Expensive parts that you never used.

[Bren]

I would imagine that we have all played parts darts at some point. And bought something that stayed in the box.

Our last vectra developed a spongy brake pedal - the feel of the pedal was generally good but when it suddenly went a bit soft I splurged £120 on a master cylinder.

Despite having a haynes manual and following the instructions neither me nor a friend ( ex trade ) could remove the master cylinder.

In desperation my friend got in touch with his mate ( ex vx tech) as he had the correct diagnostic equipment. After putting a considerable amount of dot 4 through the system normal service was resumed.

I have no idea why the pedal went spongy. Or if I will ever get rid of a vectra master cylinder which is under a bench in my garage.

[comfortablynumb]

You're going about this the wrong way @Bren

You leave it in the box, in an 'obvious' location, such to ensure that when you actually need it, it's nowhere to be found, meaning that you go and purchase another, and immediately on your return, find said original exactly where you left it.

You then discover that the fault still isn't the master cylinder, and have two spares you don't need.

It's what I do anyway 🤦

[Marina door handles]

For a brief moment I thought, that's daft, who has parts they didn't use.......... Then I remembered all the bits I still have including

Genuine Porsche 944 rear torsion beams which I did try and sell but...

A spare steering rack and Alternator for the now sold Subaru Forester.

A fuel filter for the Honda Accord I sold to Floatylight, which I believe he has since sold on.

Ball joints for the front axle on a P38 Range Rover.

2x Opel Ascona (same as Cav mk2) front grilles, to fair these were tucked into the boot of the MGB and I didn't notice them until I got the car home, I didn't purchase or want these, If anyone needs one let me know!

There is probably even more stuff that I have forgotten

 

 

[catsinthewelder]

Power steering pipes for the current Focus.  It developed a pinhole leak on a flexible pipe so I bought a complicated set of pipes on eBay which were the only type listed.  Obviously they didn't fit and it only cost me £20 in return postage to find out.  Did a temporary repair with a scrap of rubber and a jubilee clip thats still there 3 years on.  Probably still have half a bottle of power steering fluid tucked in the space under the o/s headlight for topping it up.

[auntiemaryscanary]

I've a new clutch for a Perodua Nippa (cost £120). Car (which cost £275) was scrapped 5 years ago.

If anybody wants the clutch let me know and you can have it for the postage cost.

[jon.k]

Today. One light had stopped working on my recently-fitted secondhand xenon headlights. Bought a new ballast on eBay (a knock-off one), still didn’t work. Bought a new bulb,  still didn’t work. Hmm, I’ll just check the fuse. Whoops. Not that expensive but still £50 and a day of messing around with the bumper off when I could have spent 10p.

 

 

[andy18s]

Back when I had my Rs2000 4x4 Amazon had one of there parts clearance sales,and I bought a few 4x4 specific parts.

Car was sold before we emigrated to Bg but I still have a few parts I brought over.....just in case of course.

Radiator,front lower suspension arms...ect

[gm]

of the 5 binis that I've owned, at least 3 of them came with an unused fuel filter in the boot - having seen the ballache that changing them involves, they were left in the boot when I sold them on !

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 hour ago, andy18s said:

Amazon had one of there parts clearance sales

Bought a set of (rare) front calipers for my 1996 Musso off Amazon like that. About £6 a side. Retail at the time was about £80 and they were always, always unobtanium/stock awaited. Scrapped the car around 2016 and then had a few lame attempts at flogging them. Forgot all about them until I eventually binned them along with about half a tonne of mixed scrap in 2022.
About two weeks after that I get an email through the old Ssangyong forum "I'll bite your hand off for those ....... "  

There's also a propshaft support bearing for the Ovlov 940 that you can still buy from the AutoShite Car Boot Sale for postage costs

[MVX11V]

Got a set of lovely rimz for the black s type for 80£ plus postage as the ones on it were tatty up close. I think it was the day after they turned up I crashed the car into a fuzzy animal monster and I then deemed it too far gone to be worth reapering. I still have the wheels, still wrapped up, from about 3 years ago.

[chaseracer]

Speedo cable for a W124 300E.  Feckin expensive.  Still available if anyone needs it.

[mat_the_cat]

I've got the odd part for a car I have never owned, nor have I any intention of doing so. I can only assume I've been sent them in error at some stage, and just forgotten about them!

