Originally Posted by timmy0tool

I use: https://www.lexuspartsnow.com/

I find that using dealerships isn't all that bad. my local dealership will price match what I find online (from another dealership's site of course).
this is very helpful when I need a part immediately, and cannot wait for shipping.

Originally Posted by timmy0tool

I use: https://www.lexuspartsnow.com/

I find that using dealerships isn't all that bad. my local dealership will price match what I find online (from another dealership's site of course).
this is very helpful when I need a part immediately, and cannot wait for shipping.

Originally Posted by RA40

May hit up your local dealer and see what they can do. The local Lexus dealer doesn't ever beat the low prices yet with some "Hmm-uh" the parts guy usually prices them within 10-15% of some of the online dealers.

What specific parts are you looking for? Those motor mounts? Buy from one of those listed Lexus dealers above. No worries and you'll be assured that this is a Toyota product unlike a "fits" or similar to part#....deceptive wording practices.

Originally Posted by peterls

Amayama is good too, although not always the cheapest.

Originally Posted by oldskewel

OEM and Genuine are not the same thing.

As you can see from the posts and the eBay wording just in this thread alone, it's clear that "OEM" is used so loosely that it is almost meaningless. At the very least, you need to be sure what the other guy means when they say "OEM."

Definitions that make sense to me, that I believe are standard for those that are careful about the wording:

original - the part that came on the car when it was originally sold. Usually the auto manufacturers don't manufacture hardly anything that is a replaceable part; they just do the vehicle assembly. So all these original parts are made by other companies, with more details below.

genuine Toyota (or whatever manufacturer) - a replacement part branded by the car manufacturer, distributed through dealers. Also called OE (with no S or M) for original equipment. Toyota can have those built by whomever they want; typically try to match original quality, sometimes superseded with improvements.

OES - original equipment supplier - the company (sometimes more than one) that manufactured a particular original part. For example, Koyo might be the OES for the timing belt idler bearing in 1991. So if you want to buy a replacement part, you might feel that buying the Koyo branded one is just as good as the higher-priced genuine Toyota one.

OEM - original equipment manufacturer - a broader definition than OES. So for example if SKF was the OES for the timing belt tensioner pulley but not the idler pulley, they could reasonably call themselves OEM for replacement idler pulleys, since they are similar components. Similar if they made idler pulley bearings in subsequent years.

True OEM, by this definition, is pretty legit, as are all of the above.

Anyway, I think I saw a description breakdown like that at pelicanparts.com or something many years ago and it makes sense to me. It may not matter much if so much of the world uses all of the above interchangeably, unfortunately calling everything OEM, but at least it's probably good to understand these multiple levels of authenticity in parts.

In looking at what sellers call their stuff, be wary of the simple word "for" that they tuck in there sometimes. For example "genuine ___ for Lexus PN 12345-67890". It's a genuine what? Genuine cardboard and paint built in a shed? OK that counts. "For" that Lexus part number? OK, it's a low grade part for that application. But it's not genuine Lexus at all.

They also say stuff like "same as OEM" - which means nothing at all. There's also a brand called OEM that makes tools. So read carefully.


I get my genuine parts usually from online dealers (e.g., Toyota / Lexus dealers). But I have had luck sometimes buying genuine parts from an individual seller on eBay - not a business, but some guy who bought these parts and then plans changed and he never got around to using thm. And of course, when time is of the essence and the part is small, I drive over to my Toyota or Lexus dealer.

I do knowingly use a lot of aftermarket parts, depending on the application. Those can be fake. I generally trust RockAuto.com to weed out the fake aftermarket stuff.

Originally Posted by peterls

While your list is great, not many buyers or even sellers use it. Hence all the parts boil down to one of these three categories:
1. Original, made by Toyota/lexus or one of their suppliers and sold in Lexus / Toyota packaging, with their Part number printed on it in black, while the rest of the text is red.
2. OEM - meaning "Original Equipment Manufacturer" which we often take for "original = same as what you would get at a dealership". Not true, although close. As for me, some OEM parts are ok (Denso O2 sensors), some are not (Mitsuboshi belts which are inferior to the ones made by Mitsuboshi for Toyota/Lexus.)
3. Aftermarket or "same as OEM" (claimed). Except for few exceptions, these are the worst, and can be found dime a dozen on E-bay and such.

Now, where do you want to buy your parts has nothing to do with which one of the three you are getting. Even original, genuine Toyota/ Lexus parts can be different depending on their place of manufacture and so on (case in point: Oil filters we use). I recently bought a coolant thermostat at the Lexus dealer and was surprised to find out that it was made in the USA "With Toyota parts". I bet you if I bought that same part in Tokyo, it would not have been made in the USA, but in Japan. But they are both genuine, toyota, bla bla bla, and "same". They are not the same.
So, it is not so much "where" you buy them, but WHAT you are buying. Amayama is very honest in that regards as they will tell you where they are getting their parts from. Never had a problem on E-bay or Amazon either. Rockauto has no original parts, and the only oem made parts I know they have are Denso O2 sensors. Dealerships are OK, but those in my neck of woods are waaaaaay overpriced - like 150% on top of the "lexuspartsnow" price (like, if something is $100 normally, they sell them for $250). So I avoid them, except for little things. I even offered to them to bring in the proof that most other dealers will give me a better deal, and they said "We don't care".

Originally Posted by Sin1UZFE

Ouch basically what my dealer said lol. I usually get aisin, denso or whatever part number Lexus uses for said part.

Originally Posted by peterls

Maybe they don't need our money?
One more trick: Toyota dealerships tend to be cheaper than Lexus, if they can get the part you need. Many parts are interchangeable (e.g. igniters, thermostats / sensors, wires, hoses, fluids), so sometimes I go there and pay about the same as online.

Originally Posted by timmy0tool

unlikely Toyota would have the part since the 1UZ was primarily in lexus vehicles only in the US.