As above really, has anyone had turbo failure and then replaced the part with an aftermarket turbo from eBay (ie an inexpensive Chinese turbo).

You read all horror stories on the internet, but alot of the time they seem to be American forums posting about putting "ebay turbo" on already powerful petrol cars so not seen that many real world experience of on a small diesel engine like the 1.6 tdci!

I did some research into a seller and from reading experience from a guy on this forum he mentioned about a certain seller that has an eBay shop as well as standard website so have ordered, but just want other experiences as well.

My turbo failed due to ignoring dpf ash full message and it seized the turbine and melted the VNT vanes, so wasn't the usual oil starvation like a lot fail from.

I've not much stock diesel turbo experience, but if you change the turbo design then it will compress air either more or less efficiently. This could lead to the engine not running right as the airflow doesn't correspond to the map on the ECU. Would want someone to confirm that, but that's how I see it anyway.

I do however know people who use £100 ebay turbos to turbo their NA engine and have had good success. The design is generally exactly the same as a branded turbo. I have also seen them fail on a rolling road. Let's say it took out more than just the turbo. The biggest problem with Chinese parts is the casting and welding. Generally not fully penetrated and prone to cracking as soon as it heats and cools multiple times. The bits of metal that come off get sucked into the cylinders and well you can fill in the rest.