Yes but this is not what we are discussing, we are talking about simply purchasing the part, no labor, no installation.

 

My wife was driving the car in the rain after we had snow, the car had almost new Goodyear wiper blades on it with the shitty universal mount type adapters. When she had cleared the snow from the windshield with a broom she must have knocked a wiper loose which then flew off the car when she was driving. I needed to install wipers on the car so she could drive home from work, I suppose I could have went to Walmart and bought a cheap wiper blade to tide us over.

I wanted oem due to the more secure mounting plus the lower profile of the oem without the universal mount brackets, the look is better. So I went to the dealer to get a set right away, now I expected the dealer may be a little more than buying online on an item like this but almost double the price?!

A dealer charging $70 over the counter when another dealer will ship the same parts to your house for $45 leads to only one explanation, the dealer is gouging.

I own and drive a Jag, I realize the costs will be higher than if I had a Kia, what bugs me is that some dealers go above and beyond to rip me off.

Needless to say, I will never spend a dollar at my local dealer again on principle. You can all see in my profile that I am in Charlotte NC. there is only one dealer here...

 

I have made decision a while back to stick with OEM parts for the very same or similar reasons you guys posted above and so far it's been very rewarding. That's why you see the tenacity in my responses.

I have even bought a pair of brand new rain x wipers in the past and threw them in the garbage after about driving in rain for 15 minutes, because they wouldn't stop squeaking. I have tried other brands, but they just wouldn't clean as good or they would wear out fast.

But, if you are able to get OEM blades for half the price, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I would be very pleased to pay half for a quality product.

 

I also will not go to my local dealer for parts. When I was buying some parts for my daughters jag, the total was pretty substantial and even though I showed them I could have the same parts sent to me from another dealer for substantially less they still would not budge off of their price.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot, here's the best part, the dealership had given me 10% off to arrive at the $70!

 

No argument from me. I agree that what they asked was over the top. But I still stick with the need part. If I need it and now, I will pay what I suspect is expensive just to get me on my way. And like you I will remember that they took advantage of the situation.
But what you had to pay would seem to be the norm from that dealer regardless, so you may have saved more in the long run knowing they are overpricing. 10% off is like patting you on the head whilst you bend over for them.
Send an email to the manager and you might get a free Pine Tree Deodoriser to hang on the mirror!

 

Thats the cost of luxury ownership. Everything I buy for my Ducati cost me at least twice what it would cost for a Honda, Yamaha, etc. You can certainly find almost everything for significantly less on the internet, but going to the dealer will cost you big time.