Outrageous price for head restraints

We have a '97 Caravan. Our daughter (8 yrs.) is tall enough so that
her head is as high as the seat back (bench seats). We priced the head
restraints: $287 each! I thought the guy was joking, and he was
surprised the car hadn't come with the restraints in the first place.
Why are head restraints so expensive?

Anne

 

Check a salvage yard for complete seats.

 

Our '99 T&C (Grand Caravan) came with head restraints on all but the center
rear seat.

Bob

 

I did some research, and on the plain Caravan back then, the head
restraints on the middle and rear seats were an option.

Anne

 

I'm hoping we can find them. I also hope that because the Caravan body
style remained the same for a few years, so did the head restraints.
That way, we'll have more potential cars to choose from.

Anne

 

Yes, we're the original owners. I did a little more research and
learned that in '97 the plain-vanilla Caravan didn't come equipped
with the middle- and rear-bench head restraints; it was an option. I
don't recall being offered the option, and we didn't think to ask. Our
daughter was a baby at the time (and was in a car seat), and I guess
we didn't realize we might own the car for the next seven years! We
have plans to go rummaging through some salvage yards in the next few
weeks.

I was just shocked at the price of the restraints bought new.

Anne

 

Good luck in your Junk Yard search! One word of warning though. Be
prepared to lose considerable rear window visibility when you install the
rear head restraints. This was the first thing I noticed when we traded in
our older Grand Caravan for the '99 T&C. It really forced me to use the side
rear view mirrors a lot more than previously.

Bob