Expensive parts/accessories

[ESC POD]

I read recently that an iPhone cost approximately $6 in materials to make...I paid almost $400...WTF??? The OE diffuser is ridiculous, I'd love to have one, but never at $750, maybe if it were CF? For injected molded plastic, $200 is the ceiling on that thing. So far my mods list has been purchased with very little squinting as I swiped my card...overall, I'm pretty happy.

[RWD-boxer]

10,000 for our big brake kit. Lol

[chanomatik]

Higher prices ensure more exclusivity. Plenty of times I've avoided a product because it felt like EVERYONE else had them (see: Rota anything). I paid for the rear under spoiler (I refuse to call it a "diffuser", even if Subaru's marketing calls it that) and the only thing that made me upset about it was that in April it listed as $800, but throughout the year it dropped to $695, but I was locked into the $800. The more compliments it receives, though, the more the price is justified, which, in the end, is how a lot of us handle the price-gouging.

Trust me, I've been trying to justify all of the JDM BRZ STI parts that are for sale for a while now: $700 side skirts? $1800 muffler? $250 brake pads for either front OR rear? $300 front OR rear springs? Over $100 for an STI push start button? However, when you see them on someone else's car, you can't help, but to drool over them (at least most of us can't help it). This is why the prices stay where they are.

I'm not into replicas or half-assed products. You get what you pay for, which is why I have no interest in the HTAutos front lip spoiler.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by PMok

I know everyone (or almost everyone) loves JDM stuff and I do too, but to be practical it is super expensive to buy and ship/import these things to the US. Better value can be had by buying parts engineered, designed, and built in the US by companies like Perrin, Grimmspeed, Carsmo, 5Axis, etc...

Yes, but I wouldn't pass up the chance to buy JDM parts locally. Which is exactly what I did.

Originally Posted by chanomatik

I'm not into replicas or half-assed products. You get what you pay for, which is why I have no interest in the HTAutos front lip spoiler.

I will buy a replica rear underspoiler/diffuser/strip-of-plastic any day of the week. Subaru's ridiculous price on that piece is more ridiculous than trying to use the word ridiculous a ridiculous number of times in one ridiculous sentence; ridiculous! That "inspired" front lip is ugly though; JDM all the way on that one.

[TurnOne]

Couple of things working against this now. First, it's new and not that many have been sold yet. New parts are going to need to be priced high enough to cover the initial R&D. Plus, new stuff is desirable, so it allows for higher pricing. Only way to change the market is to only buy things you find of value.

[cslntuee]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Higher prices ensure more exclusivity. Plenty of times I've avoided a product because it felt like EVERYONE else had them (see: Rota anything). I paid for the rear under spoiler (I refuse to call it a "diffuser", even if Subaru's marketing calls it that) and the only thing that made me upset about it was that in April it listed as $800, but throughout the year it dropped to $695, but I was locked into the $800. The more compliments it receives, though, the more the price is justified, which, in the end, is how a lot of us handle the price-gouging.

Trust me, I've been trying to justify all of the JDM BRZ STI parts that are for sale for a while now: $700 side skirts? $1800 muffler? $250 brake pads for either front OR rear? $300 front OR rear springs? Over $100 for an STI push start button? However, when you see them on someone else's car, you can't help, but to drool over them (at least most of us can't help it). This is why the prices stay where they are.

I'm not into replicas or half-assed products. You get what you pay for, which is why I have no interest in the HTAutos front lip spoiler.

The real price will much higher than you list after you include shipping from Japan into the United States as well as insurance, customs, duties, and related costs. ><

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by cslntuee

The real price will much higher than you list after you include shipping from Japan into the United States as well as insurance, customs, duties, and related costs. ><

Like I said...find a local JDM importer who can amortize shipping costs over bulk product or many orders.

[Mobius357]

Originally Posted by ESC POD

I read recently that an iPhone cost approximately $6 in materials to make...I paid almost $400...WTF??? The OE diffuser is ridiculous, I'd love to have one, but never at $750, maybe if it were CF? For injected molded plastic, $200 is the ceiling on that thing. So far my mods list has been purchased with very little squinting as I swiped my card...overall, I'm pretty happy.

