Why are alternators so expensive ??

[fast95pony]

My Mustang's alternator died last week. Ford wanted $440 CDN ($100 rebate if the old one is exchanged ) , several others were around $250-300 range. I managed to get a re-built one from an alternator/starter shop for $110 with a one year warranty. Why such a large difference in price ??
The quality cannot be that different . The re-built unit is working fine.

Ford must be making a huge profit on them...

[noise boy 2]

I personally use the theory that anytime a part fails then I upgrade. Case and point, when the alternator on the camaro crapped out, I upgraded to a 140Amp powermaster internally regulated unit to replace the 42 amp externally regulated one that failed. As far as why is the rebuilt one so much less expensive? Mainly because the only thing that gets rebuilt are the brushes and bushings, its not like they have to manufacture the whole thing from scratch. This said, 440 CDN for a alternator is a stone cold rip off whether or not they give you 100 back for the old core. Robert

[KC]

When an alternaor gets rebuilt, it usually gets a new set of brushes, bushings and maybe a new voltage regualtor if it has gone bad. Easily repaired yourself if you can find the parts.

Same thing with starters.

[Lee Janotta]

Well, I spent last summer working in a very large auto parts warehouse/store, so here's what I learned:

1. When you buy OEM, all you're buying is the name. New alternators, starters, and A/C compressors had just as high a rate of defects and warranty returns as the better of our two rebuilt brands. The name is also the reason for the price markup. The guys on the phones would dance up and down every time they sold a Motorcraft or Delco alternator.

2. The warranties on rebuilt parts are often just as good as with new parrs, and what's more, you're less likely to get hassled when you try to get a refund or replacement for a rebuilt part than a new one.

3. Rebuilders are a mixed bag. From my experience, I strongly recommend ARI
http://www.americanremaninc.com/
Good warranty, and good parts. I had one starter fail through my own incompetence, and it was immediatly replaced under warranty. And that's the only problem I've ever had with their parts. We actually had a lower defect rate on their alternators than on Delcos! But we also carried another brand, who's name I'll not mention, simply to cover part numbers which ARI didn't handle. And these things were complete junk. More than half went back to the factory as defects, and my manager finally refused to sell them if the ARI part was available.

[neilap]

Yes, the people who do the rebuilding are the most important factor. I used to work P/T at a parts shop. At that time they gave lifetime warranties on rebuilt alternators. GM alternators used to last an average of 30k then fail.

I had a Mazda that I got about 90k on the OEM alternator and about 100k on a rebuilt one.

[rx72c]

I got a mazda i reconditioned mine my self cost me 190 but i changed everything but the casing and it works better than the standard one. I get 14.6 V