What ever happened to wiper blade refills?
Ohioguy
morning, we washed the windows and cleaned the wiper blades - one of
which promptly came apart. The rubber had come apart, that is. I
remember just a few years ago, spending $3 for a pair of wiper blade
refills.
We visited numerous stores in search of wiper blade refills - Meijer,
a couple of auto parts places, Kmart, and Wal-Mart. Only one of them
had any selection at all of wiper blade refills, but not the size we needed.
Instead of spending 3 or 4 bucks for a couple of refills, I had to
replace the entire metal assembly for over $6 each. That's over 3 times
what I was expecting to spend, simply because I couldn't replace only
the part that had worn out.
Now I'm left with the old metal wiper blade assemblies, which appear
to be of better quality than the new ones.
Is there no national chain that still carries a good selection of
wiper blade refills? I feel like I should get a couple, then put these
on the shelf for next time. I hate throwing them away, just because
people have gotten used to throwing them all away each time. What a
waste of resources!
The blades I need are 8mm wide, which is just about 2mm wider than
the widest one that single auto parts place had.
Malcom "Mal" Reynolds
wrote:
It's a horrible shame and something you should report, that google doesn't seem
to work in your part of the world
Forrest Hodge
When it comes to safety items (tires, brakes, wipers, etc.) It doesn't
pay to be cheap.
Rod Speed
Wipers arent a safety item, even you should notice when they stop working properly.
Bill Gill
He isn't trying to be cheap. He just wants to be smart and buy only
what he needs. That way he doesn't wind up sending a lot of stuff to
the landfill when it is still usable.
Bill
CanopyCo
I take it that the rubber in the new one won’t work in the old frame.
Yes, it’s crap that you can’t use the old supper strong frame that
came with your classic car with the new wipers.
I’d look at Google shopping and see if I couldn’t order one for next
time and keep the old frame on a shelf.
Just gas prices alone looking for a local one would pay for sending
off for one.
Remember, you probably bought the only one that the local store sold
for that car in the last 10 years.
Not much need to stock it just for you.
m...@privacy.net
>Within a fifteen mile
>radius, I have an Advance, an Autozone, a NAPA and a Walmart (which doesn't
>count). None of them carries just the slide-in refills. Now, I get to pay approx
>three times the price for _plastic_ blade assemblies.
Same here
I cant find plain old "refills" anywhere!
Ohioguy
> It's a horrible shame and something you should report, that google doesn't seem
> to work in your part of the world
Silly - I only got on here and ranted *AFTER* spending half an hour
searching on Google. I couldn't find the right wiper blade refill
there, either. Some place in Australia came up with a picture that
might be the right thing, but I'm guessing the shipping would be
prohibitive, and I'd hate for it to turn out not to be the correct
replacement.
Ohioguy
> Yes, it’s crap that you can’t use the old supper strong frame that
> came with your classic car with the new wipers.
Actually, the "blade assembly", or whatever they call it, came from
Wal-Mart roughly 4 years ago, when I went in and had them change the
oil, put on new tires and install new wiper blades. So since these are
from only 4 years ago, I would have thought there would be refills
available to fit them.
I'm actually quite satisfied that the rubber wiper blade part lasted
4 years. I just don't like throwing away things that aren't worn out,
especially when there used to be a "refill" that for a couple of bucks
would have made it completely useful again.
So no, I'm not decrying the fact that I have to replace the rubber
every so often - I'm miffed over not being able to *JUST* replace the
rubber refill. It would have helped if there were some sort of markings
on it - then I would have been able to search by a part # or something.
Rod Speed
> Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote
>> It's a horrible shame and something you should report, that google doesn't seem to work in your part of the world
> Silly - I only got on here and ranted *AFTER* spending half an hour
> searching on Google. I couldn't find the right wiper blade refill
> there, either. Some place in Australia came up with a picture that
> might be the right thing, but I'm guessing the shipping would be prohibitive,
No it isnt. Shipping of something light like that by post would cost peanuts,
less than you wasted on petrol.
