The Joy of Cheap Wipers

[johnmyster]

This is like a microcosm of why quality of everything has gone down over the decades.

Cheap > than all. Consumers prioritize cheapness. Quality manufacturers go out of business. All that’s left in 20 years is garbage.

The natural cycle of things.

Where have all the good cars gone?

You didn’t buy them, little Jimmy!

I would buy a great wiper blade, but no such thing conveniently exists. The $30 model is really a $5 blade with fancy packaging and enough markup to make the "free installation" at the parts store profitable. But wait, if I buy two, I can get an $8 rebate!

So bring on the $2 refills. It's a disposable rubber extrusion. I'd rather change them frequently, and even then I'm sure it's a 20 cent product where the rest accounts for shipping and handling. Maybe the Toyota, MB, or BMW special sauce ones are genuinely better but I'm not making a trip to the dealer over it.

 

[Pablo]

This is like a microcosm of why quality of everything has gone down over the decades.

Cheap > than all. Consumers prioritize cheapness. Quality manufacturers go out of business. All that’s left in 20 years is garbage.

The natural cycle of things.

Where have all the good cars gone?

You didn’t buy them, little Jimmy!

Kinda sorta

I've spent near $50 for a single blade, I've spent $10 for a blade.

The $10 blade was better in all usage applications/subjective feels in my cars and my climate. $50 is a complete ripoff

Those overpriced crap blades chattered no matter, clean, lubed washed, pissed on and pissed off.

I do NOT prioritize cheapness. I prioritize quality.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I buy just the silicon refills for my Honda. Their cheap, and easy to install

 

[Chris142]

Who is the jerk that got rid of the $2 refills and makes Us buy a whole blade now for $20?

 

[UncleDave]

9.0 a piece - genuine Honda inserts.

 

[johnmyster]

Who is the jerk that got rid of the $2 refills and makes Us buy a whole blade now for $20?

I've heard the parts stores still have them but they hide them in the back.

Flat rate mechanics don't want to take the time to sell you a $2 insert and fiddle with getting it into the blade during your $16 annual safety inspection. They'd rather chunk the whole blade. Replace as assembly. Boom.

Rock auto has them but shipping...

 

[walterjay]

Basic Michelin blades from Walmart. Last a year or more.

 

[BHopkins]

Who is the jerk that got rid of the $2 refills and makes Us buy a whole blade now for $20?

That part of it absolutely makes my blood boil. Well, not quite. But almost.

When I had my '13 Outback, I found that Subaru offered wiper blade refills. I bought them for years, but then they stopped offering them. That is when I started buying aftermarket wiper blade refills off of Amazon. None of them performed as well as the OE blades, with some performing poor first time they were used.

It still upsets me to throw away a wiper blade assembly, when the only part that is worn out is the blade itself.

 

[Kira]

Who is the jerk that got rid of the $2 refills and makes Us buy a whole blade now for $20?

It happened here too, and I bought all the refills my family's cars used.
I swear I bought the last ones in the county.
Back then refills came in "Narrow" or "Wide".

 

[D60]

Thank you for the options. I've been buying part store wipers for our vehicles and going broke doing so. They last barely a year no mater what I do and are in the range of $30 a piece.

Exactly. To me it's absolutely absurd for wiper replacement to be $60 + tax. I dunno but around here they still last 12-18 months.

I run the cheapest blades I can get and have been happy. Even if I get 6-8 months I'm way ahead. But usually I can get 8-12 months.

It's very arid here so I don't know if that makes them dry out, and we don't get much rain so maybe leaving them parked a lot is actually worse than regular use. For all these same reasons I don't really need great wipers, just wipers that work adequately more-or-less.

But I still maintain that you shouldn't be $60 (or more) lighter after putting two wipers on your vehicle.

It's such a pet peeve of mine that I modified (welded) our Tundra wiper arms to take standard J-hook blades. So far results have been great.

 

[97prizm]

All I have to say is a $12 set of beam blades on all three cars and then a pile of cheap refills on the garage shelf, glovebox, etc. I'd change them like underwear but I usually get 12-18 months before I think "my rainy driving experience would be improved by $5 of fresh rubber." Take off the blade, pop off an end cap with pocket knife, slide out, slide in, trim, end cap, install. Joy.

Sorry Rainx and Bosch.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B429GMNK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A257HT5YYJ69ZR&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FB8X4Z8Q?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I will say the best blades I've ever used were PIAA. I had an aftermarket tuner, off road place in town for a few years. The silicone material they use is very soft as a downside so thick ice chews them up. The Newer Bosch beam blade works really well in really cold weather. Back in February it was -14f for a couple of nights and they wiped really well.

 

[dogememe]

Just throwing in $0.02.

Yes, on getting what you pay for.
I've carefully and completely logged repairs and maintenance for years, and oddly enough, no one brand has floated to the surface as "better". Also, average 2 year life comes to mind for "most all of 'em".

I did just receive two bottom-rung 18" wiper blades for my Ranger the other day.
The beam looks black and feels as substantial as any other.
However, the blade which contacts the glass is clear green plastic.

They'll be next to go on when my unmatched pair die.

Clear green plastic? Did you leave the shipping cover on?

 

[skyactiv]

Who is the jerk that got rid of the $2 refills and makes Us buy a whole blade now for $20?

That and people's love for 50/50 coolant.

 

[Kira]

Clear green plastic? Did you leave the shipping cover on?

Nope. The plastic used is just green instead of black. It feels a tad less soft.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Solid tip OP. I’ll check it out

 

[D60]

That and people's love for 50/50 coolant.

50/50 is supposed to use deionized which isn't as readily available as distilled.

I'm not Bill Nye (thank God!!) but my crude understanding is that the lack of ions which could potentially carry a charge is ideal for long life and corrosion reduction.

But yeah, I know for decades people used distilled or even just clean tap water and had very few problems. And to prove real-world superiority you'd need a laboratory based experiment with a control. And multiple engines with varying materials in the block, heads and intake manifolds. Heck, even water pump and impeller differences. IOW, a huge YMMV

 

[nickaluch]

That and people's love for 50/50 coolant.

I love 50/50 when I just do a radiator drop n fill

 

[The_Jeff]

I'm not convinced the Rockauto closeout blades aren't 20 years old and slightly worse for it.

I still buy them, of course. The Hellas on our Prii are the last Hellas I'm going to buy. They suck.

 

[KCJeep]

I don’t know who makes them for Ford but Motorcrafts are great. Not expensive either.

 

[RitcheyRch]

I've always had good luck with the OEM refills for our Honda and Toyota vehicles. Just saw an ad for windy wipers and may have to check them out in the future.