Had the dealer replace the spark plugs today

If you don't do the work yourself, then you pay for not just the labor, but a price mark up on the parts. The mechanic may get the plugs for $8-$9 but not their customer. Mechanics mark up the price because they got bills to pay! DIY solves this!

 

They're definitely not cheap. My dealer sells them for $20 a pop but I'd still rather buy from them than pick up some possible fakes online.

 

Lol... The fakes are pretty rare...

 

True. But the savings is next to nothing over the course of 120k mile.

 

Sixty percent of spark plugs purchased online, in this investigation conducted in Australia. I'm finding it harder to get a similar number for the US.

But I guess that's rare, if you compare it to seventy or eighty percent.

 

I'm sorry for your loss, but that's not the biggest dealer rip story I'll hear about today.
An hour of labor ($$??) plus a pretty hefty parts markup isn't all that bad....IF....they did it right.

$9.90 locally (from the mothership.)
$8.99 from Advance.

Cheaper on-line but then you run the usual risks....

 

seems reasonable every 120k

 

My dad told me about how in the early 1950's he'd get all bent out of shape because it cost $5 to fill the gas tank...

 

Would buying OTC from a Pep Boys, Autozone, etc...protect you from buying a fake set of plugs?

 

$1.75 in 1982 is about $4.90 in today's dollars.

How long did those last?

 

Not as long as they do today. We usually had to do points, plugs and condenser around 20k miles. Back then it was common to clean and regap the plugs and put them back in....not like today's throw away society. Oil changes were every 3k miles.
A car that had 100k miles was pretty much worn out back then.

 

Yes, a local parts store will have legit parts. As will a reputable online retailer, like Rock Auto. Buying on Ebay is the most risky. Amazon can be just as bad depending on the seller. For instance, I believe Denso has an Amazon store -- that would be fine.

 

hmmm, who would benefit by spreading a rumour about "fake plugs online" ?

... everyone that didn't sell plugs online...

 

In this Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council white paper, they describe this shipping practice that "at least one" online marketplace uses (page 13).

The white paper doesn't name what online marketplace they mean by "at least one", but I have definitely had that happen to me when buying from Amazon. You can clearly tell their computer system tries to match up product numbers/descriptions on offer from different sellers (so it can give you "four other sellers have this product for less but the shipping might not be free" or whatever), and it's not uncommon to read through the reviews on one listing and realize they are combining reviews people have given that "product" from different sellers (sometimes the review even mentions an email or phone conversation with the seller, and it won't be the seller you're looking at).

I definitely bought a product last year (not an auto part, a knife sharpener) that flat-out arrived on my porch with the packaging and logo of the seller I had deliberately decided not to buy it from. One of the stones was cracked, and I requested a replacement, and that came from somewhere yet again different.

It clearly seems that they are letting their computers "identify" matching products (seller A product X and seller B product Y look from their descriptions like they must be the "same" thing), and then say "look, Chap ordered X from A but we've got a warehouse closer to him with a whole pile of Y from B, we'll just send that."

 

Are you saying counterfeits are not a significant problem?

Counterfeit Parts | Toyota Europe

I know that's for Toyota EU, but if anyone thinks all those items at crazy low prices on eBay and Amazon are original OEM, they have a lot to learn. There are plenty of threads on the forum discussing counterfeits and even include links to the Chinese manufacturers who make them.

Spark plugs | PriusChat