nos vs repop's
Depends entirely on what the part is.
I agree. Trim items, and interior parts as repops are usually fine, and in some cases are better than OEM. Case in point armrest bases. The OEM as vacuum metalized "chrome" that you can remove with ammonia and water, or leave spots on if it gets hit with windex. We all have seen this "chrome" worn off and the raw plastic showing. The repops are actually chrome plated much in the same way that a plastic pickup truck grille is chrome plated. That plating holds up to the elements pretty admirably. The repop gage bezels dont fit perfectly, and require a bunch of fiddling with to make them work, but also have that exterior type of real chrome plating. It will never fade or yellow. Legendary repop door panels, and upholstery are top notch. Plus where are you going to find that stuff as NOS anyways. I find that the repop emblems tend to be chromed better and finished to more of a jewel like quality compared to the OEM stuff which may have rough edges and not really finished 100%. I have held both in my hands at the same time to compare the 2.
Back then, these cars were not made to the highest quality standards. They had a 10 year life span. The word quality never even entered the picture until the japanese started beating the hell out of them. TBH I like the higher finish quality on repop trim and emblems, interior parts etc, and would take them over a triple the price OEM that almost looks like a "second" run part but resides in a tattered OEM box.