what is up with the price of windshield wiper blades?

[prof fate]

Time to hit up rockauto.com. You will see your $3-5 wipers there. Parts stores are getting ridiculous for some stuff.

more like $2 for anco refills - refills today being the whole blade less the 'arm'.

I hated changing just the rubber strip.

 

[Wagtail]

I've always replaced my windscreen wiper 'blades' before they become a problem... it's a safety thing with me. Of course, I'd remove them at the Auto-parts shop and take them in to ensure that I got the correct sizes as the passenger-side wiper is shorter than the other. I'd buy the best ones.

A few months ago, it was time to replace and I did my usual routine of walking the blades up to the counter of my local town's only auto-parts shop. For the first time in my experience, the proprietor didn't go to the rack of blades... instead he proceeded to remove the blade from the wiper mechanism then measured, cut and replaced just the 'rubber' wiper blade on both of the holders. I was gobsmacked. All these 'years' of tossing the whole, expensive, thing when the 'rubber' blade was readily replaceable and at a fraction of the cost.

 

[bunyip]

Friend of mine who teaches mechanics tells me that there many grades of wiper blades from a few hundred dumped in a box to individually wrapped blades, the latter are the quality ones and last longer and I am tempted to go for silicon blades which leave a little residue behind and keep the windscreen cleaner, ergo, nothing sticks to it (apart from those big bugs that almost crack the screen and splatter thick yellow goop everywhere like contact cement).

 

[QRTRHRS]

The Bosch bladesI bought at Wal-Mart were as I recall not the top of their line but maybe next one's down. They clean just fine but are anything but quiet even though the info on the packaging said they would be. The windshield on my van I bought with 100k miles is pretty clear so it may have been replaced. Would after market glass be the cause of noisy wipers?

 

[sixdogs]

When I lived in a cold climate I got the best results with mail order "winter" blades that were fully wrapped in rubber. They seemed to last longer and work better. Then I discovered RainX that helps water just run off the windshield. It's no good in snow but if I keep the window lubed up with RainX I don't need the wipers as much. It's not for everyone but works for me.

 

[stuckmotor]

I've always replaced my windscreen wiper 'blades' before they become a problem... it's a safety thing with me. Of course, I'd remove them at the Auto-parts shop and take them in to ensure that I got the correct sizes as the passenger-side wiper is shorter than the other. I'd buy the best ones.

A few months ago, it was time to replace and I did my usual routine of walking the blades up to the counter of my local town's only auto-parts shop. For the first time in my experience, the proprietor didn't go to the rack of blades... instead he proceeded to remove the blade from the wiper mechanism then measured, cut and replaced just the 'rubber' wiper blade on both of the holders. I was gobsmacked. All these 'years' of tossing the whole, expensive, thing when the 'rubber' blade was readily replaceable and at a fraction of the cost.

I've had the opposite experience. It seems that until a few years back, two packs of rubber wiper refills were the norm. Lately, all I've seen in the local parts stores were whole fixtures of metal carrier and blade. The killer part of this change came when I was installing a complete fixture and my butter fingers let the wiper arm smack into the windshield. It wasn't long before I had to have the glass replaced.

 

[stuckmotor]

When I lived in a cold climate I got the best results with mail order "winter" blades that were fully wrapped in rubber. They seemed to last longer and work better. Then I discovered RainX that helps water just run off the windshield. It's no good in snow but if I keep the window lubed up with RainX I don't need the wipers as much. It's not for everyone but works for me.

Sixdogs,
You must really have lived in a cold climate. Chucke2009 moved to Texas and If memory serves the cold in Ohio was one of the reasons.

 

[kc5dlo]

As mentioned above, Rock Auto has your affordable wiper blades. I usually pay $2 to $5 each for name brand. I usually buy Bosch. They also have the correct rear blades for the same money. No local parts store around here carry refill blades anymore and I refuse to pay their asking price. Rock Auto does charge for shipping, but I will usually order oil and air filters at the same time making the purchase very reasonable.

Yep, I too now buy my blades from Rock Auto. I usually take inventory of the needs of all the cars at my house and order several sets for each car. I go for the premium brands but avoid the gimmick stuff. Back in the early 90's I bought these blades that were a dual blade set up with those little wings on the to apply more pressure or what ever. They were OK till we had some sleet or snow. In just a couple of minutes they became a frozen block of ice. Had to stop every few exits and thump the accumulation off of them.

Seems like wipers used to last a lot longer than they do today. My wifes car stays in the garage and wipers will easily last a couple of years. The rest of the cars I change out before the annual vehicle inspection each year.

 

[Wagtail]

I've had the opposite experience. It seems that until a few years back, two packs of rubber wiper refills were the norm. Lately, all I've seen in the local parts stores were whole fixtures of metal carrier and blade. The killer part of this change came when I was installing a complete fixture and my butter fingers let the wiper arm smack into the windshield. It wasn't long before I had to have the glass replaced.

That's the part that amazed me; the bloke had a 'roll' of wiper rubber (with aluminium backing/tracking) underneath the sales counter. He simply measured, cut and inserted the new rubber blade into the old (and perfectly functional) mechanism.

Any other Auto-parts shop I've ever been to has only sold the whole windscreen wiper = blade, mechanism/holder, arm adaptor.

 

[ultrarunner]

Changed a lot of Used Car lot wiper blades at my first job... they really did cost about a buck per insert and we had a Trico display for me to pull from...

For wiper assemblies Costco is convenient.

Not long ago I went to the auto parts store and asked where they keep the inserts... the two counter guys didn't know what I was asking.

The old time parts stores are simply no more here... sign of the times.