Auto Parts Cost Rant

[higgins]

https://www.oempartsource.com/

I just installed the weatherstrips on the bottom of the side windows on my Tundra double cab with genuine Toyota parts from these people, about half the price from the Toyota dealership. The new pieces snapped right in, no fuss no cuss.

[xs11jack]

If I remember right, When a dealer gets a part in, he tacks on 40%. With that kind of money on very expensive parts, I wonder what kind of house the dealer lives in.
Ole Jack

[BigMagShooter]

rock auto
parts geek and a few others get your parts cheap and shipped to you.

actually, cars are getting easier to fix.

You can get an OBD2 code reader for the codes now for about $100 tell you the basics.

for an extra $100 get the high end one that will help you diagnose the car.

they are getting so advanced technologically they tell you exactly what is wrong and what to replace.

as high teck as the cars get they still need fuel, air, mixed and spark and compression, basics never change.

[JWT]

Junk it or sell it for what you car. Any car with that many problems at such low mileage is only destined to nickle and dime you to death.

I wanted to take care of the shaky front end end sell this car. I think I will take a huge hit in the price with the shaking, and I don't want to pass on a potential safety problem.

[tomme boy]

Catalytic converters??? I cut them off and put a straight pipe in their place when they go bad. My Jeep has one rattling right now. Should cut it off before it goes completely. I got a guy that gives me $100 for ea one that still has the core in them.

[turtlezx]

cant do that in states that require inspections

[David2011]

If I remember right, When a dealer gets a part in, he tacks on 40%. With that kind of money on very expensive parts, I wonder what kind of house the dealer lives in.
Ole Jack

Many years before the Internet I went to the Ford dealership to buy a part. The man in from of me bought the same part. He had an independent repair shop and they charged him exactly half of what they charged me. Markup must be better than 40% to do that.

[Duckiller]

Be glad you don't live inCalifornia. Cars/trucks are inspected every other year. A catalyic converter that cost $400.00 in other states costs $2000.00here. Has to be Air Resource Board certified you know.

[jonp]

Ha! Each plug of my 2005 Ford F150 is stupidly priced at $19.99 EACH. Two piece plug that will break.
Oh well. I had the rear window regulator break a cable last month. Can't just get cable or even motor, whole assembly. $100 at local stores. $35 shipped to me thru ebay. And works fine with same warranty. Parts are stupid high, but having them installed for you is EXTREMELY RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Glad I can still wrench.

I've got an 04 with the 5.4 Triton. I feel your pain

[jonp]

Just got back in the house from trying to work on the wife's 2009 HHR. The lower control arms are shot. I looked up all of the information on how to replace them as well as the costs and then went out and put kroil on all of the fasteners. I started disassembly on the passenger side first. Ball joint and frame mount came apart fine (3 bolts down and 1 to go). The bushing mount... It seems that when I had the transmission replaced/repaired at 106,000 miles that they had an issue with the cradle bolt that goes through the bushing, so instead of a bolt head I have what looks like a rusted washer and nylock nut that have been welded to a stud or the remains of the cut off bolt. There is no way to remove the lower control arm.

So now I have a car that shakes so badly that it is unsafe without a way to repair it that doesn't cost more than the car is worth. Oh, and the transmission is slipping (145,000 miles) again.

How should I address this problem?

Tannerite.

Seriously, you can cut off the bolt head with a Dremel and drill it out then re-tap the hole if you have to? You can get a set of cheap taps from Harbor Freight that will work for the amount you want. When I took the bottom pulley off the front of my F150 to remove the front cover and do a timing job I misthreaded the bolt putting it back on and dinged the first several threads. I got the kit from HF and easily cleaned the hole. Pretty angry when I first ruined the hole but after I calmed down I thought "ok, I'm not the first guy who ever did that" and sure enough there was a youtube video

[Remmy4477]

If you don't need it now, buy online.
Had a cracked plastic radiator in my chevy cavalier, local stores $180+ depending on who it was.
Found it online for $50 shipped, had it within 3 days.
Funny part. It's the same supplier for a few of the box stores!

