Am I being cheap?
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Littleton CO
Am I being cheap?
Is it me or does anyone eles feel that the prices of tale light blackouts, billets and the Corvette lettering for the exterior of the car is way too expensive? I mean a lot of this stuff just sticks to the car with 3M tape. My wife thinks that I am being a tightwad. Am I missing something here?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,049
Likes: 0
From: The second childhood is the best one of all.
Originally Posted by zipwinger
Is it me or does anyone eles feel that the prices of tale light blackouts, billets and the Corvette lettering for the exterior of the car is way too expensive? I mean a lot of this stuff just sticks to the car with 3M tape. My wife thinks that I am being a tightwad. Am I missing something here?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,180
Likes: 297
From: Sarasota Florida
I'm like you. I'm going to design the parts myself, buy the molds and have a specialty shop run them. I figure I can get a set of taillight lenses for about $20,000.
Maybe I'll go the billet route and just by a good numerical controlled machining center... about $250,000.
Or maybe I'll go to China.
Maybe I'll go the billet route and just by a good numerical controlled machining center... about $250,000.
Or maybe I'll go to China.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 16,270
Likes: 30
From: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-‘18-'19
NCM Sinkhole Donor
It's the age old story of marketing - charge whatever the market will bear. As long as there are customers buying the products for the asking price, the manufacturers and vendors selling the products will continue to charge the prices.
If the item has a C5 logo or the Corvette name on it in the C5 font, you're forgetting that GM charges very hefty licensing fees for their trademarks and their intellectual properties (as well they should - they spent millions developing those trademarks).
Remember that no one is forcing you to buy, if you want to dance you gotta pay the piper.....
If the item has a C5 logo or the Corvette name on it in the C5 font, you're forgetting that GM charges very hefty licensing fees for their trademarks and their intellectual properties (as well they should - they spent millions developing those trademarks).
Remember that no one is forcing you to buy, if you want to dance you gotta pay the piper.....
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 221
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte NC
Yes......and no, in some cases.... Black Out kit, for example... I bought one for my C5 from Ecklers about 5 years ago. I thought it was a little pricy at around $80+, but I wanted it, and when I got it I saw that the quality was good. (And I must say that I have been using it since with no problems at all.)
But I do agree that some of the stuff seems to be outrageous!!
But I do agree that some of the stuff seems to be outrageous!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,269
Likes: 50
From: Dallas Texas
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'09-'10
Originally Posted by lukeee
I'm like you. I'm going to design the parts myself, buy the molds and have a specialty shop run them. I figure I can get a set of taillight lenses for about $20,000.
Maybe I'll go the billet route and just by a good numerical controlled machining center... about $250,000.
Or maybe I'll go to China.
Maybe I'll go the billet route and just by a good numerical controlled machining center... about $250,000.
Or maybe I'll go to China.
Point well made. Even though the part itself only has a few cents worth of material, the costs of design,tooling, equipment,set up, and production time have to be factored in. The final cost of a part from a 500 piece production run is a lot higher than a 50,000 piece run. Big sales volume always brings lower prices, but Corvettes are a niche market.
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Team Owner
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 23,682
Likes: 9
From: Flagstaff Az.
vette tax
Be sure to look around for products and prices. A couple of years ago a set of good long tubes were usually a $1000 or more when a set for a chevy were half that. Now that Jet Hot and a few others have entered the market the price for a coated set is less than $600. Don't always believe the famous "you get what you pay for" that is so often posted here. There are good products out there for a reasonable price.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 2
From: Charlotte, NC
Originally Posted by lukeee
I'm like you. I'm going to design the parts myself, buy the molds and have a specialty shop run them. I figure I can get a set of taillight lenses for about $20,000.
Maybe I'll go the billet route and just by a good numerical controlled machining center... about $250,000.
Or maybe I'll go to China.
Maybe I'll go the billet route and just by a good numerical controlled machining center... about $250,000.
Or maybe I'll go to China.
-=Rick
Lepus-temperamentalus
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 5,827
Likes: 5
From: Roswell Ga
A LOT is "Corvette Tax" Rick.
Look at a Magna Charger.
You can pick up the supercharger rebuilt for GM cars for less than $1000, but that doesn't get you the rest of the hardware. So that minor hardware jacks the price up to $6,000? Nahhhh. Lots of profit there for somebody.
Look at a Magna Charger.
You can pick up the supercharger rebuilt for GM cars for less than $1000, but that doesn't get you the rest of the hardware. So that minor hardware jacks the price up to $6,000? Nahhhh. Lots of profit there for somebody.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 14,372
Likes: 2
From: Indianapolis IN
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
Originally Posted by zipwinger
Is it me or does anyone eles feel that the prices of tale light blackouts, billets and the Corvette lettering for the exterior of the car is way too expensive? I mean a lot of this stuff just sticks to the car with 3M tape. My wife thinks that I am being a tightwad. Am I missing something here?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 8,222
Likes: 0
From: Norfolk VA
Originally Posted by JACKAL0PE
A LOT is "Corvette Tax" Rick.
Look at a Magna Charger.
You can pick up the supercharger rebuilt for GM cars for less than $1000, but that doesn't get you the rest of the hardware. So that minor hardware jacks the price up to $6,000? Nahhhh. Lots of profit there for somebody.
Look at a Magna Charger.
You can pick up the supercharger rebuilt for GM cars for less than $1000, but that doesn't get you the rest of the hardware. So that minor hardware jacks the price up to $6,000? Nahhhh. Lots of profit there for somebody.
perfect example. Magna kit for the LS1 F-bodies is just over $2K. Put the Same engine in a vette and now it cost $6K.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 327
Likes: 0
From: McKinney Tx
Originally Posted by JACKAL0PE
A LOT is "Corvette Tax" Rick.
Look at a Magna Charger.
You can pick up the supercharger rebuilt for GM cars for less than $1000, but that doesn't get you the rest of the hardware. So that minor hardware jacks the price up to $6,000? Nahhhh. Lots of profit there for somebody.
Look at a Magna Charger.
You can pick up the supercharger rebuilt for GM cars for less than $1000, but that doesn't get you the rest of the hardware. So that minor hardware jacks the price up to $6,000? Nahhhh. Lots of profit there for somebody.
Last edited by elemon; Aug 6, 2006 at 03:29 PM.
