Hey guys, a family member accidentally backed up our Mazda CX-5 2016 and broke the tail lights. The actual bulbs are functional otherwise. Just wanted to know what your thoughts are on getting generic replacements over the Mazda ones, which are quoted at 400 without labour costs. Another ~400 for labour.
Also, any recommendations on where best to find replacements and where to get it fixed? We're in Melbourne.
Edit: 2016. Also right rear
Youtube is an invaluable source for these exact issues. For the $400 labour, I would definitely have a look at doing it myself first.
Yea I thought having a go myself may be a good shot. But was wondering also about the part, and whether 400 was a fair price. And if getting generic parts was a good idea with this car.
$400 sounds pretty standard for a genuine part. As others will say later in this post, try looking at wreckers, gumtree or eBay if you want to find one from a wrecked car.
Check wreckers
It is a 6 year old car - So ring up a couple of Mazda wreckers in your area and I'm sure you will be able to do a deal with them for much less for an original tail light cluster. Even if you got one delivered from an interstate wrecker it would end up being a lot cheaper(google, gumtree, eBay for wrecker contacts). As the other's have said the 400 labour cost could be avoided entirely by DIY'ing with youtube.
Wasn't very hard to find: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCnQTnqBuMU
Looks like it is a 15 min job.
Sorry My bad and thanks for the correct Video!
I'd prefer the mx5 😁
The way Americans pronounce Mazda as "mahs-da" is so awful. It's even more strange because Canadians pronounce it the same way we do. Both pronunciations are nowhere near the Japanese "mat-su-da" but "maz-da" sounds way better than "mahs-da".
Maaaaaarz-duh…
Eh up, Ma's da is me grandad…
How long can you wait and what's your risk appetite…? Banggood sell replacements for just over $200.
Op didn't mention which lights broke but I think this is only 2 of the 4 pieces that make up the tail lights.
2 attached to car body
2 attached to tailgate
True, that's another $90.
At circa $300 for the set, buying locally for $400 seems like the better option.
That’s a pair. Can buy individually for around $100 for the body part.
https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/m.html?_odkw=&fits=Year%3A2013%7…
EDIT: Or genuine, https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Genuine-Mazda-CX-5-KE-Right-… , might have to call to see if they have the other side too.
My wife backed my Nissan Pathfinder into a tree and broke the tail light. A brand new one would have cost more than $300 from Nissan. I tried gumtree and ebay. Got one for $150 from a wrecker. The trick was to watch as the wrecker guy remove the tail light from the wrecked car, that way you know where all the clips and screws are to take the tail light out and put it back again.
More than $300 on a Nissan Pathfinder… that would make it an economic writeoff… :P
Lol. I was quite surprised at how much a few pieces of plastic costs. I even looked around on aliexpress and ebay for just the red lens part of the tail light, but no luck.
$400 might be the regular price but that aint cheap. wreckers or ebay would be fine if the price difference is decent. cosmetic differences will be visible with new genuine parts if you only do one side, one shiny new side, one crappy dulled out side etc. but a pair of generics are unlikely to be obviously much different if you arent actively looking for it
fix it yourself, it should be pretty easy. and then if anything else happens later you might feel more confident about doing stuff yourself, and save more money later. lots of repair/maintenance work is fairly easy, just seems very hard if you are completely unfamiliar with it. same with most things, really
$400 for labor - I would be asking them why it takes around 3 hours to change it?
All the tail lights I’ve removed have been a 5-10min job.
no doubt.
Yes,not that hard OP. Just removed the trim [carpet or plastic],undo 3 or 4 nut screws which is holding the tail light then disconnect the wiring , put away broken one and replace it with a new one.
Yes,Euphemistic is right. 10min is max.
Save yourself $400.00 :)
Thank you brain's trust. You guys are the bomb diggity :')
BTW, I replaced a taillight with non genuine part about 7 years ago on my car other side tail light is still genuine part. At that time, I was worried about non genuine part discolouring and losing shine in the longer term. But seven years on, you can't tell the difference between the two.
Where are the wreckers in Melbourne? I need to source a missing Corolla jack. Ta
Generic is generally fine.
If you went through insurance 75% chance you would get genetic parts.
95% if you went with a cheaper insurer.
I found one on Gumtree and installed myself. Very simple, just be careful and take your time.
You can avoid the labour costs.
I'm almost certain they will be plug n play.
There will be a detailed video on YouTube if you get stuck