Cost of car parts

[c9zx]

I haven't been in the market for car parts for about 3 years. I went looking for a SBF Dart block and was a bit amazed to find it now costs over a $1000.00 more than it did 3 years ago. I know inflation is spiking but that seems outrageous to me. Is it just shortages causing suppliers to gouge customers, tariffs, or? Chuck

 

[Don C]

It seems like everything I have bought lately makes me cringe. After I wired my workshop I had to run a guard strip of lumber in front of the Romex so that stuff couldn't lean against it (walls aren't finished). I thought I would just go get a sheet of 7/16" OSB and rip it into 4" widths, until I got to the hardware store, $36 dollars a sheet, was $16 a sheet two years ago. They had some rough cut 1"x4"x8' lumber that was cut from salvaged trees from the fires last summer for $3 each, so I went with them. The OSB is down to $15 dollars a sheet now, so hopefully other things will come down, also. They said the lumber prices were up because of all the people staying home working on DIY and honey-do projects (my opinion- BS, too many people not working to have been buying building materials).

Harbor Freight prices have jumped higher than adding the tariff, to try to hide it they've been renaming tools. I've been looking at a new wire feed welder, my 30-year old one has been giving me trouble and parts are not available, Eastwood has better welders at a lower price than HF. I got higher lumen LED shop lights from Lowes that were considerably lower priced than HF, and they are much brighter than fluorescent would have been, just needed half as many as I would have with the fluorescent lights.

 

[MikeGriese]

Yeah - lumber added 20% to the cost of my barn extension.  And now I need to replace my decks.

 

[c9zx]

Don, Lumber prices here are still crazy. Four months ago my neighbor had new roof OSB decking installed, $56.00 per 4x8 sheet! I paid $3.70/gal. for 91 Octane 100% real gas (no higher octane here :classic_angry: ). Cheaper than some places, but still over a dollar more than pre-Biden. Chuck

 

[Kilgon]

It's  the same  all over.  I helped my daughter and her husband redo their deck last fall.   From the time they figured out what it would cost for lumber and when they actually purchased it the prices went up close to 25%. 

 I just purchased some 3/8 fuel line that cost me $1.95 per foot.  I still have a receipt  from last year where I paid $1.50 per foot.  Same parts store.  93 premium has come down some the past week.  Was up to $3.97.  Now down to$3.49. Going to fill the tank today before it goes back  up.

Not to bring up politics but with our new leaders raising taxes on corporations to cover their spending spree look for prices to rise.    The extra taxes they will be force to pay will be pass on to the consumers by raising the cost of their goods and services.

Hard to manage a fix budget in these times.

 

[Don C]

Some people just can't understand that businesses don't pay for the tax increases, but that the consumer does. Most businesses work on a narrow profit margin and cannot afford to absorb an increase. The only businesses that have a huge profit margin are selling illegal substances, and don't pay any taxes, but once again we do through increased medical, law enforcement, and emergency responder costs.

Damn, what a way to start out a Monday  :classic_angry:

 

[Hemikiller]

My cousin and a couple friends are either contractors, or are in the skilled trades - electrical, plumbing etc. All have said that demand has been nuts since C-19 hit and they've been booked out for months since last year. 

Price of gas has little to do with the guy in the Oval office, it's driven by speculation in the market / confidence levels which are affected by world events, as well as seasonal changes in demand. Gas is high now because demand is high from summer travel and the re-opening economy, and historically will start to drop soon.  Wholesale prices as of May 21 were $.07 higher than 2019 levels for CT, and very close to 2015. Feel free to look up the historical wholesale prices from your state. 

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMA_EPM0_PWG_SCT_DPG&f=M

Price increases are everywhere. My wife works in lighting, she gets price increase notices on a daily basis and they have added disclaimer notices to all their quotes. Some manufacturers have taken 5~6 increases so far *this year*, which is unheard of. Many companies have held the line to keep from pushing it to the consumers, but they're dropping like flies now. Our material prices have gone up as well, the cost for 16ga CRS sheet is 330% of what it was in Aug 2020. I had tremendous trouble getting sheet materials at the beginning of the year, which caused us to put 4 months of the highest moving sheet goods on the floor, when I normally keep two weeks at best. 

I can tell you for a fact that Summit is selling at or very close to MSRP on many items *because they can*. Look to others to follow suit when they figure it out. The demand is real, we've had a fantastic year and cannot keep anything in stock. 

 

[detritusmaximus]

I agree with Hemikiller on supplies pricing and availability. Because so much supply industry was idled due to the virus, stocks were depleted all the way back to the raw material suppliers. And the focus was on making the most important stuff or most popular stuff. For sheet acrylic you could only get what was in stock, when it was gone, it was gone. At one point we had a 4 month back order for 1/4" clear acrylic sheet. And because the suppliers were trying to make as much of that as possible for sneezeguards, they were not producing colored or specialty acrylics. And then shipping skyrocketed. Prices went up and it's just now starting to be normal again.

Things will eventually settle down, but I expect at least 10% increase in prices compared to 2019.

On the other side of parts costs....is it just me or have people somehow solved the alchemy problem of turning lead into gold? Sure seems like anything made 50 years ago for any car is priced like it is made of gold.

 

[Vicus]

Yes, you can track these price increases all over the world. They are not the cause of a single government. We are currently seeing many industrial metals at a 10-year high. The demand for metal ores has also increased. Covid-19 contributed to many people in industrialized nations having to cancel planned vacations for example. Instead, they renewed their homes, went to DIY and garden centers or hired contractors. Here in our area, contractors don't even bother to respond to smaller inquiries anymore. They have been earning a golden nose for quite some time and can demand almost any price for ever poorer quality. Demand for consumer electronics has also exploded in the last year and a half. Among other things, this led to a massive shortage of semiconductors. That's why it's already questionable whether people will actually get the games console they've already ordered by Christmas, or whether car manufacturers will be able to deliver all the already ordered cars on time.

The money is available or can be obtained at almost zero cost. As long as incurring debt is cheaper than saving, demand for consumer goods will rise, and so will their prices.

Just my 2 ct.

 

[midlife]

Well, I must be the exception to the rule.  I haven't raised prices since I started in 2008.  FedEx rates have jumped about 40-50% in the past year, so my shipping costs (that I eat) has increased. 

That's it!  I'm raising my prices so I can be like everyone else and be seen as greedy.  Just add $0.01 to every order.  :imsorry:

 

[NOT A T5]

Well, I must be the exception to the rule.  I haven't raised prices since I started in 2008.  FedEx rates have jumped about 40-50% in the past year, so my shipping costs (that I eat) has increased. 

That's it!  I'm raising my prices so I can be like everyone else and be seen as greedy.  Just add $0.01 to every order.  :imsorry:

You're worth every penny!