Anyone else shop this frugally?

So, I've been putting together everything I need to rebuild a Honda A series motor. Here are some of the prices I've been paying for stuff:

4 piston sets, $38 shipped from Amazon Moog lower ball joints, $3 and change each from RockAuto All 12 valves, $2.79 each for the exhaust valves, $2.59 each for the intake valves through RockAuto FelPro head gasket $19 shipped from eBay

I've been putting parts together for this car since the motor decided to try for at least 2 failure modes at once. Everything is coming together rather inexpensively, considering I'm replacing as much as possible. Meta pricing on Amazon has gone a LONG way to get this engine and front end rebuild cheap. I might be able to $1007 class this thing at the Challenge with a brand new engine and suspension!

when i am looking for parts i have advance auto, amazon, summit, and rock auto all open in tabs so i can flip back and forth and build the cheapest shopping cart on each. my clutch and flywheel are coming via advance, my radiator hoses are coming via rock auto, my fuel pump is coming from amazon, and my y pipe was from summit racing because they were half of everyone else.

Gotta love working those Advance Auto coupons so that you're getting like 40% off, eh?

Too many times being burnt by "getting what I pay for".

I could GET all my parts more cheaply elsewhere, but I'm buying maybe 80% of what I need for my Audi 5-pot motor from 034 Motorsport. Why? Simple reason: It's worth an extra 20% or so to me to support a company that bothers to reproduce out of production yet utterly necessary old Audi parts like the shifter ball, or the left side seal for the locker rear diffs.

Likewise, when this car is done? All my paychecks for a few months will be signed over to Mk1Autohaus...

I do this a lot! Family and friends don't even bother to question me anymore.

Well, except for the time I found the special on 1,000,000 warranty air filters...I bought 2! Had to buy another car to put it on.

Bruce

Yeah, been known to have a good 5 or 6 browser tabs open finding the part I want for the cheapest price and applying discount codes when looking for something basic.

I know last summer I bought from Scummit just because I got rotors, pads, balancer, and something else just because everything in my cart got shipped free. Rock Auto is slowly pricing themselves out with ridiculous shipping charges to cover for the cheap prices. I have also used retailmenot for coupon codes for Advance.

swank Force probably can beat any bargain hunter here.....

I've had to buy like 6 items for a project. 1 is at Vendor A only, 1 at Vendor B only, 3 at A and B but not C, 2 at all of them, etc. Shipping costs need to be figured as well. Some vendors have a better price, some of the items are functionally equivalent but not identical (different brand.) I make a spreadsheet and juggle the orders until total minimum cost is reached.

Ranger50 wrote: Rock Auto is slowly pricing themselves out with ridiculous shipping charges to cover for the cheap prices.

I was pricing out rotors and each one had shipping almost equal to the actual part which made them the same price or more than locally. I have no idea how e-commerce works where some places can eat the shipping (free over 99 bucks or similar) if the costs are so high. I buy alot from autohausaz.com

In reply to logdog:

And there is no price break on the shipping of multiples if the same part either.

I also shop ajusa.com. They typically have free shipping over $75.

yamaha wrote: swank Force probably can beat any bargain hunter here.....

It's all about stacking coupons with promotions.

Otherwise Rancho wouldn't have PAID ME to put their lift kit on the Jeep.

logdog wrote: I have no idea how e-commerce works where some places can eat the shipping (free over 99 bucks or similar) if the costs are so high. I buy alot from autohausaz.com

Summit basically took their clout and made a kind of strong-arm deal with the carriers. The carriers have trailers parked at the warehouse, Summit does the labeling and loading. One or two (more?) times a day, a truck comes by, drops off a new trailer, hooks up to the full one, and takes off.

At the hardware store I found it was cheaper to buy a lock nut instead of a regular nut and lock washer.

I feel like I can find decent deals on parts, but what KILLS me are consumables! Brake cleaner, paint, etc. You guys got any secrets for buying cheap consumables?

In reply to JamesMcD:

Advance will run a BoGO deal on brake cleaner and buy a case at a time. Other stuff is just a right time deal or just knowing who to buy what from.

I'm a big fan of this Krylon stuff called "Dual". One shot stuff, primer and paint. $6 a can and the stuff is tenacious.

Some chemicals you have to spend more to save. We use a penetrating oil at work called "Helper". I forget who sells it. I started the current can on January 31st and there's still maybe a quarter can left. Just enough of it to make the threads moist, let it sit a bit, and it comes right apart. Heck, I had a caliper hanger with siezed pins that I shot a little Helper into, ignored for a day, then came back and I could twirl the pins with my fingers.

Downside: $20 a can. Upside: Would have spent $50 of lesser penetrating oils so far this year.

In response to Knurled: I bought a can/jar of that silver anti-seize stuff when my first car had corroded on wheels so badly it took a sledge to bust them off. I used it then.......and still have the same jar. 28 years now.

And to SF1: teach me your ways, I want to get manufacturers to pay me for installing their goodies. Hoosier??

In reply to JamesMcD:

The shop my dad works at uses refillable spray cans that you fill with bulk brake cleaner from a drum and pressurize with shop air through a schrader valve, not sure how well this works out for an individual but spread out across a few friends it may be something to look at.

We used to do that. Now we just stock up when O'Reilly's has a sale.

KyAllroad wrote: In response to Knurled: I bought a can/jar of that silver anti-seize stuff when my first car had corroded on wheels so badly it took a sledge to bust them off. I used it then.......and still have the same jar. 28 years now. And to SF1: teach me your ways, I want to get manufacturers to pay me for installing their goodies. Hoosier??

Heh it's just always cross shopping Amazon, Ebay, Rockauto, and whatever the hot current coupon code is at the moment with Advance. Add in PartsGeek if you're feeling sassy and always always always punch in all the part numbers that Rock spits out at you through Google shopping. Pay attention to manufacturer promotions.

When I lifted/rebuilt the entire suspension on the Jeep, Rancho was giving away $500 gift cards if you purchased their lift kits and a set of RS9000xl shocks.

I bought the lift kit digging through part numbers for under $400. Bought each of the 4 shocks individually through Advance using a code for each one that gave me $40 off.

The profit I made on the gift card over the lift kit paid for two shocks.

Essentially, I bought two shocks, got two shocks and a lift kit for free.

Tires are harder, I dont have any great tips for those.

I'm going to see if they ever repeat that deal for my new XJ...

They probably will. Watch for "Shocktober" promotions. They probably have a rebate thing going on now for that matter.

On that topic, I actually have a brand new AAL kit from Rancho for an XJ with the Dana rear. (Turns out ours had the big Chryco rear.) Let me know if you want it.

Does Summit still add a handling charge even though there's free shipping?

SFQ, I'll take them. Coming to the Challenge this year? If so, just bring them then. How much beer are they worth?