10/22/2026
Fellow shop owners and technicians, I have a question about Dorman chassis and suspension parts.
As many of you know, NAPA has been transitioning its chassis parts lineup from the NCP line, previously supplied by Mevotech (the bottom-of-the-barrel blue boot stuff, in my opinion), over to the new Dorman NCD line. I'm curious what everyone is seeing out in the real world.
I'm not looking for the typical "Dorman is junk" comments. We all have our opinions, myself included. What I'm looking for is actual, firsthand experience from shops that have been installing these parts.
- Fit and finish: Are the parts fitting correctly right out of the box? Any installation or quality control issues?
- Longevity: How are they holding up after 6 months, a year, or longer? Are you seeing premature failures or comebacks? For comparison, in our experience, many of the tie rods and ball joints from the previous NCP line were failing well within two years.
- Specific failures: Ball joints, tie rods, control arms, sway bar links, etc. What's holding up and what's not?
- Alternatives: If you've moved away from Dorman, what aftermarket chassis and suspension parts are you using, and how have they been performing?
At our shop, I've become pretty gun-shy when it comes to aftermarket chassis components. We've been moving toward OEM parts for a lot of our repairs, but I've also been trying a few parts from the new NAPA NCD line to see how they perform.
What makes me even more hesitant is the significant price increase compared to the previous NAPA NCP line supplied by Mevotech, which, in my experience, wasn't exactly setting the world on fire in the quality department either.
I don't mind paying more for a quality part. What I do mind is paying more for a part that doesn't last, especially when we're the ones dealing with the comeback, the labor, and the unhappy customer.
So here's my question: What are you guys actually seeing?
I'm particularly interested in hearing from independent repair shops that have been using these parts long enough to evaluate their durability. I'm not looking for brand loyalty, internet rumors, or opinions based on the name stamped on the box.
I want real-world experience. Good or bad.
And if you've found a reliable aftermarket chassis line that you're comfortable installing and standing behind, I'd really like to hear about it.
For example, one of my favorite aftermarket suspension lines has been 555 (Sankei Three Five), made in Japan, along with certain components from the Mevotech TTX line. Unfortunately, my list of aftermarket chassis parts that I actually trust has gotten pretty short over the years.
I'm not trying to bash Dorman just for the sake of bashing them. If they've stepped up their game and are producing a quality chassis product, I genuinely want to know. But I want to hear it from the people installing these parts every day and, more importantly, the people seeing those same vehicles come back through their doors a year or two later.
Let's hear what you've been seeing in the shop.
