I change my oil myself. As soon as I heard of the First Brands bankruptcy, I bought 3-years worth of oil filters for our 5-cars in our family. I figured between tariffs and new owners, prices were going up.
I had 3-4 years worth of wipers on hand already.
For repairs I don't do myself, I have two different repair shops that will fix my cars for labor only with my supplied parts. They are both super honest.
You can get good auto parts from Amazon and RockAuto sometimes at 50% or more less than local auto parts stores charge. I usually pay $2.00 for my wipers from RockAuto. Stuff like Starters can be $100 on Amazon vs $400-$500 from a repair shop who just gets it from Napa for $300 and marks it up.
Batteries are best from Costco.
I used to be a supplier to all the big auto parts stores. Their typical mark-up is 200% (3-times cost) on car parts.
With the front-running of tariffs, I suspected the 4th qtr would be when the big increases due to tariffs would be pushed through. We got 2-sets of tires for our cars around Labor Day, as rubber and steel have big tariffs. We needed them by November, but I moved things up due to tariffs.
I replaced by son aj's entire suspension (struts, springs, strut bearings, ball joints, tie rods, stabilizer links). The loaded strut assemblies ran me about $122/ea. However, I double-ordered one, and by the time I ordered the replacement, it ran 30% more just 10-days later. Fortunately, I goofed again on the part, so I returned the more expensive part and was able to replace it with one I found for $122 again.
They're back up to $161 again. I did all the work myself on that car. I also replaced the CV Axle on the passenger side as well.
Anyway, tariffs keep coming, and if you need to buy anything tariff related in the next 3-years, it's best to do it now. Consumer refunds via class action lawsuits are coming, but it will be quite a pain for consumers to claw back very many of the tariffs that will go away once the Supreme Court rules them illegal in 2026. |
