I go in for tire repair and the man asks about my windshield wipers.... ???

[68BabyBlue]

I know for sure that they don't. My buddy put a set of fancy blades on one car for me as part of a service. They lasted no longer than the regular cheapies I use.....and they skipped across the screen also making a horrible noise. Never again.

I used the cheapest Ancos I could get when I was driving the Peterbilt 80,000 plus miles per year. The blades would get shredded by ice fragments before they would wear out. I used the more expensive stuff early on, and didn't get any better performance.

 

[kiwigtx]

Nearly time to re-stock my wall.....running low again.

The packet says "Long Life" ....I guess it would be if you were a fly. One year or maybe 18 months max.

 

[Budnicks]

Planned obsolescence, make them cheap so the don't last
so you have to buy them semi annually at a min.

the good blades have a high silicone content IIRC,
stay pliable much longer...

 

[padam]

Wiper blades are $17-30 bucks a pop even on amazon.
In a retail setting add 30%.
I recall in High school buying new for $2.99. 15 years later they were $7.99
Apparently covid and inflation have perhaps exceeded the 5% mark that is claimed.

Want to get rich? Design a nice metal wiper and sell refills like razors for about half of what they other guys sell for. I have been trying to find a refill for my factory '13 Charger wipers for about 5 years.

One of the die shops I worked at had built some dies for aftermarket wiper arms (metal parts. )

It was before I worked there but they told me they were the toughest dies they ever built as far as getting the stampings in spec

 

[padam]

One of my grandaughters lives in Quincy IL. She's been out of college now for a couple years. Paying her own bills, living life , 2 jobs ect.
She took her 13 malibu in for a oil change at a GM dealer in Quincy, I know 1st mistake... She called me at work, they had oil out of it and came out and showed her a work order that was going to cost north of $600 , I can't say what all was on it but it was crap like coolant flush ect.
They were putting the tuff sale on her.
She called me , I called them, I made a new friend over the phone lol. She left after a $90 oil change.

My daughter is 1500 miles away in Colorado.
Her 2000 Blazer needed a cv axle. She had it towed to the local shop.

She came here to visit the next day. When the shop called her with an estimate she was in the room with me. It was around $3500. “Do both axles need replaced?”
“I don’t see that on here. Tech must have forgot to check them. “

Next estimate was about $4200.

She had it towed to another shop and fixed. That place charges $200 or $250 an hour for labor.

 

[1967coronet]

My daughter is 1500 miles away in Colorado.
Her 2000 Blazer needed a cv axle. She had it towed to the local shop.

She came here to visit the next day. When the shop called her with an estimate she was in the room with me. It was around $3500. “Do both axles need replaced?”
“I don’t see that on here. Tech must have forgot to check them. “

Next estimate was about $4200.

She had it towed to another shop and fixed. That place charges $200 or $250 an hour for labor.

Glad you got that stopped.
I understand shops and dealerships have to turn a profit.
But just screwing folks over seems to be a general practice these days.

 

[71RRHI]

Was in Costco the other day picked up some spare wipers cheap

 

[33 IMP]

Was in Costco the other day picked up some spare wipers cheapView attachment 1624800

Yep. Made a special trip, got six new wipers for three drivers, and a big bottle of Kirkland "baileys" for me!

 

[YY1]

Is that any good?

All the Bailey's knock-offs I've tried have been harsh by comparison.

...and at $29 a pint (or some almost equally outrageous price) I try almost any I can find.

 

[33 IMP]

Is that any good?

All the Bailey's knock-offs I've tried have been harsh by comparison.

...and at $29 a pint (or some almost equally outrageous price) I try almost any I can find.

It's excellent. I've tried most of the knockoff Baileys, and I like the Kirklands best.
Others I've tried: Dempsey's, Carolann's, St Brendan's, another that I get from Rite Aid, can't remember the name right now, but it's decent too. (Edit: Duggans.)
Not too long ago, walmart screwed up and mispriced the big bottle of real Baileys. $22 for the small bottle, $24 for the big one.
I bought all four I found in the store, the gf bought 3 more on line, and the Walmart delivery person went back to the store, and cleaned it out.
Big bottle is now somewhere around $58 again.
Kirklands stuff is $18. Absolute no-brainer.

 

[Dibbons]

And whatever happened to the "refill" wiper blade rubbers? Seems like a scam now to charge upto $40.00 for the arm and all when all you need is a little slice of rubber.

 

[YY1]

D

And whatever happened to the "refill" wiper blade rubbers? Seems like a scam now to charge upto $40.00 for the arm and all when all you need is a little slice of rubber.

Refills are available for new blades but they won't work in pre 1990's cars and they're an incredible bitch to install.
Consequently, they don't sell too many and are hard to find.

 

[Dibbons]

If I remember correctly, I found "classic" wiper blades in a NAPA catalog a few years ago that fit my '72 Satellite.

 

[440 4 speed]

And whatever happened to the "refill" wiper blade rubbers? Seems like a scam now to charge upto $40.00 for the arm and all when all you need is a little slice of rubber.

I bought Trico rubber refills that should work in the Anco arms. Unfortunately I am house bound right now, so can’t check the number. Think it’s the 800 series.