• From: Lyndeborough, NH
  • Registered: 2011-05-22
  • Posts: 843

Re: Most ridiculously priced single part (replacement not uber race only)

CowDriver wrote:

One day in 2012, I discovered that the odometer on my Volvo 850 was no longer working.

Option 1: Take it to the dealer, who will only replace the entire instrument cluster.
"Nobody repairs things like that any more."      Total cost: roughly $1000 -- and I
get to waste several hours taking it there and picking it up.   Not to mention dealing
with the DMV about an odometer replacement.

Option 2: Remove the instrument cluster from the car and send it to a specialized
repair shop.  Total cost: $250 to $300, plus several hours of my time (removal & installation),
plus the car is out of action for a week or three.

Option 3: Discover a guy in Florida who has a part-time business in his garage,
making replacement injection-molded gears (the ones which "always fail").   Also
find complete step-by-step instructions, with photographs.   Total cost: $50 ($25/gear),
plus several hours of my time -- and the car is back in service the same day.

Hmmm, I'm going to spend probably half a day dealing with this problem no matter
what I do.   So the question comes down to how much to spend: (1) $1000.   (2) $250.   (3) $50

Being a cheap SOB, I chose option 3 and a few days later I had two tiny new gears.
Since it was a beautiful morning, I decided it was a perfect time to do the job.   The
total elapsed time (including lots of step-by-step photos and a test drive) was 2.5 hours.
I think it was an excellent use of my time.   smile

Now that I know how to do it, I could probably cut that in half.

Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty happy about this.   Two years later, it is still working
perfectly.

$50 at FCP Euro and two hours and I resemble this remark.

fiasco's Website

  • From: Choctaw, Oklahoma
  • Registered: 2009-11-12
  • Posts: 2,145

Re: Most ridiculously priced single part (replacement not uber race only)

I like FCP Euro. When I was buying parts to rebuild the Jag's front end just the ball joints priced out at $180. FCP Euro had a complete front end rebuild kit, with ball joints for $180.

28 Reply by CPT_Trans_Continental (edited by CPT_Trans_Continental 2014-11-03 10:53 AM)

  • From: Portlandia
  • Registered: 2014-08-08
  • Posts: 1,035

Re: Most ridiculously priced single part (replacement not uber race only)

I love hearing backyard engineering/part interchange stories. Changed the fuel pump in my friend's 80's Dodge Caravan with one from a Hyundai Excel (half the price). Same thing on the 1993 Jag, some sites are quoting $400+, bought a new one for a 1996 Buick for $29. Jagvair will not be lumped.

'18 PNW-Organizer's Choice '17 PNW-IOE '15 PNW-Judge's Choice '14 PNW-Heroic Fix
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  • From: Austin
  • Registered: 2010-09-13
  • Posts: 1,478

Re: Most ridiculously priced single part (replacement not uber race only)

There was a set of seals I thought about ordering in for the 944. All together, so it should be a deal, right?

$190, IIRC, and there were only five kits left in the world, all in Germany.

Nope nope nope nope nope. This is why you only go to the dealer for small, cheap, readily availableish stuff as a last resort, heh.

Member, Porsche Cheaters of America
Fluffy Bunny Racing - Organizer's Choice, Gator-O-Rama '11
Random Acts of Stupidity - World Tour of Texas '19
Delicious IOE Shoey - Button Turrible '17 + First Place - Southern Fried Heaps '22

ninjacoco's Website

  • Registered: 2011-10-14
  • Posts: 4,167

Re: Most ridiculously priced single part (replacement not uber race only)

Never bought one but...

Volvo LH 2.1 and 2.2 rebuilt AMM's are a joke...even those that are certified Bosch rebuilds have a 50% failure rate in the first 6 months.  There are NOS units available and Bosch did a short run in the late 1990's of new ones that are now considered NOS.

The cheapest price I have seen is $650.  Alt that for a less-than-stellar electronically controlled fuel injection system and only team Little Lebowski still thinks is just fine.  Everyone else seems to have gone LH2.4, carb or megasquirt/custom fuel injection.