What I learned about my window regulator
12-29-04, 06:33 PM
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What I learned about my window regulator
Ok, so my driver's side window regulator was broken. That part works with the motor and the guide rails to move the window glass up and down. It commonly fails in older cars, like mine (1992 SC3), and results in a "window drop" event. Sometimes it's preceded by several months of the window make snap or crackle noises when it closes at the top (I believe O.L.T. calls it the "snap crackle pop routine"). When the plastic bit finally breaks, you hear a *clank* as a metal bit falls, and then the window just drops down into the door.
There are differing opinions about how much it costs to fix this problem. Sometimes the regulator and the motor are listed as 1 part, although they are not physically attached and can be removed separately. Used part places sometimes indicate a "regulator w/motor", and the prices vary wildly. Even Lexus dealers may give you different answers about whether the regulator and motor are 1 part or 2.
These 2 items together, as a single part, cost about $580 new. Even used they will run you anywhere from $150-300.
BUT...I took my door panel off to look, and determined that the motor itself works fine. The regulator is the broken bit. After consultation with my favorite local body shop (Michael & Co.), I took it over there and let them fix it.
They told me that the local Lexus dealer was able to sell them a new regulator alone, without a motor, for $102.79. So that, plus labor, was all it cost me to get it fixed.
There are people who are on a tight budget, or who prefer to have used parts whenever possible. My advice: In this particular case, install a new regulator and not a used one.
Why, you ask? Because the whole reason the regulator breaks in the first place is age stress. A used part is likely to have equal or greater age stress already, and you have no way of knowing exactly how much. It might break immediately the next day, the next week, the next month, and you just threw $150+ down a hole.
A new part is just that -- a new part, and will probably last another 10-15 years, or however old your car is.
There are differing opinions about how much it costs to fix this problem. Sometimes the regulator and the motor are listed as 1 part, although they are not physically attached and can be removed separately. Used part places sometimes indicate a "regulator w/motor", and the prices vary wildly. Even Lexus dealers may give you different answers about whether the regulator and motor are 1 part or 2.
These 2 items together, as a single part, cost about $580 new. Even used they will run you anywhere from $150-300.
BUT...I took my door panel off to look, and determined that the motor itself works fine. The regulator is the broken bit. After consultation with my favorite local body shop (Michael & Co.), I took it over there and let them fix it.
They told me that the local Lexus dealer was able to sell them a new regulator alone, without a motor, for $102.79. So that, plus labor, was all it cost me to get it fixed.
There are people who are on a tight budget, or who prefer to have used parts whenever possible. My advice: In this particular case, install a new regulator and not a used one.
Why, you ask? Because the whole reason the regulator breaks in the first place is age stress. A used part is likely to have equal or greater age stress already, and you have no way of knowing exactly how much. It might break immediately the next day, the next week, the next month, and you just threw $150+ down a hole.
A new part is just that -- a new part, and will probably last another 10-15 years, or however old your car is.
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