Originally Posted By: cp3
Wix for a buck or two cheaper? Wow. This is the cost leader here, I can't beat $3.97. The Baldwin was $5.60, last Wix I bought locally was about $10.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I still don't like the look of the fiber end caps after use but seeing the construction first hand was cool. I'll take the Baldwin every time for the extra $1.63 but for a basic bottom dollar OC, it shouldn't kill anything.
Exactly. One doesn't pay a premium to receive a nor ADBV or a nitrile ADBV over a silicone one. Why should one pay a premium for fiber endcaps, or simply because they advertise better than anyone else?
Well, one Ford dealership gets me FL1As at about $7.50. They promised me the same deal on any Motorcraft filter. The last time I got one was over a year ago, so who knows how things have worked out. Their price used to be all over the place. One time I'd pay $10 or an FL1A. The next time, I'd pay $3. It was always like some strange gamble, and I used the actual FL1A on all my Fords pretty much exclusively from the early 1990s until a couple years ago.
So, for the Ford truck, I can get an FL1A at about $7.50, a Wix at $4.95, or a Hastings for $6 or $7, can't remember exactly. For whatever reason, my supplier gets me the Wix 51515 ridiculously cheap.
For the Audi, I get German Bosch, Mann, and Mahle online for under $5 a piece. The Wix is closer to $10, and I have no idea what Motorcraft might have for a cross and haven't checked Hastings, since I have about five Manns left.
For the G, Bosch (North American, from the looks of it) online is under $5. I can get Wix for around $10, Hastings $7, and Motorcraft (from a different dealership) for $10 as well.
I was at CT today and they had random red price tags on a few of the shelf spots for the Motomaster filters, and the FL1A cross was around $3. I don't know if they ordered too much or what, but they were the new style, not old stock.
Now, if that were the regular price for the Motomaster or Fram filters, that would be a little easier to swallow. Fiber endcaps with a $2 discount over my $5 Wix at least would make some sense. I just shake my head when I see them for $6 or $7.
Fram air filters, no problem. I just ordered some for the G (stupid thing needs two) for about $6 a piece.
