Thread: "Sticker-shock" maintenance...

Received a "half-off" coupon from a local dealer to have my wiper inserts replaced, so I took 'em up on it today.

[size=x-large]$23!!![/size]

And that was half-price... Guess I'll be perusing the owner's manual on changing my own wiper blades next time around! I've already got the cabin air-filter replacement on my resumé, having done that at the first 10k miles...

By the way, the invoice has the dealer charge (pre-discount) of $19.98 and $17.06 for the wiper rubber, evidently two different parts totalling $37, so I'll also be checking the secondary market for those, time comes...

Dealers have always been notoriously expensive for any sort of maintenance. That's why many people do all their own maintenance where it's doable by the consumer (like oil changes, wiper changes, coolant changes, etc.)

That being said, there ARE many people who will go to a dealer for new tires, battery replacement, oil changes, actually everything. Doesn't make sense to pay twice as much for a battery or a tire, and then labor on top of that when these items can be purchased for half the price at discount houses and auto parts stores.

I recollect my dad buying his first new car 45 years ago (I was high school age), and deciding to take it to the dealer for a tune-up (those were the days when cars had ignition points, manual timing, and leaded gas required spark plugs be changed every 10K miles). I'd been doing all his maintenance and tuning since the 7th grade up til then. I told him I'd do it. Nope, nope, nope, nothing's too good for my new car.

Well, when he got it back two hundred dollars later for what I could have done for $15 (oil, filter, plugs, points, tune), it ran like CRAP. He asked me to fix it. I did (the points had inadequate dwell and the timing was way off). Took all of about 10 minutes since I didn't have to change the spark plugs or the oil. He NEVER again went to the dealer with that car.

P.S. - I usta change wiper inserts for $5-7 a pair, but lately have gone to changing the entire wiper for about $8 each. They just pop off and new one back on. Hope the Azera isn't quirky in this area also.

The driver side wiper is larger (and therefore slightly more expensive) than the one on the passenger side. Those prices are a little high even for the entire assembly, not just the rubber inserts.

Welcome to the forum!

I've looked around on-line for replacements and found some to be similarly priced and found a few less-expensive others that I'm not entirely sure would fit the existing OEM wiper assemblies...