Insane OEM part pricing

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Oh well, I paid for it and the new windshield washer nozzle is in. One nozzle was broken years ago but I had managed to JBweld it and it lasted until this winter. While cleaning the snow, it broke again. This time I decided to replace it and looked at ebay/amazon. Few people had problem in fitting of the nozzle, so I visited the local Toyota dealer.

For the single nozzle I paid $26 :-( We are talking about the black unheated plastic part with the dimension of 1/8 by 1/8 inch. What a markup!!
 
I used to buy a fair number of GM parts from the local dealer because they were so reasonable. Even hoses were cheaper than many aftermarket. After they 'went out of business' the prices are so ridiculous I can't think of anything I bought. The way the poor suppliers got worked over with the so called 'bankruptcies' of the manufacturers really bothers me with what I may get out of OEM boxes anyway.
 
+1 on the bone yard (U Pull It). Hard to beat a really nice car that was an accident loss for small and/or expensive wear items.
 
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when i had to replace them on my neon, they were (iirc)$30 for the pair at the parts counter. (but that was 5 years ago,with the car 5 years out of production, i can't imagine what they are now with the car 10 yrs out of production)
 
junkyards usually don't work for this type of item - if yours broke due to age/brittleness then a lot of other owners' parts also broke.
 
Originally Posted By: spackard
junkyards usually don't work for this type of item - if yours broke due to age/brittleness then a lot of other owners' parts also broke.


Yep, they want to sell them with whatever they are attached to.
 
Sometimes you have no other choice than OEM. Other times you can spend time (time = money?) and do better.

I had a tiny electrical relay go out on my workplace John Deere tractor. JD wanted $79.
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I Googled the oem mfg. number on the relay (Omron?) and discovered they are used in Subarus. The Subaru DEALER charged $35 for the part.
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With more time , I probably could have found it even cheaper from an electrical parts jobber.

Other times, I have bought parts cheaper at the dealer. Chrysler fan motor resistor comes to mind. It is what it is.
 
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I had a steel brake line on my 98 Dodge Caravan rust out. It was about 3 feet long and went from the master cylinder to the ABS motor/pump valve body. It was bent in some odd ways and had two different size ends on it so I couldn't just buy a generic brake line and make it fit. Called the dealer......$550. Finally shook my head and realized I could cut a new generic line and slide the fittings from the original line onto the new line. Put a flare on the new line and for $9 I was done.

$550 for a $9 line.
 
Henry Ford once said that the total cost of all the parts for a Model T would never exceed the cost of the complete car. He said the advantage of buying the car complete was that Ford would assemble it for free.

Times have changed.
 
Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
I had a steel brake line on my 98 Dodge Caravan rust out. It was about 3 feet long and went from the master cylinder to the ABS motor/pump valve body. It was bent in some odd ways and had two different size ends on it so I couldn't just buy a generic brake line and make it fit. Called the dealer......$550. Finally shook my head and realized I could cut a new generic line and slide the fittings from the original line onto the new line. Put a flare on the new line and for $9 I was done.

$550 for a $9 line.

I just bought a bunch of brake lines for my 01 Dakota. Prices were in the usual $20-$30 range.

I would guess the parts guy was quoting you the price of the ABS Control Module, even if he swore up and down it was the brake line price. If challenged the reply is usually "it is only available as part of an assembly." Sometimes this is true. Sometimes it means he hasn't made his sales quota for the month.

Rock Auto has reman ABS Control Module for your vehicle for $233, Mopar w/o traction control for $520 and Mopar w/ traction control for $815. Sounds like you got quoted the middle one.
 
Originally Posted By: HangFire
If challenged the reply is usually "it is only available as part of an assembly." Sometimes this is true. Sometimes it means he hasn't made his sales quota for the month.



Actually, a lot of times it is true.

It's up to the manufacturer as to how much they will break something down to the base components. Just because you can take something apart doesn't mean the manufacturer will sell all of the pieces separately.

The manufacturers also set the MSRPs. Dealers can sell it for whatever they want, but most probably are just following the MSRP. I do anyway. Some will go crazy marking up normally cheap items like filters, hardware, etc. though.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas

For the single nozzle I paid $26 :-( We are talking about the black unheated plastic part with the dimension of 1/8 by 1/8 inch. What a markup!!

I hear you - I paid about the same price for the same part for my Mercury. I agree it seems like an awful lot of money for what amounts to a little bit of plastic. I guess it's a matter of what the market will bear.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Oh well, I paid for it and the new windshield washer nozzle is in. One nozzle was broken years ago but I had managed to JBweld it and it lasted until this winter. While cleaning the snow, it broke again. This time I decided to replace it and looked at ebay/amazon. Few people had problem in fitting of the nozzle, so I visited the local Toyota dealer.

For the single nozzle I paid $26 :-( We are talking about the black unheated plastic part with the dimension of 1/8 by 1/8 inch. What a markup!!

Check the actual Toyota list price in the link below and let us know if you were ripped off by your dealer:

http://www.toyomotorparts.com/

It doesn't look like you were though. For my Toyota, the list price is $24.25.

Sometimes small parts can be expensive. Apple charges $30 for a $3 Chinese USB power adapter for their iPhones. At least, Toyota parts are high-quality parts made in Japan, with labor laws respected. Sadly, with the inflation, $24.25 is not that much money these days.

Also, parts like windshield nozzles hardly break and need replacement. Since the stocks can be stored for only a few years because rubber deteriorates, they need to be replenished often in the warehouse. This is probably why they are expensive: rarely needed part that is hard to make (custom made, not universal fit) and expensive to store because it has a short shelf life.
 
Originally Posted By: AandPDan
Next time try a boneyard. They're usually pretty good with small items like that.


Unfortunately, in my area, the people working the boneyards won't get off their keisters to sell such a small part.
 
It's amazing the Toyota parts that I can find on e-bay, not OEM but knock offs. Not Toyota quality but good enough. Recently priced online Toyota dealer price of $120 for a bumper end cap. E-bay $36 and rockauto had it at about the same price and claiming it's a best seller.

Decades ago got a Deco Remy relay price at Chevy dealer for $42. Got the same Delco Remy at auto parts house for $20.
 
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Funny, I just got a pair of new windshield nozzles for my neon. This winter must be rough on them.

Off topic, the new ones "fan" the spray out while the old ones had two pea-shooters. Not sure if redesign or it's how they wear.

A previous owner cobbled the hoses that lead up to them, and the old nozzles were so brittle the barb ends snapped off by looking at them wrong.

I paid $9 on ebay, was promised one, but found two in the bag.

They snap into their hole in the hood, and I doubt I could unsnap them without busting them.
 
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