The plastic headlight lenses on my '05 Dodge Magnum have yellowed to the ridiculous point. I know that they can be sanded/polished to the point that they are serviceable again, but frankly, that appears to be too much like work; I decided to replace them. When I checked the price of new Mopar headlight housings I fell out of my chair - $283 each, no bulbs included. After rethinking the polishing routine, I checked to see if they are available aftermarket. I found a seller (A M autoparts) that had them. I took a chance and bought a pair. $129.00 for the two with bulbs and the harness for each side! They have a slightly different adjusting mechanism then the factory units, but fit and work just as well. Yes, they are made in Taiwan, but I don't see that justifies the price difference of $437; I doubt that there is much hand labor in the assembly. BTW - shipping was included in the $129.
As long as they are kappa certified, that's a great deal. I guess you will find out how long before they start to discolor. I've had mixed luck with some of the aftermarket stuff.
Sometimes it pays to shop around. I recently bought a land rover with a bad fuel pump. Our local O'Reilly's part store wanted $250 for a new pump, even after our discount, and had to order it in. I went online and found one on Amazon for $65+ tax=$70. Free shipping & it included the hardware too. Turns out that the seller is a big off road parts store. Truth be known both places probably get there parts from the same source. That's how the rich keep getting richer. By the way I bought the pump off Amazon and it works great so far. Keith
too much like work!....come off it man..theres nuthin to it ...800 then 1200 wetsand and then hit em with a buff and cutting compound, come up like glass!
FYI mosquito repellent sprayed on the headlights and wiped dry will restore them to clear again. This is only a short term fix as they will be yellowed again in a couple months. Keith
I use headlight depot .com. Never had an issue with fit and function. Theres not to many things you can do to a car thats as cheap and makes more of an impact on appearance than new, fresh clean headlights. I bought this car to replace my daughters wrecked Accord. 1995. one owner and only 98K miles. IT had been hit while parked on the road side and sat there several years. 400.00. 2 weeks of fixing and waiting for parts then the new headlights and it looks almost new. $59.00 with bulbs
I’ve had mixed results on aftermarket light assemblies. I bought a taillamp for an Accord, and it fit well and looked good but, in a year ir two, faded noticeably versus the already 15 year old originals. I have a chinese replacement on my Tahoe that still looks oe after about seven years. I’ve considered doing the headlights but wondered how long they’d stay clear, especially on the front. My originals aren’t too bad yet. Patrick
I bought a new set of headlight housings for my daughters 2004 Malibu off of E-bay about 3 years ago and they fit perfectly and still look like new. I don't remember the price but, it seems as though they were 70 to 75% less expensive than from the dealer. Eric / Oregon
Shhhhh,...$500 is cheap, we done a 845 bmw hit in the front few years ago, both headlights were almost 10k,....
I've used AM Auto Parts for years now. Hell both headlights for my Suburban or Silverado 2500 are about $80 a pair. Window Regulators for both sides are again about $80 . And shipping is free. 10 year warrantry too . I had 1 window regulator go bad after 3 years and they sent me a replacement free. Yeah I like to buy US but sometimes you just can't .
He writes, it is the car that replaced his daughters wrecked Honda Accord It's a Toyota Corolla, and it's one of the most reliable cars ever made, togtheter with the Carina E from same make..
While we are on the subject of headlights. I note that mine have GUIDE markings on them. Now I know from past dealings with a couple of 59 Chevs (sedan, 348 Sport Coupe) that GUIDE signified original lenses. Question...does that mean the lights in mine are indeed GM originals? or are they being repro'd. If they are indeed original Im thinking best to remove to prevent stone damage, and replace with better more modern lights, maybe even a couple of spots on high beam. Your thoughts on the whole deal?
Hey OZ Guy... Im just a plethora of useless trivia sometimes, but your comment made me wonder, and at 0500hrs today I called in a favor after searching for 2 hours with ZERO results! I told this guy Id also put a plug in for his business so this is a copy of our emails this morning. If anyone needs hard to find lenses, this is the go-to guy for NOS OEM parts. Millions of lenses. From: <yachtsman36@charter.net> Date: Tuesday, December 25, 2018 at 6:19 AM To: Old Car <Durant28@comcast.net> Subject: Merry Christmas I met you a few years ago at Hershey and we had a pleasant conversation regarding tail light lenses for my 1941 Mercury convertible. I know youre a busy guy but can you please help me with a question? I am writing a dissertation about signal lamp lenses for an antique Buick Forum and cannot for the life of me find anything on the origination of the GUIDE designation. Is that a brand or supplier or an SAE designation or specification? Any leads or information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again, Bill in Wisconsin Hello Bill, General Motors OEM codes from 1941-up start with the word Guide, which is a GM brand SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) codes can tell you the lens functions and the year of car. In the following example, the functions included such as S(top) T(ail) D(directional), etc. Feel free to give us credit for the clarification. I still have lenses for your Mercury From: <yachtsman36@charter.net> Date: Tuesday, December 25, 2018 at 6:19 AM To: Old Car <Durant28@comcast.net> Subject: Merry Christmas
On light bulbs: I bought my Piper Comanche in 1978; I sold in in 2016. I flew it regularly including at night. During that period I never replaced a single light bulb, not one. I did add four lights to the new instrument panel that I built, but I also reused every original bulb including the sockets and harness, and I did add a set of strobes that eliminated the mechanical rotating beacon. I still have the beacon, and it and it's bulb still work. 38 years with nary a burned-out bulb, I find that astonishing.
Ill bet those were aircraft rated bulbs, no? My boat still has OEM 12V single filament double contact running lights, originals from 1963. Check them several times a year too... Norm and I were flying out of MDW and the tower called us and noted the green starboard wing tip light was out and logged it. Norm got a notice to confirm it was repaired. FAA rules are pretty stringent! ws
I got some cheap ones for my Regal (TYC brand). The adjusters stripped when I tried to adjust and now I'm looking for owls in trees......
Missed that. My sincerest apologies. Do you work for Toyota? Hm, I bought a new one in '92 and it was a piece of crap.
No need for apologies.. I'd had to read it twice as well.. I remember, at least for the bigger Carina E, that some were built in Japan, and some in England.. The ones from Japan were better.. But still very good relaible cars.. If rust didn't got them, they would run 500k-600k km without other than normal wear parts..
Over the years I have seen plenty of problems with Toyota Corollas as well as other Toyota models. Certainly not more then other makes, but Toyota's designers and builders don't walk on water either. I have seen serious issues with rust, I have probably replaced more Toyota radiators then in any other relatively recent automobiles. Toyota has had some engine lubrication issues as well. I once worked with a guy who bought a Camry and disliked it so intensely that he traded it back in in about 90 days. His brother had an old Toyota pickup that he loved; he replaced it with a new one that he hated. I will agree that most Toyota customers are happy with their cars though.