Bob F
Malcom "Mal" Reynolds
wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/part-finder/slide-show/1969/Ford/E-100%20Econoline/ref=a
u_pf_dp_lf_ladp_1_3?ie=UTF8&partsNode=15735071&carId=001
http://www.autopartsexpress.com/searchitem.epc?lookfor=1919
http://www.mypartsgarage.com/wiper-blades/anco-wiper-refill-31-series-plastic-fro
nt-71383.html
http://www.google.com/search?q=+Anc-U-18R-49&hl=en&tbs=shop%3A1&aq=f#sclient=psy&
hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=683&tbm=shop&source=hp&q=Anco+Wiper+Refill+-+31+Serie
s+Plastic+Front&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=6282fb3be65d2e9
3
SMS
> Is there no national chain that still carries a good selection of wiper
> blade refills? I feel like I should get a couple, then put these on the
> shelf for next time. I hate throwing them away, just because people have
> gotten used to throwing them all away each time. What a waste of resources!
>
> The blades I need are 8mm wide, which is just about 2mm wider than the
> widest one that single auto parts place had.
For Toyotas, the dealer carries refills though they are about as
expensive as buying complete replacement blades from a store like Costco
or Wal-Mart.
Bob F
> "Bob F" <bobn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1123&bih=859&q=wiper+blade+refills&aq=2&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=wiper+
>>
> I stopped looking after the fifth link turned up "blades" and, except
> for those useless cut-to-fit things, zero refills. You don't know
> the difference, do you?
The third "find" has clear pics of refills, and goes right to them. For instance
"ANCO Part # U22R 31 Series Plastic; 22"; Universal Plastic Wiper Refills ".
Maybe I don't "get" what you really want.
The Real Bev
The TriplEdge wipers I bought (mail order only) are metal. Last time I
had them the rubber lasted for several years (or more, the car itself
went to the knackers) here in smogville. I recommend them highly even
if they no longer sell just the refills.
http://www.thewiperstore.com/tripledge-wiper-blades.html
Sorry to say I've never had any problems with "cheap" tires or brake
linings. Pep Boys' linings are especially cheap because they come with
a lifetime guarantee -- when they wear out (and all brake linings do,
eventually) you get another pair for free. 40,000 miles on front pads,
no idea how long for rear drums, the rears never seem to wear out.
Another nice thing about PB: I took my old part in (maybe a fuel pump,
I can't remember) to compare with the new one; PB recognized it as
THEIR part and GAVE me a new one. Cool, huh? The thing was on the car
when I bought it, so I have no idea how old it was.
--
Cheers, Bev
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our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security."
--Microsoft VP in charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.
Dennis
wrote:
>For Toyotas, the dealer carries refills though they are about as
>expensive as buying complete replacement blades from a store like Costco
>or Wal-Mart.
For my Honda, the dealer replaces the wiper inserts for free once a
year. I had them do it when I was in for an oil change
I know what's coming next: It's not frugal to go to the dealer for an
oil change! Believe me, I had similar thoughts. In the past, I have
always done my own (frugal) oil changes. But I discovered that the
dealer will change my oil and filter, replace the wiper blades (if
due) and wash the car for less than it costs me to buy the oil and
filter at the auto parts store. So it seems like a no-brainer to me.
Dennis (evil)
--
My output is down, my income is up, I take a short position on the long bond and
my revenue stream has its own cash flow. -George Carlin
Al
Quit buying your auto parts at a grocery store.
I just checked O'Reiley's and they have refills for $3.49.
NAPA has 306 options. All run about $4 per pair..
The non-auto stores are geared to grandma trying to do something
herself. Her arthritis won't allow her to insert those refills.
Man up and shop at real stores..
PS> They all have phone numbers too that allow you to save gas
driving around.
PPS> You should never have gotten so far that your wipers were falling
off. I'm afraid for your family on account of your poor maintenance.
Frank Dresser
Most US domestics used to use two suppliers for their blades, ANCO or
Trico. It was easy for parts stores to keep a full stock of replacements
for either pattern. Other companies started selling complete replacement
blades for not alot more than a genuine ANCO or Trico refill. So now,
the parts guy can't be sure which refill is needed for a particular car
and it's easier to sell another new blade rather than go through a cycle
of opened packages and returns.
I have seen ANCO refills still stocked at some stores.
Sofa Slug
Yep... buy at O'Reilly online, OR via a local O'Reilly/Kragen store:
http://snipr.com/oreilly_wipers
If your local O'Reiley doesn't have something, you can pretty much order
anything you want & have it shipped to the store.