Yep...big time on the brake pads. Some professor ought to do a study with the cheap import brake pads and regular pads. I’ll bet they last only half as long.
Some time ago I had a 2003 Impala. The car had very good brakes when it was new. After about 50-60 K miles, I replaced them. I think I was offered something like 4 grades of brake quality, and since it was an older car, I picked #3 (with 1 being the best, so-called OEM). They lasted about half as long as the originals (although by then my son was driving the car, not me).
“Yep...big time on the brake pads. Some professor ought to do a study with the cheap import brake pads and regular pads. I’ll bet they last only half as long.”
While I agree, brake pads are not the main thrust of this story. As far as brake pads go, they’re cheap, and even the OEM markup leaves them cheap enough to use in all cases. It’s when you get into body parts. If the car is relatively new, as with this 5 year deal - it seems to me that restoring to OEM should be done. If more than 10 years old - who cares, as long as it’s not dangerous to drive.