Amazon launches part print in 2019. Take a picture or use the amazon ODB connect app and have your new parts printed locally and delivered within hours. Optionally have it professionally installed and recycled to make future parts cheaper. /daydream
So many need this. The cost of parts is outrageous. I remember reading some settlements where international part manufacturers were caught price fixing, but have not seen any relief in costs.
If it's emissions related they know you'll pay or many places won't let you register your car.
The cost of repairs has made it so I will never purchase an Infinity vehicle again. The cost of parts has me asking how many O2 sensors a car has in it before I consider it for buying. (that this is an expensive issue is imho dumb)
Local repair shop owner on radio show says they need to markup parts by 30% in order to pay for rent and insurance on the shops, and they need to markup the labor 30% to stay in business. So the only way for those repair shops to stay in business is to charge people more than their vehicle is worth to fix them, and depends on cities forcing emissions tests to make it impossible to drive without replacing expensive parts.
This isn't working well, though I suppose it is helping to sell new cars at the expense of the environment and those who are fine with upcycling older vehicles.
There has got to be a way to bring down the cost of replacement parts.
Are there any initiatives to have standard fit parts they fit multiple vehicles like generic drugs? I'd weigh that in the decision to buy a new car and it would affect the used car market well too.
Catalytic converter for one of my vehicles is $1800 they say, and it should be assumed that although check engine light is warning about one being bad, the second in the car is bound to need replacing very soon as well. Those two parts cost more then the vehicle is worth kelly blue book and such.
Also, is anyone doing a user part runner / grabber service? I contacted several scrap places requesting they pull and send parts from cars they had listed, none replied. Is it only an option to go there and get the part off the other vehicle in person? This process could be better, I'd pay a runner to grab some parts from a few cars.
Oh I hope Amazon continues to disrupt in this space.
For new parts, get used to RockAuto.com. Most things I buy there arrive by ground the next day (to MA from a local warehouse) or 2 days. 5% discount codes available just for the 3 minutes of googling. They have "cheap crap" parts as well as quality parts, so be thoughtful about your choice. The good parts are good (OEM is often available) and very competitively priced, with excellent search, and good logistics.
For used parts, there are a couple of online junkyards, but I've found the best plan is to find your local pick-a-parts and figure out which ones will pull parts for you. Most will in my experience, though if you go pick it yourself, you're likely to get it for far cheaper. The one in the town I grew up in had a Friday promotion where anything you could carry 50 feet was $25 (in the late 80s, probably $50 now). You could pull a transmission and get it for $50. You could pull a car hood and pile a bunch of small parts onto it and take that all for one price. The pick-a-part in the NH town I moved to after college had a basic computer system and a network of other yards they worked with. Ebay is another good outlet for some of these yards (with the associated markup). I've replaced a few parts on my wife's CR-V with Ebay junkyard parts with good results.
Even though it's annoying to pay a $1500 repair bill on an old car, if that buys you another year of service for the car, it's still a great financial trade. I do almost all my own work (no bodywork, paint, or tires and limited exhaust work) and find the price of parts quite reasonable.
So many need this. The cost of parts is outrageous. I remember reading some settlements where international part manufacturers were caught price fixing, but have not seen any relief in costs.
If it's emissions related they know you'll pay or many places won't let you register your car.
The cost of repairs has made it so I will never purchase an Infinity vehicle again. The cost of parts has me asking how many O2 sensors a car has in it before I consider it for buying. (that this is an expensive issue is imho dumb)
Local repair shop owner on radio show says they need to markup parts by 30% in order to pay for rent and insurance on the shops, and they need to markup the labor 30% to stay in business. So the only way for those repair shops to stay in business is to charge people more than their vehicle is worth to fix them, and depends on cities forcing emissions tests to make it impossible to drive without replacing expensive parts.
This isn't working well, though I suppose it is helping to sell new cars at the expense of the environment and those who are fine with upcycling older vehicles.
There has got to be a way to bring down the cost of replacement parts.
Are there any initiatives to have standard fit parts they fit multiple vehicles like generic drugs? I'd weigh that in the decision to buy a new car and it would affect the used car market well too.
Catalytic converter for one of my vehicles is $1800 they say, and it should be assumed that although check engine light is warning about one being bad, the second in the car is bound to need replacing very soon as well. Those two parts cost more then the vehicle is worth kelly blue book and such.
Also, is anyone doing a user part runner / grabber service? I contacted several scrap places requesting they pull and send parts from cars they had listed, none replied. Is it only an option to go there and get the part off the other vehicle in person? This process could be better, I'd pay a runner to grab some parts from a few cars.
Oh I hope Amazon continues to disrupt in this space.