Oven heating element replacement.. generic vs oem.

[hawkeye_wx]

Hello.  Recently, my GE oven's broil heating element stopped working.  I removed it and did some testing with my multimeter and it appears the element is bad.  My question is... is it ok to replace the broil heating element with a generic part (same part number, of course) from a local appliance parts business, or do you recommend replacing it with a "genuine oem" part from GE (twice the cost of the generic part)?

Another related issue I'm curious about.... My oven still heats up, albeit very slowly (40 minutes to reach 350º) because it's only using the bottom element, but now the oven's temp sensor and the separate thermometer we hang from the top rack don't match, especially as the oven gets hotter.  Before the top element stopped working, both thermometers/sensors were always very similar.  Now, when the oven's display reaches 350º, the internal thermometer says 450º.  I see the oven's sensor is located in the upper left of the oven.  Is the top element's failure to heat up somehow having an effect on the sensor?  

Thank you.

[J5*]

yes bad element wil explain your temp issues 

is it ok to use a generic element ? 

the direction you will generally hear is yes use genuine parts only

the problem with many generic parts is where do they come from ? 

cheap as far as made cheap from crap factories tend to not last as long 

I do have a supplier that only buys the good stuff from the OEM factory with all the right markings and if he cant get em from there he doesnt sell em as been burnt before