It's bad enough finding parts for these cars esp. 1st gens but it's even worse when you've got vulchers out there jacking prices on obsolete parts (1st gen lse bumper) . It just makes me hate this car that much more. It's amazing to watch people truly go nuts when an lse bumper pops up for sale & how crazy the bidding war gets. The argument against the aftermarket losing money repopping lse bumpers is absurd. How could they lose $$$ if there's such a high demand for these bumpers ?
Greed over supply & demand
- Thread starter Lseme
- Start date
Define "high demand". A Mustang or Camaro or Charger are high demand vehicles. More Mustangs are sold PER YEAR than the total LS production. Heck, there were as many Pacers made as LSes! Tooling for a part costs millions; there is no way to recoup their investment, let alone make money. You (as well as most new, young owners) need to wrap your head around the fact that the LS was an entry level luxury sedan with excellent handling. Not a muscle car, not a BMW "M" car, not an AMG, not a hot rod. Never had, never will have aftermarket support. It didn't even have Lincoln support after the '03 was released. In the early days of LLSOC (we were even supported by Lincoln!) we tried to get vendors to produce aftermarket parts and the only company that showed any interest was Magnaflow. And that was when the LS was Motor Trend's Car of The Year! Even the McLaren supercharged LS was a bust. They sold the car with the blower in the trunk as they could not get it to work. The LS is dead and the only thing we can hope to do is keep them running until the parts need to keep them running are no longer available or just aren't worth the cost.
And, it's vulture......
FDR
Dedicated LVC Member
All 4 of you LSE hunters should start your own company. The only reason bidding wars happen is because all 4 of you are grabbing from the same source feed. Find a bumper source and don't tell anyone, then see the nonexistant demand fail to materialize
(Sigh) so I'm stuck with a car that I can't even get the right bumper for, or at least at a reasonable price. It almost makes you want to laugh. Or cry. This kind of thing will make a person go crazy. Or pour gasoline on the car and light a match.
G-RELL
FULLY DIPPED LS
I've never seen someone get so worked up about a car!!! Jesus man, get rid of it already. You have all the information you need. If rare parts are this big of an issue for you, then dump it. Your just scratching the surface parts for the LS. High prices for unique parts (/anything) is the way of the world. I have a stack of unique parts I either use, or have collected over the years, some will go to friends, some will go to the highest bidder.
Its a F'in bumper man. Sh!t or get off the pot (as my dad would have said).
Your cheapest route was to salvage your broken one...
Hate to be harsh, but how many threads are we going to start on this.. its a bumper!
Its a F'in bumper man. Sh!t or get off the pot (as my dad would have said).
Your cheapest route was to salvage your broken one...
Hate to be harsh, but how many threads are we going to start on this.. its a bumper!
I will have a GEN1 Sport bumper available for sale here in the next few weeks when I get the bumper I just bought. It would need to be painted to match your car and there are a couple minor scrapes in it that would need to be fixed. Also, the passenger side fog light will need to be replaced as it is cracked. It does have the original tow hook cover as well still attached. Just a thought to get you a bumper. The GEN 1 sport bumpers are becoming harder to come by as time goes on as people are wrecking the front end more often than not.
G-RELL
FULLY DIPPED LS
i have both 1gen and 2nd gen NON LSE fogs too, happy to sell. can even include a set of HID's with it!
To the OP, you have to decide what parts you want, what your willing to pay, and how long you want to wait...
For example, I always wanted a Mclaren grille.. but never wanted to pay $300+ for the 10 or so I came across over the last 5+years, but after keeping an eye on ebay, This For Sale section, and keeping up on relations with members here... I found one (that needed a bit of work) for less than $100.
Its just what it takes if you dont want to pay "retail" price.
GL with your searches... But bitching here is a waste of time...
To the OP, you have to decide what parts you want, what your willing to pay, and how long you want to wait...
For example, I always wanted a Mclaren grille.. but never wanted to pay $300+ for the 10 or so I came across over the last 5+years, but after keeping an eye on ebay, This For Sale section, and keeping up on relations with members here... I found one (that needed a bit of work) for less than $100.
Its just what it takes if you dont want to pay "retail" price.
GL with your searches... But bitching here is a waste of time...
I've seen Edd on 'Wheeler Dealers' fix a lot of bumpers over the years.
I didn't save it because it was in about 4 pieces with chunks missing. My apologies for the endless bitching . I'll shut up now.
G-RELL
FULLY DIPPED LS
anything missing can be recreated with enough time and effort, but I understand trashing it not knowing how hard it would be to replace it!....... sucks, i know. GL
hite337
Hite Performance
This car is dead, get over it. No company with any sense at all would make aftermarket parts for an LS. It hasnt been produced for almost 10 years and there were barely over a quarter million ever made. There was no aftermarket then and there is no aftermarket now.
G-RELL
FULLY DIPPED LS
I heard of a company called HITE Performance made LS specific parts!!! I've seen a few heat shields and COP holders.
Rumor has it they even make a pair of pliers for a first gen transmission breather tube install that includes a seating device!!!!
Rumor has it they even make a pair of pliers for a first gen transmission breather tube install that includes a seating device!!!!
hite337
Hite Performance
Like I said....a company with any sense....
Same said company also makes a steel degas bottle, I have the heat shield, license plate bracket and COP hold downs from that company ... you think they would send you a Fn sticker BUT Nooooo!
Its aluminum...and I dont do stickers. I find horsepower the old fashioned way....not 5hp per sticker
Telco
Dedicated LVC Member
LSEME - think it's bad here? Go check out what THESE guys go through.
http://forums.aaca.org/forum/11-buick-reatta/
There were roughly 20-25 thousand LSs or so made per year from 2000 to 2006. There were roughly 20,000 Reattas made period, between 1988 to 1992. They actually rebuild broken parts for replacements. Had to replace the windshield on my Reatta, which was the last straw for me. It cost the insurance company 2200 dollars and took 6 weeks. The glass company had to pull the molds or whatever they use from storage and make me a one-off windshield. I sold the car to some sucker for about 2500 bucks as soon as the windshield was installed.
http://forums.aaca.org/forum/11-buick-reatta/
There were roughly 20-25 thousand LSs or so made per year from 2000 to 2006. There were roughly 20,000 Reattas made period, between 1988 to 1992. They actually rebuild broken parts for replacements. Had to replace the windshield on my Reatta, which was the last straw for me. It cost the insurance company 2200 dollars and took 6 weeks. The glass company had to pull the molds or whatever they use from storage and make me a one-off windshield. I sold the car to some sucker for about 2500 bucks as soon as the windshield was installed.
The number is closer to 35K made per year as an average. Your top figure suggests only 175K LSs were ever made.
FDR
Dedicated LVC Member
I think you actually like the struggle you're facing with parts. Being cheap on CL is why the LS has so many short term owners. It's cheap, seems cool, sucks to fix, easier to sell. Who do we know just went through that cycle and turned around at the sight of lowball offers?
What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment.