Getting my 52 Dodge PU ready for the road with a new rad. I needed an upper radiator hose so I went to Oriellys. Settled on a universal hose. The counter person rung it up. $43.85 and that’s with a military discount. Regular price was $48.49. Holy bat chit robin! Check Rock Auto and they wanted $29.92 before shipping. Corporate greed is what this is.

I can make a lot of references to why it is so expensive but it would end up in the free for all forum.

Everything uncommon has gotten too expensive. Ordinary high volume stuff like oil and cleaners hasn't changed too much but stuff that doesn't fly off the shelves is insane.

I feel if this trend continues it will end a lot of the slightly more unique stuff we enjoy.

I was at Oreiilys yesterday to get a couple of oil filters. A friend asked my to pick up a two pack of 1156 and a two pack of 1157 bulbs. 7.49 a pack!! Wow!!

I know someone who bought one fan belt at NAPA earlier in the summer and it was $36.

Spray paint is like double or more here with bare spots on the shelves where the popular colors are often sold out. Sandpaper in certain grits is super hard to get also, and this has been going on for 3 years.

Tried to buy a bottle of carnauba car wax a few weeks ago and nobody had it in stock. Stuff used to be available everywhere. Bottle of car wax is now 15-22 dollars if you can find the one you want.

Local art supply house said since C-19 they have a heck of a time keeping foam core board in stock as something has happened out there that makes their distributer unable to locate it. They get it in small amounts occasionally, and its sold to customers on a list the moment it shows up.

Go to Summit's website and you'll see prices are up on a lot of things especially aluminum parts like forged pistons, carburetors, intakes, and wheels.

A lot of the items mentioned require oil to manufacture

Don't get me started on the cost of windshield wipers (late model)............

I get a lot of years out of them by occasionally cleaning them with rubbing alcohol or if they're too bad, I'll run some fine sandpaper over them. A few years ago the wife wanted new wipers, I just cleaned them up, no complaints since then. I guess I need to look after them again since it's been raining so much.

Put radiator hoses on my 2000 Chebby work truck today. First 3 suppliers were out of stock on the lower hose. When I finally found one it set me back back $70 for the pair (upper and lower hoses).

I always want to support LOCAL over bringing in (Rockauto) . . . BUT - needed alternator for the Satellite - Local NAPA was $180 (Cdn $) for rebuilt unit . . . RA was $80 - DELIVERED to my door, next day (remember that's INTERNATIONAL shipping) !! . . . that is just TOO much difference to NOT buy from RA !!!

My wife did not want to bother me si stopped and grabbed a 2 pack of brake light bulbs since one was out. She figured 7.50 fir 2 regular 11 bucks for long life. She bought the long life. One lasted a week. Second one lasted 2 weeks as she used the car less.
Yepper made in China.
Total waste of money. Not only is stuff high priced it junk.
I grabbed my boxes of bulk old Phillips bulbs made in USA put one in still going on over a month.
They are getting us coming and going.
Used to be you got what you paid for, and you did not mind paying extra for better.

I feel the same way - but divide all outrageous present day prices
by the price of a Coke bought from a roadside vending machine,
or the price of a Milky Way candy bar.

In year 1950
eight ounce Cokes were 5 cents
and Milky Way candy bars were 5 cents.
Troy ounce of gold was $36

A house in a good location was bought in 1953 without central air conditioning for $20,000
and essentially the same house with central air conditioning was bought this year for $1,750,000

Herbert Hoover in 1913 (before he was President) bought a solid Redwood vacation cabin on 3 acres from his in-laws for $500 in gold coins, when gold was $20.67 per troy ounce, same cabin with only 0.3 acre yard now offered for $2,395,000

Just read that coal being mined in Russian occupied part of Ukraine is sold to Turkey for $99 per metric ton at mine - imagine working deep in a mine while you can hear the explosions of artillery shells above.

Was told by my grandfather that coal in 1913 USA was selling for 55 cents per ton and went to $22 per metric ton in 1918, then fell back to 55 cents in 1927.

Only works when the blade hasn't been sun-baked off the wiper arm. 2015 Toyota on its third set of blades. When I replaced them in 2019, I think I paid around $25 for the pair. This time it was around $60

They can't keep spare parts too cheap or people will decide to keep their paid-for vehicles going!

Otherwise they'll never pony up for new $85K Hyundais or $100K pickup trucks.

"Hope & Change"

oops, I meant hope FOR change.

I just picked up a can of the duplicolor color match spry paint the other week and it was over $20 for one of those small cans.
The last serpentine belt I bought was almost $40 or maybe even over, I can't remember now,
I see the regular oil filters over $7 a piece. Air filters more then double what they were a while ago too.
I still price locally because sometimes I can still get stuff cheaper then online and I don't mind paying a bit more if it helps keep a local store in business and I know from shopping around that not all the prices are because of store markup but damn..

I watched a podcast this AM where the 2 guys were debating why counterfeiting is illegal l but its legal for the government to print trillions. Who the hell "approves" that? I'm not an economics experts but WTH do we "need" inflation? You would think with increased technology and production efficiency our money would continue to get strong, not weaker?!?! We are all pawns in a larger game that we dont get to play.

I bought 4 ujoints for a 4wd truck. SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS EACH AND ALL WERE A DIFFERENT PART NUMBER. THAT IS BEYOND INSANE. ALL INVOLVED SHOULD BE FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who? Maybe it was the guy who made cars in SAE and Metric on the car.

The government doesn't print money. They are supposed to. It is a mandate the founders put in the congressional responsibilities. But Woodrow Wilson handed that responsibility over to the Federal Reserve, who is neither a Federal agency, nor a bank, on December 23rd 1913, after Congress had adjourned for Christmas. This is why we have deficits and inflation. Every since then, the government is borrowing our money supply from them.

Who owns the Federal Reserve...private entities.

Sticking with the inflation theme...bought a GFI outlet this week to replace a non-functional unit on my porch. $30. I used to buy a box of these for $30. Guess I'm just starting down the old man path.

makes me feel good i have piled up the "stuff" collection for "future use"...............

I've seen it all now, a used Durango air filter...from a 2019 Durango w/ 34,000 miles, the recommended air filter change interval is 30,000 miles and he wants $30, but he'll ship it for free. Throw it in the trash buddy...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364269798831?

New mopar OEM on Amazon $47.21

4861756AA

Reckon which one I bought?