Replacing Headlight Assembly - OEM or Aftermarket

[evawebb]

Hi guys. I have been shopping around for headlight assembly replacements for my 2007 Yaris 2 Door Hatchback (base model). I found a website with OEM parts, will cost me about $180 for the pair with shipping. My question is, is it worth saving $50 by purchasing aftermarket headlight assembly parts? Can anyone recommend quality aftermarket headlight assembly parts?

I'm sorry if this has already been covered, I searched for this topic but could not find an answer.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[WeeYari]

IMO, it is not worth saving $50 for aftermarket. I've not seen many aftermarket lights that did not have figment issues. $180 for a pair of OEM sounds pretty good to me.

Sent from my Elite_5_5_Octa using Tapatalk

[UberSilver]

Last year I local body shop got my Toyota buckets for $70. each plus tax.

[zoidberg444]

You could save a bit by getting OEM parts from a scrapyard. Its what I'm going to do with my car when i repair the front end damage.

[Garth g.]

I used depo headlights, and a front bumper cover from Taiwan and a front fender from Taiwan. The car looks new, if I knew how to use my phone I would post the car.

[miiser]

I had to change both of my headlights after a small accident because the clips that holds them broke and the headlights were hanging in the engine bay.

I had to change the front bumper too so I bought an aftermarket bumper (which is just a plastic there is no reason to pay 400+ for original new one)(I paid a total of 140€ for an aftermarket one including the paint) and then I bought 2 new oem valeo headlights.
Don't go for the aftermarket headlights. First of all they are not sealed well. You might have moisture in them. Also they fade pretty fast, they get yellow and so on.
Stick with the original parts for something like the headlights. They look prettier, they last longer and fits perfectly in your car.

But just out of curiosity why you want to replace them??
Many people change their headlights because they become yellow and they fade. If that's the case don't change your headlights imo. There are many diy tutorials on how to restore them and make them look like new

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[evawebb]

I had to change both of my headlights after a small accident because the clips that holds them broke and the headlights were hanging in the engine bay.

I had to change the front bumper too so I bought an aftermarket bumper (which is just a plastic there is no reason to pay 400+ for original new one)(I paid a total of 140€ for an aftermarket one including the paint) and then I bought 2 new oem valeo headlights.
Don't go for the aftermarket headlights. First of all they are not sealed well. You might have moisture in them. Also they fade pretty fast, they get yellow and so on.
Stick with the original parts for something like the headlights. They look prettier, they last longer and fits perfectly in your car.

But just out of curiosity why you want to replace them??
Many people change their headlights because they become yellow and they fade. If that's the case don't change your headlights imo. There are many diy tutorials on how to restore them and make them look like new

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My daughter drives the car, and the passenger side headlight is broken (mysteriously, she has no idea how it happened. Ha.). So I need to change the one, and figured I should just do both since they are both pretty cloudy. But thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I will buy one and clean the other.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[evawebb]

You could save a bit by getting OEM parts from a scrapyard. Its what I'm going to do with my car when i repair the front end damage.
I thought about doing this, but if I did manage to find the right parts used from a scrapyard, wouldn't I have to pull them from the vehicle myself? And how would I know if they work? I'm not sure if I want to go through the trouble if the savings aren't significant. It's not that I don't think I could do it, but that I am strapped for time.

Is that how it works with parts from a scrapyard? I've never gone that route before.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[B.B._07]

I thought about doing this, but if I did manage to find the right parts used from a scrapyard, wouldn't I have to pull them from the vehicle myself? And how would I know if they work? I'm not sure if I want to go through the trouble if the savings aren't significant. It's not that I don't think I could do it, but that I am strapped for time.

Is that how it works with parts from a scrapyard? I've never gone that route before.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

There are two kinds of scrapyards the self serve pick-n-pull type and the full serve kind where they take the parts off for you. The self serve yards are cheaper and deal with older cars while the full serve yards are pricier and deal with generally newer or more expensive cars. The 2nd gen (06-12) Yaris is now starting to become more common at the self serve yards. There's no moving parts in a headlight so if it's not damaged, the plastic is not cracked in places than it should be good.

If you're buying aftermarket headlights I would stick to CAPA certified ones which are the closest to OE quality. There is also NSF certified parts but the standards are more lax and "manufacturer friendly".

[miiser]

My daughter drives the car, and the passenger side headlight is broken (mysteriously, she has no idea how it happened. Ha.). So I need to change the one, and figured I should just do both since they are both pretty cloudy. But thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I will buy one and clean the other.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk



Check on ChrisFx channel. There is a full diy tutorial on headlight restoration.

Nevertheless, my opinion is this: if you buy new headlights, buy the oems. Plastic fades. But a Chinese plastic fades 10 times faster. Plus you might have moisture in them and then you will have to deal with electrical problems too.
Oem last longer, fits perfectly and you won't regret it. And in my opinion there is not much of a difference in the price. Sure you will pay 50€ more. But it's worth it.


In the end if the car is in overall good condition go for the expensive stuff. If it is full of dents or you know that your daughter isn't the best driver and she is clumsy then there is no need to buy the expensive stuff because they will broke again :p

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk