OEM vs aftermarket front bumper

[pc8481]

Hi all. Sorry if this is a stupid question but I did some research on this site and couldn't find a good answer.

I had a mishap in my driveway and it ruined the front bumper cover of my 98 HX. I've done some research and there's a lot of aftermarket bumpers out there that appear to be stock and are a lot cheaper than the geniune Honda part.

Is there a difference between the OEM bumper parts and these much cheaper aftermarket parts? I've seen some on Ebay as cheap as $25 compared to $150 for the honda part.

Any insight would be a big help.

Thanks.

[BrodyP]

Aftermarket is always cheaper than OEM. The bumpers will be just about the same. Its a matter of preferance do you want a new front end or the same one you had? Also when purchasing an aftermarket bumper (body kit) you want to get polyurathein rather then fiberglass. Imo I would go with an aftermarket front end and work from there.

[iVteC_PoWeR]

Stupid question, but what does OEM stand for?

[BrodyP]

Original Equipment Manufacture which means stock parts that came with your car or from the dealer. Everything you dont get from the factory is called aftermarket.