...P

I find it unsettling that some of the 928 supply outlets are charging over $120 more for an electric window relay than the one I just purchased from a reputable source.

I would understand if they had to pay $100 for the unit and then sell it at $130, but fellas, that is no way to win loyal customers. In fact, I will make a point to buy my parts at places that treat me well, and paying over a hundred bucks for ANY automotive relay is a rip off.

I don't think Porsche invented the relay for the 928, and figure there are a lot of cross references that can be used from other German manufacturers who also had those terribly complicated things like electric windows that require such expensive relays. And what about the two (2) relays required for headlight motors, lol, have you seen the prices some people are asking?

As soon as I receive mine and put them into service I'll post where I got them and how they work. I just purchased two electric window relays (one for a spare) at around seven bucks each.

Regards, P

Randy V

The thing is that most vendors do not look to cross-source parts.

They order the Porsche part number and pay the price then pass it along to customers with a set mark up.

That said, we are fortunate to have parts suppliers for the 928 who do look for alternate sources of similar parts and pass those savings on to their customers.

The Forgotten On

The one relay where you have to buy the correct factory relay is the headlight relay, there is no substitute.

They are complicated and expensive, I hope mine doesn't fail again.

PS. Yank all of the relays out of parts cars, most of them have a ton of life left and they are dirt cheap.

James Bailey

hopefully you get the correct relay there are at least 4 different possibilities prices from about $15-$90 and do not supercede /exchange. And yes while Porsche did not make relays they often did design model specific or proprietary designs for specific uses and sadly more and more are no longer being made and the market is too small to reproduce them at any reasonable cost.
You could also argue that spending well over $100,000 for a new 1995 GTS was a "ripoff " .

Maybach_Man

Thats the beauty of forums.....people with knowledge can point others in the correct direction. I would not know 'off hand' if there was an alternative relay for a given application, so, to be safe would probably replace like for like. But if you know about these things please enlighten us all!!

curtisr

Such advice shows up from time to time and I would echo it. While the quality of my work includes having left a battery post cap on, I can say that replacing a generic relay with the dedicated part has fixed things for me on more than one occasion. Now if I could only find the battery relay...

James Bailey

Still remember hearing Mark A. talking to a customer who was RANDOMLY pulling relays and placing them back WHERE EVER they would plug in.....just to see what would happen !!!!!! The car would not run before he did it and certainly not AFTER !! Also note that some "replacement" relays which might have the same schematic diagram are not rated for or designed for the load of a particular circuit and are prone to early failure.
The electrical portion of the ignition switch which is used in many other Porsche cars is a big enough market that it IS being reproduced in an aftermarket model. It is very commonly sold as a replacement but not well disclosed as such and has not proven to be as reliable as the real part. Water pumps too were considered too expensive and now you can buy a wonderful Chinese part which LOOKS like a water pump....

...P

BUSTED !!! AND GUILTY AS CHARGED !!!

Yes fans, I am here to report I got two (2, count-em) window operator relays for my 1983 928 for a total of.............drumroll please................fourteen dollars ($14).

I find it totally obscene to see some "other" 928 parts supply houses that we all have to do business with because of the limited parts supply on this low production car, who are charging us a hundred bucks or more for a relay device that plugs into the 928 relay receptacle and makes my windows work. Why did I buy two you ask? Well for that price I figured I would be able to have a spare.

I'm not sure just what kind of an excuse they can give for this sort of price. It looks like ........ well fellas, I'm going to hold back here and use a little restraint, but if you look at some of these places online, go ahead and check their price for the window relay, and if it is over ten bucks then DO NOT buy anything at that location, they are just ripping you (and other people like us) off.

For any of you guys who may need the window relay, here is where you can get one for a more than fair price. http://www.automotion.com/relay-head...1978-1979.html

Having said that, if any of the "other" 928 supply houses are reading this, just remember if you tried to sell me one of these for over $100 I won't buy ANYTHING from you.

Happy window winding !!!

...P




~~~~~~~ UPDATE ~~~~~~~



Before anyone reads too much farther into this thread, be advised the issue has been resolved due to an adjustment made on the referenced web site that was an honest error.
That web site was showing a Genuine Porsche relay at $123, and then on another independent link showing an OEM relay at $123, and I took issue with the price.

After lots of communication and insults being hurled like school yard children, some of us who tried to maintain a sense of respect and continue the objective thread, came to the conclusion there had been an honest error made.

Had I sensed this was a typo I would have called the company, who is 928 Specialists. Not only are they a sponsor here, they are a reputable company.
It is unfortunate that the pricing of this OEM relay was incorrectly listed and caused some of us (me in particular) to think they were willfully trying to overcharge.
This was not the case.

The bottom line is this: OEM relays are available for the 1983 Porsche 928 at a cost of around $7 for the OEM part.
If you want one that is "Genuine Porsche" then the cost is $123.

Prices for these parts are generally similar from various other vendors.

Sincerely,

P

...P

That is why I chose to wait and see if the one I got for $7 would actually work in my 1983 928 S. Speaking about rip-off, just how would you feel if you were the guy who paid a hundred bucks for the same thing? In addition, how would you feel if you were the guy who sold someone like you or me one for a hundred bucks? Some people have no conscience when it comes to money and greed, but I do.



Yes..............it's more like "you could argue that.........(fill in the blank)....."

It is rather revealing when someone is actually exposed for selling something of that value for a hundred bucks, when someone is making a profit selling one for $7.

It hurts our sport/hobby to have that sort of thing going on. Now we have people thinking they need to cannibalize a 928 becaue the relays are so valuable.

Regards,

...P

Randy V

Fify

jej3

...P

Randy, don't oversell your argument, lol.

James Bailey

Not that it matters as I am NOT in the parts business but if I PAID $90.00 for the part selling it for $100.00 does not seem unreasonable....certainly not greedy or criminal. All our vendors must source and BUY their parts from others and prices vary as does the quality and or originality of the parts. If you sell thousands of parts it is not always possible to search out the cheapest best source for every single one and confirm that they do function correctly. The electrical ignition switch is a good example of where the commonly available replacement switch is an inferior product prone to early failure so many vendors including Roger T. only recommend and sell the "real" switch.
Glad your relay works, enjoy your car....

PHIL928

Do they work though?

M. Requin

I'm amazed I'm the first to call ENZO on this one- https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...-116-00-a.html (And BTW, the best reason to check this thread out is Jeannie's avatar...)