockoff parts this one came from Amazon and is clearly not a knockoff. It's nearly identical, down tot he font (though the size is slightly different) and the stamping pattern. So you can use it to compare if you do buy the part from Amazon or at retail, that you got a legitimate part.

While I don't mean to generate a philosophical debate here, in my experience very few auto parts from Amazon have been knockoffs. Even if you just don't want to support Amazon, there are plenty of other online retailers and outlets that sell this Mahle filter for half of the price of the dealer.

 

For the record, I bought a CarQuest filter from Advance Auto for my S two weeks ago. It was a Mahle inside the box.

 

That's fantastic. How similar is it to the Mahle branded and dealer part? Be interesting comparison if you get another to post a picture.

 

I bought my Porsche filter from FCP Euro. It is supposed to be Genuine. One shocking revelation was when I was going to install it I found it did not come with the gasket for the filter cap!