[drizler]

Prices of parts has become a real problem.
Used to be a tune up cost under $100.
These days just the wire set can cost $100.
I remember buying plugs for under $1
Now they run $3 for the same plug.
Now they have those "special" plugs that can cost over $30 each.
New cars do run cleaner, get better millage.
But as they get older, they get dirty, eat more gas, and just don't run right.
I miss the old days when you didn't need a $1000 tool to do repairs.

Sure things were cheaper but look at it the other way. Many of those replacement items like spark plugs and distributors get changed only a time or two in the life of the vehicle. Personally I find them easier to work on as well and they don’t tend to have as many recurring issues . Coolant lasts twice as long as well as does the motor oil.
Sure the parts cost a bundle but when you consider you’re buying less of them over time it’s really not so bad.



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[Handloader109]

A couple of more things. I worked during High school for Auto parts. Even back in early 70s there were three price lists.
Highest, which was what a shop charged a customer, (in most cases) was list price. Say $100 for a water pump. Next was a walk in price, which the average joe got when he came in. Would be about $75 for same pump. The shop that bought regularly from us got the cheapest price, which would be about $45 for that pump. We paid about $35, and the distributor we bought from $30. That was the markups.

I would imagine very little has changed. If you go to shop to have installed, you pay the $100 plus labor/shop rate min. Internet would put sale price between shop price and distributor price depending on how much they want to make selling the items. Buy from internet seller if possible. Oh, I've bought two radiators over past 5 years (two different cars) for my Miatas. Plastic fiberglass reinforced top that deteriorates over 5-8 years. Local is over a hundred, I got last one for under $50 delivered.

[woodbutcher]

Gee.All of the above is why I love my 1984 F150.300 ci inline 6.C6 automatic with about 450K miles on it with no problems.Only time out of the truck was for a flex plate replacement about 3 years ago.Got gid of the computer controlled carb.It was wore out.Also replaced the TFI ign system with the DS2,and the gas mileage went from 8mpg on the hiway to 16 on the hiway.Starts and runs much better too.Going to update the exhaust system as soon as a friend has some spare time to give me a hand.Going to install the EFI exhaust manifolds and plumbing.It`s all a simple bolt on deal.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Traffer]

I did a lot of work on my 1999 Honda Civic a short while ago. Replaced the entire front end. All Struts. Shocks, ball joints, tie rod ends, brakes, rotors, swing arms, even the power steering pump. Some parts for the AC and an entire exhaust system. Parts totaled about $350. The complete exhaust (minus catalytic converter) Cost $130. All stainless aftermarket with 2 1/4" pipe instead of 1 7/8". Parts for OEM exhaust were $800. Moral of the story...aftermarket stuff from eBay for WAAAAAAY cheaper.

[30calflash]

You can check prices online, helps immensely. For my 20 YO Mazda B2600 Rock auto had it way below what it could be had for from a parts store, even with a garage discount from where I work. With Rock they have various suppliers for a part and the price is listed. If you want a better quality part you will tend to pay more for it, in general. But you can save money online.

I cringe at some costs, even with the discount available. Even if SOME vehicles and problems are easier to work on many are not. And the equipment to diagnose ALL of the issues can cost a lot more than you think. Low buck helps but it will take you only so far.

[drizler]

You can check prices online, helps immensely. For my 20 YO Mazda B2600 Rock auto had it way below what it could be had for from a parts store, even with a garage discount from where I work. With Rock they have various suppliers for a part and the price is listed. If you want a better quality part you will tend to pay more for it, in general. But you can save money online.

I cringe at some costs, even with the discount available. Even if SOME vehicles and problems are easier to work on many are not. And the equipment to diagnose ALL of the issues can cost a lot more than you think. Low buck helps but it will take you only so far.

I helped a friend of mine replaced his 2003 HD GMC fuel lines last summer. He got his from Rock and saved a bundle. One of the lines had a leak at one of the flex joints that they build in those. He called up rack they fired another one off immediately and they wanted that other one back so they could see where it was leaking and how . I don’t think you to get better service than that from General Motors andYou know very well how much their stuff is
Personally I buy all kinds of stuff from them And I have nothing but good things to say about them. What I don’t like one bit is there shipping from those various where houses. That can really add up and creates a pain in the neck if you’re buying like the whole front end with various pieces.
Come to think of it from buying parts like I do constantly all over the Internet I just assumed by and there is the school around downtown. Why first they beat New York State out to some of their ill-gotten thievery. Secondly everything you go to buy they got a order it too and guess what it’s as often as not faster for me to do it. Nobody seems to stock anything anymore



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[merlin101]

Prices of parts has become a real problem.
Used to be a tune up cost under $100.
These days just the wire set can cost $100.
I remember buying plugs for under $1
Now they run $3 for the same plug.
Now they have those "special" plugs that can cost over $30 each.
New cars do run cleaner, get better millage.
But as they get older, they get dirty, eat more gas, and just don't run right.
I miss the old days when you didn't need a $1000 tool to do repairs.

