Rant on expensive parts on cheap cars.

[LaserSVT]

WTF is it with these damn expensive parts on cheap cars? When wheel bearings went from $9 to $390 because they are now a hub with a sensor in them I didn't make a stink. When the $16 TPS sensors became part of a $900 electronic throttle body, I still understood the changes. But then $200 steering racks became these $1200+ electronic bitches and I really thought GM lost their mind. Now doing a water pump that should have been all of $30 is almost $300..... on a Malibu! WTF? Now it has a sensor in it and its worth $300? They are making cars to be thrown away. That's all I can figure.

Even KIA, I am used to spending $150 on a new AC compressor. KIAs are $400+! And then they love to get you in other areas. Like the surge tank for the cooling system. The cap is $1.86, great price! They neglect to tell you that you also need to order the rubber insert separately for $19. For a round piece of rubber.

[Tremor14]

k.

[mstng86]

I agree. F rubbers

[LaserSVT]

I like turtles.

[Sean88gt]

Parts are what makes the world go 'round.

[Baron Von Crowder]

That's a hugely deep subject.

The OE's pulled their heads out of their collective asses and figured out there's a huge market in parts that they were missing the boat on. A good majority of those parts arent made by that OE, and once the allotted time-frame goes away, that manufacturer can sell them to anyone. We buy tons (literally!) of headlamps from Hella, that are the original run of OEM lamps on lots of cars, for example. There's been several different things done recently, like ford suing anyone who sold a repop fender, etc.

Another thing that's been being implemented is what you are talking about with the sensor, making parts assemblies that arent easily reproduced, or possibly against patent laws. They cant keep that part from being produced forever, but they want to get their money when they can. Sort of like pharmaceuticals, they want to corner the market and make as much as they can before the generics.

Then the CAFE standards are getting tough to meet, so electric steering and other odd things that dont really mean shit to the consumer comes into effect, so that few hp that a power steering pump uses can be saved and keep the MPG's up.

ill stop rambling, I can go on for days on this subject.

[LaserSVT]

That's a hugely deep subject.

The OE's pulled their heads out of their collective asses and figured out there's a huge market in parts that they were missing the boat on. A good majority of those parts arent made by that OE, and once the allotted time-frame goes away, that manufacturer can sell them to anyone. We buy tons (literally!) of headlamps from Hella, that are the original run of OEM lamps on lots of cars, for example. There's been several different things done recently, like ford suing anyone who sold a repop fender, etc.

Another thing that's been being implemented is what you are talking about with the sensor, making parts assemblies that arent easily reproduced, or possibly against patent laws. They cant keep that part from being produced forever, but they want to get their money when they can. Sort of like pharmaceuticals, they want to corner the market and make as much as they can before the generics.

Then the CAFE standards are getting tough to meet, so electric steering and other odd things that dont really mean shit to the consumer comes into effect, so that few hp that a power steering pump uses can be saved and keep the MPG's up.

ill stop rambling, I can go on for days on this subject.

Makes sense.

I don't see this issue with Ford save for a few parts like Mustang tail lights or computer systems but general stuff like water pumps and such I can get. GM and Dodge have so many parts on their under 5 year old vehicles that I can ONLY get at the dealer. Just like this water pump for a 2013 Malibu. Nobody local even had a listing for it. Just happened that the dealer has many in stock.

And again with KIA. Their AC systems use a very odd o-ring size throughout the system. I have thousands of O-rings to fit anything out there. Except a damn KIA. Always have to order directly from them. Some of them they wont sell by themselves too. The passenger side near a service port the pipe is split and couples together. The o-ring in it is prone to leak. You can only get the o-ring with the $70 hose.


Actually I forgot about another Ford stupid thing. On the Super Duty if you happen to break one of the hard brake lines for the rear they wont just sell you the line. You have to buy it with the fuel hoses and retainers at $900. Good thing I have a bender and compression fitting maker. LOL

[A_A_G]

Stick to Honda and Toyotas. Problem solved.

[big_tiger]

Stick to Honda and Toyotas. Problem solved.

Because the cars are more reliable??? Their parts can be just as expensive.

[JC316]

Stick to Honda and Toyotas. Problem solved.

Like when my 01 Prelude lost it's ECM and the entire anti theft system had to be changed to match it? I went used and it still cost me $300.

My 98 seville had a water cooled alternator. Talk about an expensive bastard to fix.

[Baba Ganoush]

That's why I own three Ford Rangers. Simple and cheap just like me.

[Strychnine]

Parts are what makes the world go 'round.

40% parts margin is hard to complain about.

Then the CAFE standards are getting tough to meet, so electric steering and other odd things that dont really mean shit to the consumer comes into effect, so that few hp that a power steering pump uses can be saved and keep the MPG's up.

Just wait, someone will legislate that one day also...

A study released last week showed that charging your phone in your car reduces efficiency by an average of 0.03 mpg.

assumed that a typical smartphone connected to WiFi or the Internet needs about 4.8 watts of energy to charge in a car. (Delphi estimates that some less-efficient models draw twice that amount.) For a vehicle getting about 30 miles per gallon, that’s a 0.03 mpg loss, he said. Spread out across about 3 trillion road miles motorists drive each year in the U.S. -- assuming an average speed of 30 mph -- the estimated extra usage is 100 million gallons of gasoline, or about $200 million in costs, said Bereisa, the chief executive officer of Auto Electrification LLC in Sunrise Beach, Missouri.

Across the fleet of vehicles in the U.S., that would mean about 970,000 tons of extra planet-warming carbon dioxide a year, according to calculations by Jon Bereisa, a retired General Motors Co. engineering executive who studies vehicle power usage

[Craizie]

I'll tell you why GM parts are so high. Their inventory system sucks fucking shit. I can't tell you how many planes I've chartered because they have a "plant down" situation and they need a $3 sensor to keep going. They are paying 20k to have 2k work of sensors sent to them.

[Ruffdaddy]

I'll tell you why GM parts are so high. Their inventory system sucks fucking shit. I can't tell you how many planes I've chartered because they have a "plant down" situation and they need a $3 sensor to keep going. They are paying 20k to have 2k work of sensors sent to them.

Just in time manufacturing!!!

[A_A_G]

Like when my 01 Prelude lost it's ECM and the entire anti theft system had to be changed to match it? I went used and it still cost me $300.

Are you the original owner? Any other non-maintenance expenses with it?