Big price variation in alternators. Are cheap ones rubbish?

[JGEM]

I was looking into getting a new alternator and the price variation surprised me.

Magnetti Marelli is a big name brand and has the cheapest option. Are they rubbish or just competitively priced?

Here's the data.

Volvo part 36012619 equivalents

Spareto prices in Euro,

Magnetti Marelli 203

AS-PL 217

Febi Bilstein 228

Herth and Buss Elpart 241

Valeo (440906) 347

DRI 365

Valeo (443397) 418

Lucas 462

https://spareto.com/products?utf8=%E...words=36012619

[GMcL]

It's how you determine which one will do the job required. I was watching the output of the alternator on my 2011 Volvo this morning. While driving on a light throttle or accelerating the voltage in the car was measuring 13.5-13.6v, on overrun this boosted to 14.5v

Do all the alternators you have listed do this or pump out a constant voltage ?

[4x4]

The alternator fitted to my car before I bought it was a cheap one, I never knew at the time and thought I had won a watch only to find out a couple of months later that it was causing all sorts of problems and had to be removed and thrown in the bin

[GrahamBrown1]

As with anything you get what you pay for. A lot of cheap aftermarket is Chinese rubbish with a name you’ve heard of. Lucas is a prime example. Historically a house hold name almost.

Fit a Bosch unit if you want to fit and forget. Bosch are also the original supplier on both P2 and P3 cars. Just be aware when purchasing via aftermarket channels you get one that is for smart charge systems.