On some starters, brake calipers etc the core charge can be more than the cost of the rebuilt unit. High core charge indicates cores in short supply, would that mean the part is failure prone? Perhaps if not failure prone, when the part does fail it is frequently not rebuildable. Any other reason you can think of for high core charges?
High Core Charges.
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If the part was used only on low-production cars and/or cars that were discontinued a long time ago, there may not be many rebuildable cores out there any more.
Maybe its just a money maker? Some percentage of people will forget to bring back their "core", or lose the receipt. They won't give you the core price if you aren't buying a replacement part.
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Originally Posted By: exranger06
If the part was used only on low-production cars and/or cars that were discontinued a long time ago, there may not be many rebuildable cores out there any more.
Sure, but I was thinking of average to high volume recent vehicles like my Sierra. At RockAuto, for my truck, the front caliper core charges are around $45
If the part was used only on low-production cars and/or cars that were discontinued a long time ago, there may not be many rebuildable cores out there any more.
Sure, but I was thinking of average to high volume recent vehicles like my Sierra. At RockAuto, for my truck, the front caliper core charges are around $45
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Maybe its just a money maker?
I don't think so. For my truck, the core charges for rear calipers are much less than the front caliper charges. The pattern seems to hold up across different rebuilders. There must be some underlying reason.
Maybe its just a money maker?
I don't think so. For my truck, the core charges for rear calipers are much less than the front caliper charges. The pattern seems to hold up across different rebuilders. There must be some underlying reason.
It's so they can source product free, rebuild, and sell back as "new".
There's no way calipers for my Jeep cost $20 to manufacture (set). The core charge was something like $80 for both.
There's no way calipers for my Jeep cost $20 to manufacture (set). The core charge was something like $80 for both.
I've always taken the old part in the store with me when buying a battery, starter.. so I don't have to deal with the core charge hassle. I suspect core charges are kinda like gift cards in which a certain percentage of people donate money back to the retailer.
Rebuilders have to source from junkyards and China (for new castings) when core supply runs low.For each damaged,rusted up core coming back,thats one less available in the field.Items can only be rebuilt successfully twice (some,try for 3,4,5...times) and that means a close-ended supply chain.Which all means GOOD rebuildable cores are like gold to them.Putting a huge deposit on the item GUARANTEES that you WILL bring a core back.$5.00 is not enough to ensure the "pain" is felt enough to return the old unit.
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Rebuilders have to source from junkyards and China (for new castings) when core supply runs low.For each damaged,rusted up core coming back,thats one less available in the field.Items can only be rebuilt successfully twice (some,try for 3,4,5...times) and that means a close-ended supply chain.Which all means GOOD rebuildable cores are like gold to them.Putting a huge deposit on the item GUARANTEES that you WILL bring a core back.$5.00 is not enough to ensure the "pain" is felt enough to return the old unit.
All well and good but I still don't understand why, for my truck, the rear caliper core charge is $10 and the front caliper core charge is $45. Similar core charges from all the rebuilders.
Why aren't there enough rebuildable front caliper cores and lots of rebuildable rear caliper cores?
Rebuilders have to source from junkyards and China (for new castings) when core supply runs low.For each damaged,rusted up core coming back,thats one less available in the field.Items can only be rebuilt successfully twice (some,try for 3,4,5...times) and that means a close-ended supply chain.Which all means GOOD rebuildable cores are like gold to them.Putting a huge deposit on the item GUARANTEES that you WILL bring a core back.$5.00 is not enough to ensure the "pain" is felt enough to return the old unit.
All well and good but I still don't understand why, for my truck, the rear caliper core charge is $10 and the front caliper core charge is $45. Similar core charges from all the rebuilders.
Why aren't there enough rebuildable front caliper cores and lots of rebuildable rear caliper cores?
WAAAAAY back in the early 80s, I remember a trucker who told me that the starter for his semi truck was $200, but the core was $290. When the core is that high, the rebuilders want them back BAD. In other words, they don't want to manufacture a new one when they can cheaply rebuild the old one.
For everybody who wonders why a front caliper is way higher than the rear (or vice versa), that usually means that there is a high rate of cores that are not rebuildable and they have to buy/manufacture new cores to sell their product.
For everybody who wonders why a front caliper is way higher than the rear (or vice versa), that usually means that there is a high rate of cores that are not rebuildable and they have to buy/manufacture new cores to sell their product.