Typically, material makes up a very small portion of manufacturing cost. The machines that process that 6 dollars may cost millions, then there's RnD, labor, electricity/fuel, overhead and lawyers.

There's a lot going against us with our cars. First model year, supply and demand, importing costs, currency conversion. Our parts are at the low end of the economy of scale too. Small batches have a high per part cost. If you want your part made from unobtanium, well there's another big markup. Once the new car hype dies down, prices should drop.

All this has been said, but it all contributes. I'm a machinist in what amounts to a big job shop. One off parts, exotic materials, tight scheduling demands, all very very expensive. You wouldn't want to pay for the parts I make.

[ESC POD]

Originally Posted by Mobius357

Typically, material makes up a very small portion of manufacturing cost. The machines that process that 6 dollars may cost millions, then there's RnD, labor, electricity/fuel, overhead and lawyers.

There's a lot going against us with our cars. First model year, supply and demand, importing costs, currency conversion. Our parts are at the low end of the economy of scale too. Small batches have a high per part cost. If you want your part made from unobtanium, well there's another big markup. Once the new car hype dies down, prices should drop.

All this has been said, but it all contributes. I'm a machinist in what amounts to a big job shop. One off parts, exotic materials, tight scheduling demands, all very very expensive. You wouldn't want to pay for the parts I make.

I agree and understand completely. R&D and Tooling are huge $$ factors when manufacturing a part. I myself work closely with Machinist, Engineers, and even Marketing in my field or Certified Structural Welding. We are a 'job' shop as well, building cranes and special lifting devices for Navy/Coast Gaurd/Private Sector, and each one involves something new over the next. However, an iPhone or Rear Diffuser only needs to made once, tooled once, and your off to the races! Or bank in this case...Specialty items, no doubt there will be hidden cost involve that the consumer doesn't see but will ultimately consume. Click and order parts for a car...I don't buy it. Literally and Figuratively.

[Coheed]

Hell, if I could charge even $200 off of replica diffusers by contracting a composites company, I would make a grip.

Sometimes companies charge what people will pay. Realistically, having something like that made on even a small scale would only cost about $50 per unit. Larger orders could get it down under $10/piece. If you sold them for $120 and kept $35 you would have another $35 to invest in other projects. It's not like building anything complex. I rebuilt axles for a short while, learned a ton, and i could have an entire cv axle built for $8 brand new from China. Just food for thought. Is the diffuser really worth more than an iphone?

[coyote]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

The more compliments it receives, though, the more the price is justified

Bingo

No-one buys an iPhone because it's a good phone, they buy it as a fashion accessory to impress other people.

If that's the basis on which you are buying car parts, then production costs will have NOTHING to do with the sale price.

[ESC POD]

Originally Posted by coyote

Bingo

A. No-one buys an iPhone because it's a good phone, they buy it as a fashion accessory to impress other people.

B. If that's the basis on which you are buying car parts, then production costs will have NOTHING to do with the sale price.

A. Not to go off on a tangent about my iPhone, I will say...if you knew me, you would know I could give two shits about many "for the masses"- 1. Sports (boring as sin) 2. main stream music 3. Fashion. Trust me...My phone is not to impress anyone.

B. It's not the basis in which I would not buy parts, it is the Principal...Understand I'm not here to War on Principal vs. Fact, I choose to NOT buy parts that Common Sense tells me are grossly overpriced, and are only priced as such because people are willing to pay as much. That being said, my iPhone held an MSRP of almost $400. I chose NOT to pay that much until an opportunity arose where a deal could be made (in that case it was half off said MSRP). If one chooses to pay $750 for a $30 Plastic Injected Fashion accessory, then makers will sell it at that mark up. However, it does not make it right...We can go on All Day about this.

DONE>

[MiguelAE86]

I hope you know that if you finance the car, these options will add about...

$15 to your monthly payment. it's pretty irrelevant sometimes. SOMETIMES.

:happy0180:

[cleethree]

you gotta pay to play.