Parts Price Inflation

Joined
Feb 7, 2013
Messages
998
Location
st louis, mo
Are you seeing significantly higher prices for the parts you are installing than 1-2 years ago?

I'm about to do a J35 timing belt, and it seems like the Aisin kit has been just a bit under $200 on Rockauto for forever, and still is. Maybe I'm wrong.

But the price for Centric discs and pads for this van has gone up a bit I think.

What's your experience?
 
Definitely seeing increases. I feel like it's even more noticeable at the B&M stores, but still noticeable online.
 
Right now a "lifetime" water pump for a SBC is $64 at AZ. I can't prove it but I believe that was more like $45 in Jan '20

Part of the problem with B&M is additional "multipliers", ie there's an insurance premium built in for the LT warranty so that has to go up with everything else.
 
If a few car parts are all you notice with higher prices recently, then consider yourself lucky.
 
Don't really pay much attention as I rarely buy the same part again for any particular car. An oil filter from the dealer has been $5-$6 for years. Platinum or iridium spark plugs about the same. Mobil 1 at Walmart regularly goes on sale at $22 a jug and even the regular price isn't much changed over time.
 
Yep. Brake pads that used to cost under $30 a couple years ago are now $45. Everything has gone up and somehow the quality of the parts has gone down. Drastically.

Even the kids at Autozone complain about it. I was in the store a few months ago and a neighbor happened to be there getting a waterpump kit for his chevy 5.3. Employee brings the new parts to the counter and the neighbor took the new Thermostat Housing out of the box to look at it. We all noticed it was cracked, badly. This was the neighbor's 2nd time in the store that day. The first Tstat housing was also cracked.

I would say about 30%? of the parts I have purchased in the last 2 years or so are either broken, don't fit, or of very poor quality despite being the same brands as previously (moog, Mevotech Supreme, AC Delco, etc)

Just as a note of caution since you mentioned the J35: I did the timing belt on ours about 4 years ago and I ordered factory Honda parts from Ebay to save a few dollars. The parts came in and were in plastic with Honda labels but they were not genuine Honda parts but instead knockoffs.
 
After market price w/ their horrible quality is very close to OEM prices, I been buying what I need at the local dealer.

I no longer stock any extra parts and just buy what I need at that moment. This keeps the costs down in the long run, but I am sure it will bite my butt at some point.
 
I also don't understand how they figure it....we hear "8% inflation" or "12% inflation" but anybody shopping for auto parts OR groceries can tell you increases of 50% or even 100% are not at all uncommon.

If something that cost $1.00 in '20 were $1.08 today seems be me that'd be 8% inflation....and anyone who shops would be THRILLED with such a "small" increase
 
I also don't understand how they figure it.
Items figured into calculating inflation.

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Not car parts related, but I rarely go to McDonald's. Anyway, I stopped for food on a road trip not too long ago and I feel like all of the prices had gone up a lot. Spent way too much money buying fast food for myself and 2 kids. I guess the dollar menu is no more either?.

Thanks inflation.
 
Not car parts related, but I rarely go to McDonald's. Anyway, I stopped for food on a road trip not too long ago and I feel like all of the prices had gone up a lot. Spent way too much money buying fast food for myself and 2 kids. I guess the dollar menu is no more either?.

Thanks inflation.

Yeah, I don't know what's up with McDonalds... If I take the family there, we are averaging close to $10 a person.

Back when I was a youngster, there was a BK in my town that had $1 Whoppers all the time...! Taco Bell seems to be the cheapest fast food I know of. Also it's delicious, sorry haters.

Anyway, I don't feel like the Rockauto general parts prices have been hit with the "Putin Price Hike" or "Bidenflation" (depending on your political views) like everything else has been this last year or two.
 
McDonalds desperately wants you to use their app, putting coupons only in said app.
I used to use that app quite a bit but I guess I eat a lot less fast food since the lockdowns.

I remember the app being slow and clunky but that was on my old phone, lol. I think that kind of shopping app is always bloated, laggy, and crashy though.

Now if I'm out and I need a cheap meal, I use the Taco Bell app to get the $5 box deal.
 
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