High prices.... why?

[CamaroJHL]

I have a question for you guys.... why are prices on parts for our cars so high?. I have had my car for about 5 years . I have done bolt ons American racing headers, exhuast and cai. I understand about supply and demand... and you have to pay to play exc..... but damn.. please enlighten me... seems like you have to take out a second mortgage to do a simply turbo and cam (do it the right way)... maybe i am just poor. Thanks guys I had to vent as well lol

[redcoats1976]

understood,i have yet to figure out why a simple CAI should go for 300 bucks.in the olden days i could buy a decent motor for that.luckily i think my car is fine stock or the wife would want me to start sleeping in it...

[The_Blur]

It's prohibitively expensive to upgrade because these cars are now premium cars. It's what we used to call the Corvette tax. Now, entry level cars have half the cylinders so companies justify raising prices on us.

[Scalded Dog]

Simple economics, unfortunately... sellers try to find the point on the curve with the highest quantity of sales combined with the highest profit margin that yields the greatest number of net dollars rolling in. They are in business to make money, which is what business is.

And, if the price is high, and people keep buying, the price will stay... until somebody else produces the same part and sells it for cheaper, creating some competition. In the mean time, guys like me (more of a have- not) must simply envy the haves... but I harbor no resentment, just because that's the way the market works.

[redcoats1976]

yep,at least we are starting with a good basic platform though.even if you dont mod your camaro its still a hell of a good car.

[Dmpsix]

I asked this exact question a while back, a lot of people say that it's all about making your Camaro your own... but eh idk, that made sense 2-3 years ago when these cars were still going for 25k+ used.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=456018

Originally Posted by Dmpsix

For example, cams with a full package or supercharger kits for $8k+

My point is why spend near $10k on 100rwhp when you can buy a ZL1 with magnetic suspension, more hp, better looking bodykit and a much safer powertrain all together?

Maybe I'm rambling, but I'd figure why not make some of these kits cheaper to sway people into buying them?

I for one will be trading up into a ZL1 next year, decided against supercharger + cam which is gonna have to lead into suspension, brakes, etc, etc... might as well get the ZL1, y'know?

Thoughts?

[S-eatin-grin]

Because so many have modified these cars one thing that you find as time goes by is that there are a lot lightly used performance parts available on this forum for a moderate discount off the original price. If you wait long enough and are daring enough to buy used you will find what you want here.

[Dmpsix]

Originally Posted by S-eatin-grin

Because so many have modified these cars one thing that you find as time goes by is that there are a lot lightly used performance parts available on this forum for a moderate discount off the original price. If you wait long enough and are daring enough to buy used you will find what you want here.

Yeah but this question is more geared towards buying parts brand new.

I still think paying $8k for a supercharger at this point is just dumb.

[ClawSS]

I would like to naively think that a "new" part that comes on the market is trying to recoup the R&D outlay along with any other barriers to market. Then over time that same part once establishing itself and accumulating sales to cover the sunk cost of production would have its price lowered to maintain dominance within the segment and boost competition while overcoming the "loss" in profit per unit by increasing sales volume year on year.

But, alas, no one seems to lower their prices overall once they find that the enthusiast market can bear it, but instead raise them because of perceived demand.

[jrhagen]

Collusion, there are several companies making air intakes, headers, cams, turbo kits, superchargers, wheels, all the after market parts you could think of.
The only way the prices could possibly be as high as they are is collusion.

[Jayjellyfish212]

I agree with OP. Parts are on the high side for gen5 parts. If you look at say upgrade of an electric water pump it's 3x higher than any other car. Same metal and internal parts. Just an example but OP makes a fair and reasonable question here.

[Dmpsix]

Supply & demand is definitely a key factor here, that's understandable and people gotta make their money of course.

I guess I just have my own reasons, I understand completely though like why a ZL1 fascia or something like some wheels or something almost never adjust in price, that's because it's cosmetic which is just solely looks. Something like that is always gonna be in demand as long as these 5th gens are still around.

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by CamaroJHL

I have a question for you guys.... why are prices on parts for our cars so high?. I have had my car for about 5 years . I have done bolt ons American racing headers, exhuast and cai. I understand about supply and demand... and you have to pay to play exc..... but damn.. please enlighten me... seems like you have to take out a second mortgage to do a simply turbo and cam (do it the right way)... maybe i am just poor. Thanks guys I had to vent as well lol

A lot of it is USA Companies that do R&D, then produce your parts here. With a car like this, you don't see as many Chinese knock-offs as on other cars.

As far as the one comment about Collusion, I strongly disagree. While many people in this Industry are friends, this is still a competitive market to be in.

[JLSuperfly]

Back in my VTEC days, I was modding my Acura Integra GSR which I still have. I think the prices are somewhat comparable. Bolt-ons such as headers and exhaust costs at least twice as much for comparable quality (JDM vs. American made) but then in my GSR, I only needed one header and one exhaust.