What a damn shame. I went to a local pick-a-part recently and, while at the time I didn't really notice, you are right, there were only older cars there.

I did, however, like your 3D printer suggestion, even though it may have been somewhat in jest and it may just be an option worth looking into.

 

Soon they will be cheaper than the replacement parts.. As it is you can buy kits for around $500 and commercial models for like a grand. I used mine for fixing things a couple times...

If you have a local hackersspace/maker space you may be able to get them to do a single part for you for a couple bucks if you want to go to the trouble of measuring and CADing it...

As far as I'm concerned the whole auto industry is one giant scam.

 

I keep trying to get my boss to order one for our lab. We have a large industrial 3D printer on site for engineering prototype parts, but it's backed up for months with projects, there's never any downtime with it so i can use it for ummmm, extra curricular projects .

 

Yea, it is a shame. I remember 15 years ago with my first car, i would go to the u-pull it with my dad and buy parts or rather accessories and options that weren't on my base model. The cars in the yard were all crashed vehicles with half the yard filled with cars 1-5 years old. Now i went to the same yard last year, and everything was no newer than 10 years old.

 

No ggg you can't print at AK47 at work :P

 

I have an 06 and have replaced all 4 regulators (tracks) when the plastic spools failed. I was very stylish with screwdrivers holding the windows up.

 

I like the creativeness! Did you only replace the track or did you have to replace the entire arm as well?

 

the entire track with spool and cabling, my year doesn't have a scissor-style like some cars. it looks almost like an archery bow in it's setup. but if you have small hands it's super easy to swap out.

yeah, my Dad's an old shadetree mechanic so I've picked up enough to keep things going, even if it looks redneck as hell lol.