Online Mopar parts source these days? (Q&A)

[psycho_pastrami]

Price some Mazda parts and see what you come up with. I priced a generic-looking motor mount for one I had a coupla years ago. They wanted over $200. I replaced all four mounts in my Cadillac for well under that. Ignition switch for the Mazda: also over $200 just for the part (and that was an '87 model).

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

A friend of mine just had to replace the air intake hose going from the air cleaner to the air box. Just a standard vacuum cleaner looking hose that costs about $5.00 for most cars.

Mazda wanted $90.00.

psycho

 

[Steve (archive)]

I know, but based my decision to stick with Mopar based on past comments of problems with after market tensioners in this very newsgroup. The truth of the matter is that the old ones were working fine, but as long as I had the
3.5L apart to replace the 3 timing cover/housing to block O-rings, I did not want to have to get in there to replace them any time in the near future so I replaced them along with the water pump and timing belt. ( I carry the old tensioner, idler, and all the belts in my trunk just in case they are needed....)

Bob

I avoided the OEM idler because it's plastic. The very first timing belt change, I put in an all-metal replacement (IIRC I got it at a CarQuest parts store) and have never looked back.

I avoid OEM/dealer lowest-bidder parts whenever possible. There are exceptions, such as when a revised part comes out to cure a chronic problem (eg- early 3.5L water pump failures) but once a car is 10 years old there's absolutely no reason to pay premium prices for lowest-bidder-built parts.

 

[Steve (archive)]

Price some Mazda parts and see what you come up with. I priced a generic-looking motor mount for one I had a coupla years ago. They wanted over $200. I replaced all four mounts in my Cadillac for well under that. Ignition switch for the Mazda: also over $200 just for the part (and that was an '87 model).

Bill Putney

Yeah, I recently got a face-full of that. Someone posted on Rec.autos.tech that they were looking for an O2 sensor for an early-90s (or maybe late 80s) Mazda compact car, and they wanted a better price than $200. Chuckling smugly to myself, I fired up napaonline.com expecting to be able to find it for $50-$70 like every other 02 sensor on God's green earth.

Ulp. Nope. >$200. And people *buy* these cars? Sheesh.

 

[psycho_pastrami]

Yeah, I recently got a face-full of that. Someone posted on Rec.autos.tech that they were looking for an O2 sensor for an early-90s (or maybe late 80s) Mazda compact car, and they wanted a better price than $200. Chuckling smugly to myself, I fired up napaonline.com expecting to be able to find it for $50-$70 like every other 02 sensor on God's green earth.

Ulp. Nope. >$200. And people *buy* these cars? Sheesh.

They are great cars to drive..................................
Until one breaks

I had a friend who had a 626 turbo model (90's?) and thank God he was friends with a guy who had a repair shop and would let him use the lift in the off hours.

Doing virtually ANYTHING to that car was a nightmare.
They literally built the body around the engine, hid bolts where you couldn't find them, used 3 different size bolts to mount one part and so forth.

Parts costs were also insanely high at the time.

We spent many "happy" hours under that pig because even routine stuff was not easy at all.

The only car I have ever seen that was worse was a 80's something Lancia that my friend owned. He broke a belt and upon attempting to change the belt (water pump I think, not a serp belt) the book said something like:

Step 1: To remove the belt first remove either the engine or lift the body off the car. Note: It is suggested that lifting the body will be the preferred method.

Step 2: Replace the belt.

If I didn't see it with my own 2 eyeballs I would not have believed it.

He ended up putting one of those temporary split belts on and sold the car.

psycho

 

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

And they were.

I doubt if the "current economy" had anything to do with it. Somethin' smells funny when a business as well established and popular as Koller Dodge "goes out of business" and instantly reappears under a new name. I suspect management malfeasance or incompetence, or maybe tax "issues".

Or it could simply be that the original owners sold out to new ones. Sometimes the sale contracts specify a closing date in advance, so the original owner may blow out parts and such to squeeze the last drops of profit out of the business before turning it over.

Ted