28-08-2020, 09:01 AM
14
Re: Crazy Parts Prices
Years ago I had an old Daihatsu Charade, which is not a very common make.It had a rather silly design feature - the windscreen washer pump was mounted underneath the washer fluid reservoir, not on the side
This meant that whenever you topped up the bottle, any spills landed on the pump, with the result that it eventually corroded and stopped working
I had a browse round a couple of accessory shops but couldn't find anything that matched, so I thought 'Oh well, I'll get one from Daihatsu, a little thing like that can't be that expensive'
I phoned up the local dealer who said -
Good news and bad news - it's still available, but it's £44-70 plus VAT
I replied that it was too much, and I'd go and have a search around a scrapyard to see if I could find anything similar
They replied - I don't blame you sir. We're also a Mercedes dealer, and it's actually more expensive than a Mercedes part.
Well I did manage to cobble something together, but then a few other things started to go wrong - leaking radiator; blowing cylinder head; brakes needed serious overhaul; exhaust blowing
So I cut my losses and scrapped it
After that I've always gone for a more common make
That was when Japanese cars were relatively new
Now there are various specialist and independant suppliers and importers
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