The cost of spares

[elbon50]

I bought a gearbox for 99p on eBay

No carriage

I collected it from Tamworth

[oukie]

There was one chap on ebay who I contacted looking for mint mica blue side skirts he wanted £160

I went out and bought a mica blue spares car with only 78k miles on it for £250

Only problem was being a mk1 fan the car was way to good to scrap so ended up with another fixer-upper

Chris

[kaiowas]

I bought a gearbox for 99p on eBay

No carriage

I collected it from Tamworth

When I picked up my 99p eBay gearbox I got a free pair of driveshafts, a boot lid, an ECU, a complete pair of headlamp assemblies and probably a few other bits that I've forgotten about. Couldn't bring myself to pay 99p for it all so gave the guy a fiver.

Picked it all up in the mk1 as well

[elbon50]

I bought a gearbox for 99p on eBay

No carriage

I collected it from Tamworth

When I picked up my 99p eBay gearbox I got a free pair of driveshafts, a boot lid, an ECU, a complete pair of headlamp assemblies and probably a few other bits that I've forgotten about. Couldn't bring myself to pay 99p for it all so gave the guy a fiver.

Picked it all up in the mk1 as well

Blimey

Thought I'd done well Kaiowas

Does show though that absolute bargains are occasionally available

[oukie]

I bought a gearbox for 99p on eBay

No carriage

I collected it from Tamworth

When I picked up my 99p eBay gearbox I got a free pair of driveshafts, a boot lid, an ECU, a complete pair of headlamp assemblies and probably a few other bits that I've forgotten about. Couldn't bring myself to pay 99p for it all so gave the guy a fiver.

Picked it all up in the mk1 as well

Thought I'd done well Kaiowas

Does show though that absolute bargains are occasionally available

I can beat that

I have been given not one but two free mk1's, one was even a runner


Chris

[kaiowas]

When I picked up my 99p eBay gearbox I got a free pair of driveshafts, a boot lid, an ECU, a complete pair of headlamp assemblies and probably a few other bits that I've forgotten about. Couldn't bring myself to pay 99p for it all so gave the guy a fiver.

Picked it all up in the mk1 as well

Thought I'd done well Kaiowas

Does show though that absolute bargains are occasionally available

I can beat that

I have been given not one but two free mk1's, one was even a runner


Chris

Our race car was donated to us. All it needed was a bit of welding and a bit of work on the brakes to get through an MOT

[elbon50]

Yes plenty of very cheap (or free) Mk1s @ the mo

Ideal source of spares for any member who has the storage space

The danger is that in a few years the supply of rusty old AW11s will dwindle down to nothing

Have had that happen in the past with other makes/models

[SuperRedMR2]

I just think its sad that the sellers do not realise they are pricing people out of the market for the bits and pieces.

Thankfully it may enable me to sell on my spares from my old engine as i'm not a greedy xxxxxx.

[ulysess1966]

Over the past 3 years the availability of Toyota spares for the SC has become a bit critical. Too many parts were particular not just to the 4A-GZE engine, but that car. Alternators are all gone now as well as some odd parts like ISC valves and so on. Some stock is still available in the US and Japan, but big $$$ to get it. I've gotten better at re-building stuff lately.

On eBay the time of year is important. Just after Christmas and early Autumn are good times to buy assuming you have some money. Best bargain I got was a pair of T-bar roof glasses for £10 + £8 postage a few years ago.

[Peter Gidden]

At the end of the day, nothing is worth anything more than someone is willing to pay for it.

There are bargains to be had, but as parts become rarer, prices will increase.

[kevin..in]

I just think its sad that the sellers do not realise they are pricing people out of the market for the bits and pieces.

yes it really annoys me that the price of Ferrari's is way out of my price range, don't these people realise i only earn a pittance?
like i have already said if its priced too high then don't buy it, there is often a cheap way of getting bits for our cars but it envolves getting your hands dirty
or we could march on the capitol and riot untill we make them all see we won't stand for traders making a living

[Lauren]

Over the past 3 years the availability of Toyota spares for the SC has become a bit critical. Too many parts were particular not just to the 4A-GZE engine, but that car. Alternators are all gone now as well as some odd parts like ISC valves and so on. Some stock is still available in the US and Japan, but big $$$ to get it. I've gotten better at re-building stuff lately.

On eBay the time of year is important. Just after Christmas and early Autumn are good times to buy assuming you have some money. Best bargain I got was a pair of T-bar roof glasses for £10 + £8 postage a few years ago.

To be fair, if there is stock in Japan, then your local dealer can order it for you. I do this all the time. I have some some parts coming over from Japan that are specific to my car which is JDM. I agree that you can not get oats for the SC unit itself and that will become issue as the blower will wear out eventually.

[ulysess1966]

Lauren, you're right of course, if there are parts in Toyota's inventory then they can get them, but more items are running out each year. The ISC valve for example has run out in Toyota's inventory. There are some left in the US with third-party suppliers, but by the time you add shipping, possible import duty and so on, the cost is ridiculous.

[SuperRedMR2]

At least there are some bargains to be made still - I sold my £500 Rogue engine for £100 last night