Why are som OEM parts so insanely expensive??

[K_never_broke_again]

this question doesn't necessarily pertain to old nissans, or really old cars at all but i thought itd be worth asking. so ive been working my first full time job at an acura dealership and recently got a promotion to the parts department. this has given me insight into the prices of various parts and how markups work. anyways, after working here for about a month im ASTOUNDED to see the prices of certain parts. I get that acura is a 'luxury' brand or whatever but seriously some things are just ridiculous. a single front lower control arm for a 2012 TL is nearly 1300 after markup. a single control arm. today i priced out some kind of hands free/bluetooth unit for one of the techs on a 2014 RLX(the most high roller car besides the NSX). After markup the total was 4800. for just a small electrical unit. I mean i dont know exactly what it does but I do know you can buy 2 full spec macbook pros for that price. or a whole new effing car. So are these parts really that expensive to manufacture, or is this just acura/honda marking up their prices to make more money and match their image?

[snags]

supply and demand

[mav1178]

I'll give you the short answer and the long answer.

Short answer: MSRP is not an accurate representation of cost of a product. Your first part is nowhere near $1400, your dealer sucks at marking up pricing nearly 3x: https://www.ebay.com/itm/392391956441

Long answer: Just think about it this way... any part for any vehicle, whether it's genuine OEM, OEM replacement, OEM aftermarket, performance aftermarket... they all do the same thing. Genuine OEM parts are built to the same as if you were buying the car new, and the cost of the part reflects the cost to build it, including OEM/vendor factory tooling, materials, as well as the warranty the manufacturer provides.

The "cheaper" you go, the more the product has corners cut. OEM replacement are the same dimensions/specs as the genuine item, but cheaper material is used. OEM aftermarket are items that perform the same function and may fit the same, but it might be assembled differently, i.e. arms that are slightly different stamping. Performance aftermarket are exactly as the name implies, aftermarket replacement product that has performance benefits. Maybe spherical joints or adjustability or some reinforcement over the factory item.

If one were to solely base product material cost as a basis for calculating MSRP, you are kind of ignoring everything else in the middle with regards to contract manufacturing, distribution, etc.

[OliverCarrie]

This is one of the main reasons why I never had any "love" for OEM parts. I always go for the much affordable, yet, still high-quality aftermarket ones. 4WheelOnline has a lot of aftermarket wheels and tires, and I've never been disappointed by any of them.