Plugs now a days last 100,000 mi or so,How many of the old $2-3 plugs would you go thru in that same time?
I know the prices are up specially at local stores some of that's the internet sales some because of bozos that mess stuff up and then return on warranty.
Say what you will but I don't want to go back to the 'good ole days' . I run my truck 2850 miles a week and change the oil every 50,000 miles yes 50,000! I've got 198,900 on it ant its yet to use any oil at all. Yea it a big diesel but the technology is basically the same for cars! High prices suck but I'm not looking back.

[RogerDat]

Just got back in the house from trying to work on the wife's 2009 HHR. The lower control arms are shot. I looked up all of the information on how to replace them as well as the costs and then went out and put kroil on all of the fasteners. I started disassembly on the passenger side first. Ball joint and frame mount came apart fine (3 bolts down and 1 to go). The bushing mount... It seems that when I had the transmission replaced/repaired at 106,000 miles that they had an issue with the cradle bolt that goes through the bushing, so instead of a bolt head I have what looks like a rusted washer and nylock nut that have been welded to a stud or the remains of the cut off bolt. There is no way to remove the lower control arm.

So now I have a car that shakes so badly that it is unsafe without a way to repair it that doesn't cost more than the car is worth. Oh, and the transmission is slipping (145,000 miles) again.

How should I address this problem?

Any reason you can't use a 4" grinder with a cut off wheel on that welded bolt? Or even a grinder wheel and just grind it down? Might want to use water frequently to keep any rubber bushing from over heating. If you don't have that tool they can be had for fairly low price at Harbor Freight. Might also look at an oscillating saw with a metal cutting blade if that shape works better for reaching that location.

Yes vehicles have gotten pretty darned complicated and expensive to repair. They work better and last longer but man when they start to go it can be like a house of cards.

Bad spark plugs in Ford Escape V6 can cost a fortune. The plugs will go like 60k plus miles BUT if the gap gets too large the resistance throws the charge back at the ECM and the $450 brain is fried without warning or symptoms. And recalibrating that brain to work with the chip in your key is another $150 or more with no way for you to set the brain up without a $40,000 piece of equipment. Combine that with the intake manifold having to come off to get to the 3 spark plug & coils on the back end with corresponding labor charges and gasket cost. The 6 coil on plug units at $75 each and just the 60,000 mile scheduled maintenance can easily exceed the cost of some cars I have bought and driven. Routine maint. parts should not be buried like that in my opinion.

I think some of it has to do with the auto makers squeezing their suppliers to keep the parts as cheap on the assembly line means the manufacturers of the parts have to make it up in the replacement market.

[jonp]

I did a lot of work on my 1999 Honda Civic a short while ago. Replaced the entire front end. All Struts. Shocks, ball joints, tie rod ends, brakes, rotors, swing arms, even the power steering pump. Some parts for the AC and an entire exhaust system. Parts totaled about $350. The complete exhaust (minus catalytic converter) Cost $130. All stainless aftermarket with 2 1/4" pipe instead of 1 7/8". Parts for OEM exhaust were $800. Moral of the story...aftermarket stuff from eBay for WAAAAAAY cheaper.

Did the same thing to my 1997 Honda CRV. Struts, ball joints, tie rods, engine mounts etc, even an entire exhaust with pipes for under $200. Got all the parts online and saved a ton. The 97 generation may be on the edge of the last ones that you can get some wrenches out and replace everything in your driveway.

I keep thinking about selling it but with under 175k on it, it has become an experiment to see how long it will last. A little oil leak but that's it. Daily commuter that gets 28mpg and is AWD. WooHoo....