Most ridiculously priced single part (replacement not uber race only) (Page 1 of 2)

Yeah, British stuff can be a little overboard. 1997 Jaguar XJ6 TPS (Ford logo is even molded into the part, about the size of a Zippo), $400. Same thing with the fuel pump, have seen $600+ for a part that you can replace with a 94-99 Chevrolame (Buick, Olds, Pontiac) for $20 off Amazon (free if you sign up for stuff).

An OM617 engine mount shock absorber bushing is $250. Which is why ours has a random welded tube and a Honda suspension bushing instead.

That is because 99% of them are NOS squireled away in someone's basement that thei kids are selling off after they die.

The K-Jet stuff for Mercedes V-8...truly priceless.

From past Lemons cars:
Rolls Royce Shadow rear brake caliper: $732.

From future Lemons cars:
Citroen SM distributor cap, $400 if you can find one

From daily drivers;
Z4M front brake rotor, $258 as the cheapest on Rock Auto

I called Hastings and you can buy individual rings in lots of sizes. I ended up with some for the Moke that were significantly larger diameter, but were the right thickness and radial wall depth so I used a dremel to cut the extra length off. No issues.

when I was a mechanic in the early 90,s

Jaguar cruise control module $400+

Open the jaguar box and surprise!!  Its an AMC box with part # with the controller inside it......hmmm

Called in the part # and got  the cost of the AMC part......$40

returned the jaguar part, installed the AMC part and saved the customer a lot of $$

Team Infinniti and Spank, thanks for the info. Now I just need a rod, crank, main bearings, camshaft, cam bearings...

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pts/4694761405.html

My sideview mirror on the old LS400 got a crack and since it was auto-dimming it rapidly became completely non-reflective. (The LCD in the mirror panel leaked out.)  Just the glass was almost $600 from Lexus.  For the whole housing, glass and all, it was close to $1200.

After a lot of hunting, I scored an assembly that had a broken housing from a junkyard.  I pulled the mirror and swapped it to my car.  Total cost, $13.50 plus tax.

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.   

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.

Not automotive, but...
Mercury (marine) Racing F1 engine cowling, a molded plastic bucket shaped like a medium size suitcase.  Less complex to make than a Big Wheel...$900 10 yrs ago