parts getting cheaper!

[FeuerFrei]

My car is reaching an advanced age - 25 years - and parts are rather affordable now. $60 (shipped) for an OEM radiator?! I know a repair shop would charge me $600 for a radiator job (parts/labor).

(Sorry - don't have prices from years ago for reference.)

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Welcome to the "old car cult and fetish club". My car is 24 years old, and I think it'll be good for another ten -- if I won't run into a dead-end replacing some emissions-control device. Smog-test last year was better than 2002, when I purchased the then-7-year-old vehicle. A radiator for my Trooper can run me between $90 and $150 at Rock Auto.

I'm not sure parts are getting cheaper. But I don't think they're getting astronomically more expensive. Between cheaper and expensive, there's always the problem that some parts just aren't available anymore.

For instance, I wanted to replace my hood-lock/latch and release cable. I've found two official Isuzu parts outlets -- they're still in the commercial truck business and they support their old lines of passenger cars. I found the items on their web-site; nothing said "no longer available", and I checked the "Add to Cart" buttons and checked out. Half hour later, I received an e-mail noting that the latch and hood-release cable are no longer available, and that my order was cancelled.

You might want to take a little time every other day or so over a month or two, and do a survey of new parts, used parts and sources. If something is already hard to find but you're still able to find it, you might weigh the pros and cons of replacing it now -- or just buying the part to keep on hand.

I'm not in a panic to buy parts for my old car, and I really need to discipline my expenditures in view of an option to buy a new vehicle. But these potential troubles run through my mind often. Otherwise, like the redneck mechanic from Thornburg, VA once told me -- "It's purr-feck! Purr-feck!"

 

[RLGL]

My car is reaching an advanced age - 25 years - and parts are rather affordable now. $60 (shipped) for an OEM radiator?! I know a repair shop would charge me $600 for a radiator job (parts/labor).

(Sorry - don't have prices from years ago for reference.)

Remember one thing; you get what you pay for!

 

[FeuerFrei]

Remember one thing; you get what you pay for!

Shhh.. I can't hear you.
lol

I don't know ... it's a Denso part.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Welcome to the "old car cult and fetish club". My car is 24 years old, and I think it'll be good for another ten -- if I won't run into a dead-end replacing some emissions-control device. Smog-test last year was better than 2002, when I purchased the then-7-year-old vehicle. A radiator for my Trooper can run me between $90 and $150 at Rock Auto.

I'm not sure parts are getting cheaper. But I don't think they're getting astronomically more expensive. Between cheaper and expensive, there's always the problem that some parts just aren't available anymore.

For instance, I wanted to replace my hood-lock/latch and release cable. I've found two official Isuzu parts outlets -- they're still in the commercial truck business and they support their old lines of passenger cars. I found the items on their web-site; nothing said "no longer available", and I checked the "Add to Cart" buttons and checked out. Half hour later, I received an e-mail noting that the latch and hood-release cable are no longer available, and that my order was cancelled.

You might want to take a little time every other day or so over a month or two, and do a survey of new parts, used parts and sources. If something is already hard to find but you're still able to find it, you might weigh the pros and cons of replacing it now -- or just buying the part to keep on hand.

I'm not in a panic to buy parts for my old car, and I really need to discipline my expenditures in view of an option to buy a new vehicle. But these potential troubles run through my mind often. Otherwise, like the redneck mechanic from Thornburg, VA once told me -- "It's purr-feck! Purr-feck!"

No smog tests in these parts.

I agree ... I'm not saying they're getting cheaper across the industry ... just for my particular car. Nice to finally find out how much the components are REALLY worth - thanks to falling demand. After a certain point, they're just glad to sell any, and prices level out.
I do know there's less selection these days. The Toyota-branded stuff rises higher as it gets scarcer.

I haven't shopped for parts for a couple years ... so the prices changes seem more noteworthy than if I'd been constantly monitoring them.

 

[mindless1]

Could be falling demand, or could be the parts are now made in a country with cheaper labor and quality, even from the same brand.

The opposite also happens. Due to lack of demand, manufacturer stop making it, the lowest cost sellers sell out, and then what should cost very little ends up selling for whatever the owner of the rare parts wants for them, then when those are gone too (or too obscure to find) you're stuck with used parts.

One thing I almost never do that goes against the advice of many supposed experts is buy OEM parts. Certain custom pieces like a door widow switch might not be made by anyone else, but when it comes to many must-have parts, there are usually other major manufacturers, sometimes even the same one that made the factory part for the OEM, selling much cheaper without the OEM markup.

