Suggestions on outer door handle for 03

Trying to stay on budget any recommendations on a good aftermarket driver outer door handle in black for 03? Or if u have a good one xtra let me know Can’t do the OEM right now here in SoCal at the steelership is $154 damm pandemic haha anyways any recommendations would be great .

thanks in advance

 

I've had better luck with the cheap T1A brand handles off Amazon than I've had with OEM handles.

They're so easy to change out that I don't see the point in spending OEM money on them, esp when the OEM ones seem to break just as easily.

Dorman makes them for pretty cheap as well.

 

Yeah my Dorman's are still hanging in. I did buy a set of the metal ones for when they crap out though.
Handles are one thing I don't think you need to spring for OEM.

 

I compared the back of a Dorman handle to the back of an OEM one the last time I replaced my broken OEM, the Dorman had a bigger lip on it that engages the rod, so it's less likely to fail by slipping off and not engaging.

There's a few ways these handles tend to fail, but that one was why my driver's side kept happening. With the aftermarket handles it doesn't happen anymore.

 

Yeah its one of those nice rare parts where cheaper actually seems to be better.

 

The Dorman did eventually break when the plastic handle snapped haha. So, maybe OEM uses better plastic, I dunno.

At the end of the day, a $15 handle and 30 min of my time versus a $150 handle and 30 min of my time, I'm spending $15.

 

Yeah the OEM aren't worth that kinda $$

 

Trying to catch up on this .. thanks for the suggestions fellas . Anytime a good aftermarket part goes on my truck I usually do research on it but yea handles are way over price IMO from dealer .

so dorman is a good quality part the?

 

Between Dorman and T1A brands (both on Amazon), the T1A handles have lasted longer for me. Priced about the same.

T1A also makes a metal handle for $30 or so iirc that's on Amazon.

 

Thanks eon_blue ima check then out. prime day today hope I get one for good price ..

 

Just did this today, struggled a bit. Had to cut off the larger clip as it would not push through after releasing it. Replaced the 17 year old OEM with the metal ones.
I would have a couple of door panel clips on hand as they tend to break.

 

I bought one for the passenger door from Carparts.com for around $12. Of course I procrastinated changing until the drivers side broke about 6 months later...

Luckily I have a 4 door... So I drove over to the "Stealer" and paid through the arse for OEM.
That gave me a chance to put the OEM and the knock off side by side. For the most part they are the same, except that the plastic seems to be a bit thicker on the OEM.

Both work, I guess will see how well over time.

 

Update
Purchase the metal one on Amazon see how it turnouts..

 

Just a heads up. One of the retainer clips was slightly undersized on one I purchased. May not be an issue but it wasn't as secure as I would like.