I guess the title about says it- it was a combination of a (mis)conception about Jag parts/upkeep that Thermo mentioned in his reply in the "Jaguar Brand" thread earlier today, and a purchase I made yesterday. No one could accuse Jag of giving away parts, but the few I have had to purchase for my X or my XK8 haven't been outrageous. My Jeep, however, is a different story. The lower door hinge on my TJ was wobbly, so I decided just to buy a new hinge. Turns out the hinge is sold in two sections, the one I thought I needed was the smaller of the two, and has been used on every single CJ/YJ/TJ made in the last 30 years or so, so one would THINK that the R&D, tooling, etc. for this engineering tour de force would have been covered long ago, but Jeep Chrysler has the ***** to charge $63.00 before tax for this chunk of metal, and $116 for the other part of the hinge (which incorporates a pin, hence the extra cost, I suppose) for a total of nearly two hundred dollars for one lousy barn-door simple hinge! Which will probably wear just like the last one, as it is poorly designed, and doesn't incorporate any sort of nylon or teflon bushing. The last part I bought from them was a tiny piece of spring steel in the form of a clip that was supposed to secure the hood support rod. It didn't; it broke the second time I tried to use it, and it set me back $18.00. God help us if Jeep ever aquires Jag!

 

Robert, when it comes to parts, it is a buyer beware time. You can spend as much or as little as you want on parts. Are you willing to invest the time/effort to get it at a lower cost and is the time spent looking for the part worth the difference in price? Everyone has a different idea of what their time is worth.

As for the hinge on the Jeep, take a look at places like JEGS, JC Whitney, and other aftermarket shops and see what they have. I bet you will find that they will have an aftermarket piece that is better, last longer, yet will be cheaper. I know there are tons of options for the Jeeps as the following for them is pretty big. Just need to do your research.

Along those same lines with the Jag. I will give you a classic example of what I am talking about. I currently need a new right rear caliper. To get it through Jag, the dealership list price for the caliper is $506. The dealership that I go through, only charges $430. Yet, I can go to the local auto parts place near me and get one for $104. Sure, the local auto parts place one is a rebuilt unit where the dealership is going to give me a brand new caliper. But, is that worth the price difference? All of the parts function just the same. This is just one example of where a little bit of looking around and some price comparing can save you lots of money.

Unfortunately, there are still some parts that the only way to get something new/rebuilt is to go through the dealership or to find a used part and then pay to have it rebuilt. But, at the same time, the manufacturers (atleast in the US) are mandated by federal law to have parts available for all models of cars for atleast 10 years after they were made. So, all the "storage costs" get passed on to the consumer. You can take the storage costs as you feel appropriate.

 

sO THATS WHAT THEY MEEN BY "IT'S A JEEP THING"