Attention all you backyard mechanics out there. Now’s the time when your established routine of working on your own car instead of sending it out to be serviced will begin to pay off. With everyone taking an economic beating these days, more people are opting to save money wherever they can, whether it’s getting home haircuts, eating in, or doing one’s own car repairs and maintenance.

However, even if you’re in full penny-pinching mode, my advice is: don’t skimp on the parts you’re buying. Not all aftermarket parts are created alike, and if you own a car or truck that runs well and is in good shape overall, you’d be foolish to begin servicing it with inferior parts.

For instance, if you own a Toyota truck, you must be aware of Toyota’s reputation for building tough, long-lasting vehicles. Overall, I’d say that’s true, but if you want to keep that Toyota of yours running for 250,000 miles or more, you need to be servicing it with genuine wholesale Toyota parts. There’s no substitute for the genuine article, made in the same factories that built the rest of your vehicle. Even though it can be tempting to install cut-rate parts because of the lower cost, I am against this. Using non-factory Toyota parts is simply a bad choice that will ultimately cut down on your car or truck’s useful life, and could have an impact on its future resale and trade-in values.

Remember, substitute or aftermarket parts don’t have to go through the rigorous quality controls that genuine Toyota parts go through, and the best you’ll ever get from buying non-Toyota parts into a Toyota vehicle is a second-rate part. For me, and for anyone who owns a Toyota, the only choice is genuine Toyota parts.

Personally, I love my Japanese import, and I know that if I get it serviced regularly, change the oil on time, and do all the recommended maintenance, I’ll be driving this car 6,7,8 years from now, unless I decide to upgrade for a hybrid, electric, fuel-cell, what-have-you, vehicle in the near future. But the point I’m trying to make here is that Toyota’s are among the most reliable vehicles on the road now. If you take care of your Toyota, you will be driving it as long as you want.

However, as with any piece of high quality machinery, you need to give it all of the maintenance and other service that it requires. If a part breaks or wears out, don’t settle for second-best replacement parts, get actual Toyota parts purchased from a dealer who’s licensed to sell Toyota products. The more expensive the car was originally, the more you have invested in keeping it running for as long as possible.

Face it, who can go out and buy a brand-new car in times like these? You’re better off keeping your Toyota running with factory parts under the hood. Now there are many schools of thought in the argument about the advantages of buying a brand new car versus buying a used one. A person could maintain their current car until the new electric, alternative fuel and hybrid cars hit the market. I found a cool article that explores several sides of this argument.

If you’re interested in going green with your next car, then the Toyota Prius is an obvious car to look at first, especially now that Toyota has upgraded the new batteries, to lighter, more powerful lithium batteries. But whatever kind of Toyota you think you’ll be driving in the future, whether it’ll be gas, electric, hybrid, diesel, fuel cell, or some as-yet-undreamed-of technology, you’ll always be happiest when you go with genuine Toyota factory parts for all of your replacements and repairs.