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RedFish,

True, you can't depend that just because a part is new, it is good. I have seen this many times in all of my years in this hobby.

This is why I insist on running top quality brands with a good reputation whenever possible. Gates & Goodyear for belts & hoses I prefer over Dayco. Standard for electrical. Bendix, Raybestos, Wagner & EIS for brakes. Moog & Perfect Circle for suspension. Mopar Performance. Etc...

My motto is that I like to do it right the first time instead of doing it over. Ask my boy, I have told him this many times. It is also cheaper to buy one quality part instead of two poor quality parts to get the same amount of service.

My classic example is when I was sent to a small town in Arkansas for a year by a company I worked for. It was very small and did not have very many parts stores - there was Autozone and two local ones there at best. I needed to replace a belt and they only carried a no name brand belt. I had no choice but to buy it. The thing was only about $1 less than a Gates which I usually run. I had to replace it within 2 - 2 1/2 years. I can run a Gates for 5 - 6. So it costs more to run poor quality parts than quality ones (it also reduces your chance of having to walk home when your car dies) Gates also developed a new compound of rubber for hoses back in the mid 90's that could last over 200,000 miles and did not cost much more than the standard compound. The other alternative was a peroxide cured hose which costs 10% more than the standard.

Another good thing I learned from a guy I went to school with was to save your old belts and hoses when you replace them and throw them in the trunk. They don't take up much space and can get you home in a pinch if the part on your car breaks.

The starter is a remanufactured Bosh unit, which is a company I know and respect very highly. They write the Automotive Handbook which is published by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). This book is the bible for automotive design and has pretty much all of the information to design, test, and manufacture cars, parts, and all of their components both mechanical & electrical. You will have to look long, far, and hard to find an engineer in the auto business that does not have a copy of this book.

But your right, you can't always trust a new part...