Replacement wipers
Discussion
My windscreen wipers are just about to give up, so I have ordered a replacement pair from Alpine - price as expected is high.
Looking on the web, it seems Valeo offer replacements at a third of the price BUT they seem to be listed for left hand drive cars only.
Has anyone tried these on UK cars? Can RHD cars really have bespoke wiper blades?
I know others have replaced the wiper blade only but I want to swap the whole thing as the little water holes are getting blocked with limescale.
Cheers,
Looking on the web, it seems Valeo offer replacements at a third of the price BUT they seem to be listed for left hand drive cars only.
Has anyone tried these on UK cars? Can RHD cars really have bespoke wiper blades?
I know others have replaced the wiper blade only but I want to swap the whole thing as the little water holes are getting blocked with limescale.
Cheers,
I live in a hard water area and so only ever use premixed screen wash.
Another reason to do so on a car is to avoid bacteria build up- a friend from London (think water is softer) had a significant bill when his screw washers packed up- there was a load of black gunk in his water bottle and washer system which had grown in the water/screen wash mix because he didn’t use the car very often and so didn’t replace screen wash regularly.
Another reason to do so on a car is to avoid bacteria build up- a friend from London (think water is softer) had a significant bill when his screw washers packed up- there was a load of black gunk in his water bottle and washer system which had grown in the water/screen wash mix because he didn’t use the car very often and so didn’t replace screen wash regularly.
fuzzy-si said:
You dont need the Volvo wipers.
I replaced my wiper insert with a Halfords one for £9.
Getting the end cap off the Alpine wiper is a bit tricky, so be careful as you need to retain that.
Hi Fuzzy,I replaced my wiper insert with a Halfords one for £9.
Getting the end cap off the Alpine wiper is a bit tricky, so be careful as you need to retain that.
Thanks for the heads up. I could not find suitable Halfords replacement refills (too short) so went with Bosch Aero Twin 24" and 19" and cut them down to size (AM 980 S). Slightly deeper blade but it fits perfectly into the wiper body and on the windscreen. Very reasonable at £16.
To take the Bosch wipers apart was tricky and destructive - in comparison the Alpine wipers are specifically designed to use refills rather than replace the whole wiper blade (just use a small screwdriver to release the end cap).
That has saved me over £160 for half an hours work.
They also quoted £912 for a new set of Pilot Sport 5 tires, which I just got fitted at a local shop for £600. I declined the £135 to change the brake fluid, which was just done at local garage for £52. Also declined the kind offer of £30 to put a drop of oil in a sticking outside door handle - really?. When I picked it up, the module for the dash cam was hanging out the bottom of the I/P on its wires. When I queried it, the response was "well its aftermarket mate. nothing to do with us". After I explained that it wasn't hanging out when i dropped the car off, but is now, they reluctantly took care of it. No seat or floor covers were used. Shocking place - don't go there!
Giddo19546 said:
I just had my car serviced yesterday at Jaybee Motors in Banbury. They reported a tear in one of the blades and gave me a replacement cost of £174 - for 1 blade!!!. They said they are "Alpine Branded". Yeah right.
This really annoys me, I've came from a 911 to Alpine and they would have to go a long way to match Porsche Tax on parts. I needed a new ignition switch which was quoted (part only) at £207 + Vat, so having also had experience of a number of TVR's I was used to researching the original part supplier and alternatives. It tuned out that the ignition switch was actually an Audi part that cost £37 + Vat (it was even marked Audi on the original switch. Gassing Station | Alpine | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff