Aftermarket MAF's - any good?

[CoolHands]

I need a new MAF for my petrol vw golf. Obviously the orignial ones & brnaded ones are made by bosch. Ot I can get a non-branded MAF made by...who knows? from eurocarparts for half the price.

So, anyone got any experiences? I suppose it's not that complicated, so if it works - it works, right?

[Mr2Mike]

The cheap Chinese ones have a bit of a reputation for either not working correctly to start with or failing quickly. Unfortunately, they don't either work or not work; they are fairly precision devices so if the calibration shifts it can cause all sorts of running problems. However, at least buying from ECP etc. rather than some pedlar of Chinese tat on eBay gives you the chance of returning it.

[900T-R]

If wanting to save compared to the price of a genuine new Bosch AMM, I'd look at remanufactured OE air mass meters before going for one of the (mostly Chinese) copies as it's really pot luck with the latter. Even if you can send a defective item back, the diagnosis of any running problem that eventually is found to be down to an out of spec AMM will likely be a lot more expensive than what you saved by not buying the genuine item.

[TooLateForAName]

I picked up a refurbed Bosch item for the volvo at half the price of the normal. It looked new, bought from a proper motor factors (andrew page) rather than dubious ebay source. Came in normal Bosch packaging.

In the past I experimented with aftermaket ones on an audi. In that case the original was a bosch thin wire item and the aftermarket was a solid item. It worked but seemed less responsive and fuel economy wasn't quite as good.

[CoolHands]

part exchange Remanufactured genuine bosch is £80.40 (you have to give them your old one); aftermarket 'masterpro' is £66. So not half price...err maybe I will go for that then I suppose.

edit I've ordered the remanufactured bosch one. Don't need the hassle of an aftermarket one fking me about.

Edited by CoolHands on Tuesday 21st February 10:03

[spaximus]

See if you can get hold of a Cambiere one. These are all made in the oe factories. You are right to be wary of white boxes.

Many in the aftermarket are made on the same OE lines as genuine