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Are OEM Taillight Assemblies Better Than Aftermarket?

Are you looking for a replacement taillight assembly for your GM vehicle? One of the first questions you may be asking is whether to get an OEM taillight assembly or an aftermarket unit. Which option delivers the most value for your money?

If you ask us, OEM is the much more superior choice.

What To Look For In A Replacement GM Taillight Assembly

GM rear light

A GM taillight assembly can be a complex part. It can be pretty hard to figure out what to look for in a taillight assembly. As GM parts experts, we put together this list of the most important factors of a replacement taillight assembly:

  • Material quality: It’s important to have a taillight assembly that’s built with high quality materials. High quality taillight assemblies last longer than low quality ones. They also have fewer electrical issues, and a much smaller risk of failure.
  • Fitment: Like all the other parts on your vehicle, the taillight assembly must fit just right. Correct fitment means you won’t deal with any issues that can lead to the assembly’s early demise.
  • Compatibility with the vehicle’s electrical system: The taillight hooks up to the vehicle’s electrical system. So it’s quite important for the assembly to be compatible with your car’s electrical system. That means the correct connectors, the correct power requirement, etc.
  • Warranty: The best way to save money is to get a replacement taillight assembly that’s warrantied. If your new assembly fails early on, and if it’s covered by warranty, you’ll get it replaced for free.

When you take all these factors into account, it’s clear that OEM taillight assemblies come out on top. It’s because:

1. GM Builds OEM Taillight Assemblies With Quality Materials

GM warranties your vehicle. So they want your vehicle to come with the highest quality materials. This includes OEM taillight assemblies. OEM replacement parts are exact replicas of the stock parts that came with your car. If you replace your taillights with a genuine OEM unit, you can expect the same quality as the stock ones on your car. That means:

  • Thick and sturdy lenses
  • Optimal lens pattern that ensures brightness
  • Quality light bulbs or leds that will last a long time
  • High quality rubber seals that will seal out moisture, dirt, and debris
  • High quality electrical components

Some aftermarket taillight assemblies may be built with quality materials too. Yet, there’s no way to tell unless you actually install one on your vehicle and test it out for a long period of time. It’s common for aftermarket manufacturers to build their parts with low quality materials. They don’t function as well, either. This is true with many different types of car parts, including third brake light assemblies.

2. OEM Taillight Assemblies Always Fit Just Right

It’s common for GM owners to run into fitment issues with aftermarket taillight assemblies. Many aftermarket manufacturers don’t follow OE specs when designing their taillight assemblies. As a result, it’s common for aftermarket taillight assemblies to be:

  • Too loose
  • Too big to fit right
    • Some car owners alter their vehicle to get an aftermarket taillight assembly to fit
  • The wrong shape

A taillight assembly with fitment issues is bad news. You could run into serious issues, like:

  • Water leaking into the system and frying the electrical connections, or causing rust
  • Rattles

OEM taillight assemblies never have fitment issues. If you order the right OEM taillight assembly for your GM model, correct fitment is guaranteed.

3. OEM Taillight Assemblies Are Compatible With Your Vehicle’s Electrical System

Tail light wiring

Image Credit: Sparkys Answers

When your taillight fails, you may not find out right away. You could drive around with a bad taillight for a while without even knowing about it. This increases your risk of getting a ticket. This issue is quite common with aftermarket taillight assemblies. It's also quite rare with OEM taillight assemblies. The reasons are simple:

  • OEM taillight assemblies are compatible with your vehicle’s electrical system
    • This means OEM assemblies are very unlikely to encounter electrical failure
  • It’s common for aftermarket taillights to have a lot of issues
    • Some aftermarket manufacturers use low quality electrical components that can’t withstand the test of time
    • Some aftermarket manufacturers don’t follow OE specs to ensure compatibility with electrical systems

4. GM Warranties Most Of Its OEM Parts

GMC stands behind the quality of its OEM replacement parts. That’s why it offers a warranty on most of its parts. GM’s warranty is good for at least 12 months, with unlimited mileage. So when you install an OEM taillight assembly on your vehicle, GM will replace it for free should it fail early.

You don’t get the same assurance with most (if not all) aftermarket taillight assemblies. Many aftermarket manufacturers don’t warranty their products. That’s a big reason why aftermarket taillights are quite cheap. So if your aftermarket taillights give out, you’ll have no choice but to pay for a new assembly.

OEM Taillight Assemblies Don’t Have To Be Expensive

Despite all the faults we’d laid out about aftermarket taillights, the aftermarket industry is still booming. It’s because:

  • Some aftermarket taillights can look cool
  • Aftermarket taillights are quite cheap

What if we told you that you could get the same perks with OEM taillights? To be more specific:

  • OEM taillights can also look very cool. While this 1965 Impala likely has aftermarket taillights, the OEM version looks even cooler (in our opinion).
  • You can find big savings on OEM taillights online. As an authorized seller of genuine OEM GM parts, we offer the lowest transaction prices you’ll find online. Look up your GM model here to see all the OEM taillight assemblies we have available for your vehicle!