The price of parts!

[Silver Caravelle]

Hi all,

The left fog lamp ( on my 2008 Multi) stopped working some time back and I thought it needed a new bulb. When I pulled the lamp out, the internal reflector part and back of lamp was actually broken and separated and I have absolutely no idea how!

Also my windscreen washer stopped working, so I also pulled this out and soaked the outlets and suction end in hot soapy water for a while and it freed it up again for the motor to start spinning again. Put it all back together, and it started spraying front and back windows at the same time! I then realised that before soaking the pump end, I had poked some wire though the pump outlets to try and unblock, and had stuffed it by putting a hole through the internal barrier between the two outlets. So if your washer pump stops working, it is worth soaking the outlets and pump end in a cup of very hot soapy water for a while - but don't put protruding objects in the outlets to unblock!

So when I rang the dealer to price two new parts, $250 for the pump and $150 for a replacement left fog lamp! I said thanks but no thanks and proceeded to look on line. After comparing various online part numbers and various suppliers, I managed to locate the exact replacement for the lamp (Hella) and a Hella branded washer pump (the equivalent to the original). A total of $AUD147 delivered from a firm in Germany with excellent service (see link- difficult to find on a Google Search.)

seekpart24 - Auto Parts | Car Parts, Truck Parts & Car Care Online Shop

Some time one strikes it lucky!

Regards, Scott

[Sunny43.5]

Been there done that , you wonder how they justify parts prices sometimes . Surefire way of driving customers away , admits here that sometimes you have no choice for the sake of convenience .