On the other hand some of this price difference could also be what I mentioned above, that the source of these branded 3rd party parts is now China/etc with lower quality. Even many major brands have a lower tier alternative part to be cost competitive in that price segment, or same parent company that spun off a budget brand to do so.

 

[EXCellR8]

My '06 Impreza just hit 100k over the weekend and I find that the price of certain OE parts is typically higher, especially if you're buying from a dealer which, to me, is an obvious last resort. For example, I needed a pair of front end links and the Subaru brand (I don't know the actual OE supplier) was $70+ but a pair of grease-able MOOG end links was $35 or so. The OE design is basically trash so I opted for the MOOG pair.

Looking at the radiator... MSRP on OE is $325 but I can get a Spectra or Denso for around $100

 

[BonzaiDuck]

It could be interesting, in the "new-car" versus "long-maintenance" discussion. Somewhere in this forum in the last week, I mentioned putting together an Excel spreadsheet with the chronology, mileage and details of parts-replacement to assess "Total Cost of Ownership". I figure the initial ownership cycle on a new car would be 90,000 miles and six years, or the mileage without fail and the time to pay off a new car loan.

To me, the deciding factor is engine longevity before overhaul. A transmission would be the second most-costly item, and all the other parts would be in the $100 to $500 range. I can only speculate that my own Trooper auto-trans died at 120,000 miles because I wasn't paying attention to warning lights over a 2,000 mile stretch. And my review of the Excel spreadsheet inclines me to think that it's cheaper over the long run to keep a car beyond the initial cycle, or buy "pre-owned" and do the same thing.

More to the point, these lesser parts are not likely to have an impact on the overall numbers if you hold a car for 10 or 15 years. But it becomes a problem when there is scarcity, when OEM gives way to remanufactured, and remanufactured gives way to a search of online junkyard offerings like Automotix or Autopartsfair.

I miss the old local junkyard days. I'd set aside a weekend. Pack a Sierra day-pack with cheese, crackers and beverage. Put on my old fatigues, gloves and sunglasses. And carry a small toolbox into the grimy realm of a vast junkyard. Then I'd lay my finds on the counter at days end, pay cash, and cross my fingers that my newly-acquired parts would last for a reasonable timespan. I've even bought junkyard engines and paid to have them overhauled and installed. At least, the overhaul kits were still available.

I kept three 1979 Honda Civics in tip-top running condition for 20 years with that routine. I still want to pop the guy in the face who rear-ended my pride and glory ride one Sunday on the southbound Shirley Highway. It was 1999, and that little sucker was otherwise expected to run without fail for another ten years.

 

[Jimzz]

Shhh.. I can't hear you.
lol

I don't know ... it's a Denso part.

Denso quality has dropped a lot on their radiators, basic Chinese now, and even their oil filters are just basic ones as well. Electric parts that I have seen recently are still good though.

So be carful buying on name alone.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Denso quality has dropped a lot on their radiators, basic Chinese now, and even their oil filters are just basic ones as well. Electric parts that I have seen recently are still good though.

So be carful buying on name alone.

In the 1960s and even 1970s, we associated Japanese quality with those bamboo pop-guns with corks. Your average blue-jean-logo-wearing bearded Harley-chopper enthusiast would laugh at the Honda 50s and the upstart ambitions of Kawasaki. Then, we find that W. E. Deming had been working with Japanese industry since the 50s. The myth quickly began to fade.

One would think -- or hope -- that the same manufacturing culture would eventually take hold in China. It's safe to say the South Koreans have continued the tradition. So how much of the current perception is empirical observation, and how much of it is myth? Or -- why the difference in basic old-tech parts and the electronics?

 

[FeuerFrei]

Denso quality has dropped a lot on their radiators, basic Chinese now, and even their oil filters are just basic ones as well. Electric parts that I have seen recently are still good though.

So be carful buying on name alone.

Key info there. I appreciate the insight on Denso parts. I trust you're in a position to know these things?
If anyone can corroborate his assessment, I'm all ears. So many brands to choose from.

 

[EXCellR8]

I can vouch for most Denso electronic parts, and those related to fuel and ignition systems.

I find that it's hit or miss with most ABS plastic + aluminum radiators and not full aluminum ones which are obviously better and more durable. I've been trying to find a combo radiator and oil cooler from a reputable OE supplier but it's all aftermarket "premium" parts on the market.