Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 21:40:59 -0600 From: "Walt Kienzle" <wkienzlenospam.net> Subject: Re: Rant - parts prices
"LauraK" <lkrznospamcomnospam> wrote in message news:20040401201432.16880.00000549nospam28.aol.com... > >I have a solution. > >Go out and buy that Suzuki Cappuccino up the road. > >Don't let me put you off but once you have one of those, everything else > >seems really cheap. > >Take a headlamp for example. Go on, I dare you to ask. > > Or a Mazda. A friend of mine who owns a large auto body shop says that Mazda > body panels/plastic bits are the most expensive he's run into, even for their > cheap cars like the Protege. It's reflected in the costs to insure them. > I owned a Mazda at the time that had gotten hit and needed headlight and front > trim and a fender replaced. He did the labor for free and charged me his cost > for the parts, which was over $1,200 for a few bits of plastic and a used > fender. Like he said, you'd think they were made of gold the way they charged > for them. > > > lauraknospamousergraphics.com > http://www.madmousergraphics.com > web design, print design, photography > > Really? I owned a 323 (actually a GLC, as it was called in the US), where I binked out a taillight lens. The dealer wanted less than $30 for the entire assembly and it came complete with bulbs installed. I thought it was a deal -- but that was many years ago, before they tried to make that model sound more exotic by renaming it "Protoge". Walt Kienzle