Ford has some pretty high core charges on bumper covers, wheels, headlights, taillights, and steering racks to keep old units out of the aftermarket.
Originally Posted By: George7941
All well and good but I still don't understand why, for my truck, the rear caliper core charge is $10 and the front caliper core charge is $45. Similar core charges from all the rebuilders.
Why aren't there enough rebuildable front caliper cores and lots of rebuildable rear caliper cores?
An '06 GMC 1500 truck would have Drum brakes on the rear, So it has Wheel Cylinders.
All well and good but I still don't understand why, for my truck, the rear caliper core charge is $10 and the front caliper core charge is $45. Similar core charges from all the rebuilders.
Why aren't there enough rebuildable front caliper cores and lots of rebuildable rear caliper cores?
An '06 GMC 1500 truck would have Drum brakes on the rear, So it has Wheel Cylinders.
Yes, good catch, I do have rear drums. However the RockAuto listing also includes Sierras with rear discs and, for those trucks, the front core charges are much more than rear core charges.
I've seen some remanned parts where even AFTER the core charge is refunded, the part was significantly MORE THAN a brand new, top quality/OEM manufacturer's part!!
Sometimes core charges are expensive when a car was recently introduced. That is another time when cores are hard to find.
I remember needing rebuilt calipers for one of the earliest Sprinter vans in the USA. There was a long wait, high core charge, and a very high price for the part. Few cars in the junkyard, few cars with early failures, and a low failure rate were causes.
This happened to my mother back in the late 1980s. She had a 1985 Nissan Maxima, and there were no rebuilt racks anywhere. She could only get one brand new, and got stuck with $1200 parts and labor.
High core charges and prices were common back in the 1980s. That was because there were few CV axle rebuilders, few good cores, and CV axles were absolutely horrible back then. A/C compressor core charges sucked too, as there were so many different types.
There are low core charges and low prices for common vehicles, and the biggest example I remember was a 1980s Ford F150. A front caliper from Pep boys was $35, and the core charge was $5!
I remember needing rebuilt calipers for one of the earliest Sprinter vans in the USA. There was a long wait, high core charge, and a very high price for the part. Few cars in the junkyard, few cars with early failures, and a low failure rate were causes.
This happened to my mother back in the late 1980s. She had a 1985 Nissan Maxima, and there were no rebuilt racks anywhere. She could only get one brand new, and got stuck with $1200 parts and labor.
High core charges and prices were common back in the 1980s. That was because there were few CV axle rebuilders, few good cores, and CV axles were absolutely horrible back then. A/C compressor core charges sucked too, as there were so many different types.
There are low core charges and low prices for common vehicles, and the biggest example I remember was a 1980s Ford F150. A front caliper from Pep boys was $35, and the core charge was $5!
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I once bought a rebuilt distributor for my 71 Cutlass because the old one wore out. The core charge was $1.50. I asked "why so low". They told me there just wasn't a high demand for these cores and they probably got the cores they needed from the salvage yards. $1.50 wasn't worth the gas to claim the core.
Originally Posted By: artificialist
High core charges and prices were common back in the 1980s. That was because there were few CV axle rebuilders, few good cores, and CV axles were absolutely horrible back then.
Just 4-5 years ago, I needed new CV axles on my Suzuki Swift. All the local parts places would only sell new axles, they didn't list any rebuilt units in their catalogs. But yet, they also wanted to hit me with a core charge. In other words, I would have to buy a new half shaft, but they would charge me for the core so they could send it back to have my old one rebuilt so they could sell them to somebody else. That just didn't sit right with me, so I bought the replacements from RockAuto where no core was needed.
High core charges and prices were common back in the 1980s. That was because there were few CV axle rebuilders, few good cores, and CV axles were absolutely horrible back then.
Just 4-5 years ago, I needed new CV axles on my Suzuki Swift. All the local parts places would only sell new axles, they didn't list any rebuilt units in their catalogs. But yet, they also wanted to hit me with a core charge. In other words, I would have to buy a new half shaft, but they would charge me for the core so they could send it back to have my old one rebuilt so they could sell them to somebody else. That just didn't sit right with me, so I bought the replacements from RockAuto where no core was needed.
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We have endured ridiculous core charges for decades. One ton chassis vans and trucks calipers have stupid high charges on them and always have.
It's never a problem if the store is close by, I can certainly see where the mail order folks could have an issue!
It's never a problem if the store is close by, I can certainly see where the mail order folks could have an issue!
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