$1000 for a replacement side door mirror!?$!?$

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

She owes you dinner!!!

She already bought me dinner!

[Evans, Marv]

I think I'll keep my '03 F350 for several more years. It gets lower tech as each year passes. I miss the days when you could open the hood and see the ground.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

And this is what makes being an indie totally suck.

The writing's on the wall...the days of the indie repair shop/body shop are coming to an end. With vehicles becoming festooned with more cameras, radars, and sensors with each new model year, who'll assume responsibility for reliable repair and readjustment of these increasingly more-complex systems? For example, if an indie body shop repairs front end damage on a vehicle, then the autonomous driving subsequently fails due to sensor malfunction and causes an accident, who's gonna get sued? Will indie shops be able to afford enough insurance to cover such instances, or will they simply just pull up stakes and go away?

Originally Posted by Nickshu

"I can't get that part" or "Only the dealer can do that".....

This will be heard much more often in the not-so-distant future. Only manufacturers will be able to assume the liability for proper repairs to these tech-laden vehicles. They'll be the only ones who can afford to...

[flatbutt]

Imagine this...Saturday afternoon, out in the garage with a box containing points, condenser, spark plugs, oil and air filters, ice cold cokes, a pizza and the Yankees on the radio. I sure do miss that. Worse still, I can't do that with my grandchildren.

[ian c2]

Our work f-150s where allways fleet ordered the same basic spec , the same paint etc. even as ford did it’s yearly updates .
Nobody cared , it’s just a liveried work truck .

then after a couple of years somebody looked at it , and as we “specced” the vehicle rather than saying “base production model” , we were paying more for having wind-up windows etc.

So the story goes anyway .

I know nothing about fleet management and purchasing etc. but it’s believable

Talking of mirrors , I just paid around 250 just for the glass on a 964 drivers mirror ....

[Hendog]

I nearly bought a Honda Accord Touring CPO car. I struck a deal and put down my deposit, but the car was not yet ready to turn around since it just came in. The windshield had been replaced but the technology mounted in the top of the windshield had not yet been calibrated. I said I would pick it up in a day or two whenever it was ready; no rush. Every day I got a call saying it would not be ready since they’re having problems calibrating it. They even tried another windshield but still no joy. Finally the salesman said something about it needing a factory Honda windshield. WTF were they using in the first place? I figured they were putting in something other than a OEM Windshield, probably because the “right” one was more expensive. This dealer probably never encountered this scenario and was learning the hard way. I asked for my deposit back and never did buy that car. I’m liking my old ‘02 Accord more and more, which I bought new back then; low tech and runs good.

[petrolhead611]

I have this constant worry about my 2018 Hyundai getting hit when parked, because of all the tech around the perimeter of the car, particularly at the front end where the radar sensor unit is mounted flush with front, no projecting bumper to give even a modicum of protection. That unit itself costs 2500 dollars just to buy.

[petrolhead611]

I did however record 92.6 mpg this week in the Hyundai on a 62 mile journey, half highway , half twisty country lanes with some steep hills. Not bad for a car that would seat 5 Europeans if necessary.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by petrolhead611

Not bad for a car that would seat 5 Europeans if necessary.

So basically two Americans, or one American and two corn fed kids.

[porsche tech]

I can remember all the techs in our shop complaining about fuel injection when it first came along (especially on Audi). A year later they were all complaining about having to work on a car with a carburetor. The times they are a changin. Glad to be retired!

[Alan A]

The mirror on my 08 Tundra was $1000. In 08. Same deal - autodimming.
Sounds like with inflation they are getting cheaper..

[lendaddy]

This is the new model to profitability, catch the consumer on the back end. This model allows healthy profits from the the manufacturer through the parts distributors and the dealers without deterring initial purchase (which is very low margin).
I have been in the industry for almost 30 years (with a brief hiatus) and can tell you these items don't cost anywhere remotely close to the numbers at the point of production, we're talking 10-15x less (this is the high end). This is why the secondary parts market is blooming, yes there are some quality/fitment concerns but they are getting better all the time.
The hope of the industry is that everyone that can possibly afford new will do so out of fear of "repairs out of warranty".
It's the gift that keeps on giving from their perspective.

[lendaddy]

As an example, I just looked up a sub-assembly that we supply to one of the big three. This assembly is complete and e-coated (ready to install). We sell this to the mfg for roughly $24 and the list price through their parts department is >$450. So it may be even worse than I thought

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

You ain't finding a 2015 Lexus in that yard. 2001 Taurus' all day like a boss.

I know exactly what you are talking about, though.

If you are persistent sometimes you can find a gem. Back when I had my 944 (and was single) I used to go every week to stock up on clean parts for my car. One time I picked up a Saratoga glass moon roof for $25 (they sell for $800 on eBay) and a rare European lower spoiler for $20.

Typically salvaged newer cars are bought at auction by companies like LKQ that disassemble the car and part them out (for a premium) over the Internet or on eBay.

Sorry for the inconvenience