I am not quite sure what to do at this point with the PA, but I am growing rather sick of this problem that has cropped up in the last 8 years of owning this car.

The problem? Replacement parts.

I know that being 22 years old, with 191k miles, any original part failure is completely fair game. I accept that. But those failures are relatively few and far between, it'* everything that happens after the replacement that bugs me.

Some examples:

Alternator: I am on my 4th alternator. Admittedly it'* the DuraKrap lifetime warranty special from AutoZone. I knew that going into it though, and replacement is a breeze, so this is not really where my beef lies, but since the rant is rolling, I am tossing this on there

Battery: I am also on my 4th battery. Most of them still start the car just fine when they fail, but I start noticing electrical oddities, and then have the charging system tested, which flushes out the bad battery. Odd, but again, DuraKrap Maxx, and I have had several occaisions where running the best big battery has saved my bacon.

Master Cylinder: That one hasn't come up lately thankfully, but that took 2 or 3 replacements to get sorted out.

Radiator cap: I average 1 of these a year. They all seem to start leaking externally.

But here'* the latest one,

Heater Core: Fairly certain the original is what came out originally, and it was replaced with a solid aluminum unit from RockAuto. I, captain fluffy fingers, had no interest crawling under the dash, so $250 in labor later, I was back on the road. 6 months later, it failed, and I was rather annoyed, so I dumped the dreaded stop leak in it. It held together for about another year, until it failed again. Not wanting to have to deal with this issue again, I put it in a shop, they put up the parts, and about $300 later I was rolling down the road (with apparently half my glovebox screws missing between the 2 trips in). About a year later, I start smelling coolant. It'* faint, and I can't tell where it'* coming from, so I wait, because sooner or later, it will show itself. Sure enough, a month later, the heater core explodes again. 3 weeks out of warranty with 5k miles on it.

I am pretty sick of this nonsense, but I can't help but wonder if the parts are really this crappy, or if there is something wrong with the car that is causing it to chew through parts like this.

Thoughts? Suggestions? General insults?

Ya I hear ya. Parts now-a-days seem to be a shooting match!
Even when you buy a new car today, you can't help but wonder how much of it is made in China!
I guess it could be said for parts with longevity like the ALT & Battery, you got to spend more to get the best.
In my case, it was an Odyssey battery and a custom Quality Power high current alternator, actually made in California. No problems years down the road now.
My new Delco rad cap also started to leak, went back to original.
A heater core that does not last 6 months, now that would really **** me off too.
Just really no need for that kind of non-sense.
Last time I had a heater core go on Cutlass, I went to a rad shop and they made me a real copper one -$ though.

The intense competition between auto parts stores have fostered this......people go in the store and buy the lowest costing part.....stores tend to order what sells....if quality parts sit on the shelf, they won't be ordered.....

When I was working, our service manager wanted to sell jobs, so he would quote low prices to get jobs....I understood that....but, when the customer is pissed because the car breaks down with the new part, you also lose the customer....wheel bearings were my big bugaboo......we were putting in these super cheap bearings that weren't lasting a year......I finally talked the SM into giving the customer the option for a more expensive part......the other problem is, GM is not happy when they notice, their parts are not being put in their cars....

Let'* face it, comebacks are a huge problem in service...it'* one thing if it'* shoddy work or misdiagnosis, but customers look at part failure the same as the first two problems....

PS.....and the worst replacement parts are anything electronic.....aftermarket stuff is just crap....