Implications of going for non OEM control arms/bushes

[AdamG_BRZ]

Im a tad concerned I may have stuffed up here. After fighting to fix a few handling issues on the car I was advised to refresh my lower control arms aswell as bushes (all come as one piece).
I was however lambasted by my mechanic for going for non Subaru items for the BRZ but nonetheless he agreed to fit them but advised my car likely wont drive as well. Annoying this was halfway through fitting them....
I did try to source these from a company that specialises in Subaru parts that has a good reputation with Impreza/Legacy/Forester owners etc. Genuine ones are very expensive and are difficult to source off the shelf without paying a fortune through the main UK dealers.

All fitted initially they seem ok, the ride feels firmer and the steering has some of its heft back. However I dont know if I am overthinking this but I am now concerned I have now hampered the the handling and geometry of the car. I am definitely in need of an alignment but I also need to renew a number of other things before I get it aligned - thus wasting my time. But now im second guessing myself whether I should keep the non genuine ones before proceeding with any other work that needs doing.

So my question is has anyone else fitted non OEM bushes and control arms to their car and suffered later on as a result - mainly through how it drives. I understand that they may not last as long as OEM as that is essentially what you pay for but am interested in if anyone has found that buying elsewhere has ruined how their car drives. Excuse my ignorance but ive never had to replace control arms or any significant bushes on a car before.

[stevemcs]

We fit aftermarket stuff all the time - obviously not on Subarus but anything with 4 wheels. Yes oe are better quality but decent stuff such as febi or lemforder are usually oe. We very rarely fit just bushes, it’s more cost effective to replace entire arms. Or you could go down the route of power flex.

I presume when he checked the wheel geo after fitting the bushes everything was within spec.

[AdamG_BRZ]

Unfortunately not no! He left me to sort that out and it is by quite a bit. Very twitchy over bumps.
So i wont know until i redo it but unfortunately other things were flagged as he was quite thorough (corroded shocks, worn antil roll bar D bushes and rear control arm bushes and a knocking rear drop link) that will eventually need replacing that would also result in another alignment. Im holding off doing for now to avoid doubling up but the issue with that is i wont know if i will be able to get it back to spec until ive done everything else.

[GreenV8S]

AdamG_BRZ said:

Im holding off doing for now to avoid doubling

Keep in mind that running with bad alignment can accelerate tyre wear too, so it is not as simple as just saving money by postponing the alignment. And there's the fact that until you sort out the alignment, you will have this issue hanging over you of whether you've done something that screwed up the handling. (FWIW, it does not seem very likely to me. In my experience mechanics usually recommend avoiding cheap parts because they don't want to take on the liability and cost. This one has now told you that if there's a problem with his work then it's because of your parts and not his fault.)