[neil1971]

My mum's first car after passing her test in late 1982 was a Fiat 850 Sport Coupe, they weren't common even then but a local breakers had one from which we had a few bits, and I still have a set of rear lights kicking around. Must be nearly 40 years since the car was scrapped!

[Marina door handles]

51 minutes ago, mat_the_cat said:

I've got the odd part for a car I have never owned, nor have I any intention of doing so. I can only assume I've been sent them in error at some stage, and just forgotten about them!

That seems to be a common issue, not only did I gain Ascona grilles with my MG but I also have a clutch slave cylinder for a Rover 800, that came with my 800, but my one is Automatic.........

[catsinthewelder]

Another thread just reminded me that I own a complete new exhaust for a Rover 200 but hopefully also found a home for it.

Does anybody need 8 doors for the same car?

[Floatylight]

7 hours ago, Marina door handles said:

A fuel filter for the Honda Accord I sold to Floatylight, which I believe he has since sold on.

still got it!

[Brigsy]

Too many times unfortunately. Week gone i bought a new accelerator pedal for my orange dci as it was going in limp logging pedal faults. The pedals aint that common used as nobody takes them off, its £50 for used or £50-150 for new.

Bought used clio 172 pedal and i couldnt get the arm off to change it for diesel one as my small puller has gone awol. Took original off, stripped, cleaned the tracks and retensioned the contacts.

Works fine again, so new pedal is in the will get lost in the garage pile. Might aswell have burnt the £50😄

[Metal Guru]

After an MOT advisory about 5 years ago, I bought a rear subframe for my Impreza. Got it off eBay , very light surface rust, so gave it a good coat of paint. £120 v £500 ish for a new one.

MOT has never mentioned it again (changed garage TBF) but it’s probably the least rusty part of the whole underside.

 

[comfortablynumb]

Oh and I've still got a metric fucktonne of Yugo and zastava parts, NOS, which came to me as part of a job lot.

I've never owned one, not am I likely to.

(Now watch one show up before the end of the week...😁)

[meshking]

Bought a steering column for my first mk1 leaf, promptly fell out of agreement with my mechanic and just left it in the garage after I realised quite what a faff it would be to change it without a guarantee of fixing the annoying rattle. 
When the car was replaced with a newer leaf, the column went out with the scrap.

[sierraman]

17 hours ago, Bren said:

I would imagine that we have all played parts darts at some point. And bought something that stayed in the box.

Our last vectra developed a spongy brake pedal - the feel of the pedal was generally good but when it suddenly went a bit soft I splurged £120 on a master cylinder.

Despite having a haynes manual and following the instructions neither me nor a friend ( ex trade ) could remove the master cylinder.

In desperation my friend got in touch with his mate ( ex vx tech) as he had the correct diagnostic equipment. After putting a considerable amount of dot 4 through the system normal service was resumed.

I have no idea why the pedal went spongy. Or if I will ever get rid of a vectra master cylinder which is under a bench in my garage.

Master cylinders and servos can be a proper bitch to remove, usually needing the engine dropping down a bit.

[Marina door handles]

8 hours ago, Floatylight said:

still got it!

After a quick rummage, it appears I have lost/binned the fuel filter so I cannot offer it to you, sorry! 

[Floatylight]

6 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

After a quick rummage, it appears I have lost/binned the fuel filter so I cannot offer it to you, sorry! 

It's fine, probably couldn't be arsed to fit it anyway!

[Bren]

7 hours ago, sierraman said:

Master cylinders and servos can be a proper bitch to remove, usually needing the engine dropping down a bit.

We undid everything but it refused to come free. I refused to go any further as I did not want to be removing the fascia.

[sutty2006]

When I was recommissioning the Mk1 Carlton I found the thermostat housing rotten and bunged up.
 

It subsequently broke in two after removing it. I needed a new thermostat and top cover, but I was SURE I had a thermostat in the box of spare parts. So I set to trying to find the top cover. These are or were unobtainable, but the part was shared with a lotus Carlton. This is bollocks, because that immediately added OMGLOTUSEXPENSIVERARECARTAX!

 

but nevertheless I was desperate for one so I bought it. On arrival, I dug my way through the spares box looking for the thermostat I thought I had, only to find a genuine top cover still in its GM bag in the box. No thermostat. Now I had two top covers, one free and one costing over 50 quid.

 

 

[Split_Pin]

Electronic throttle petal and position sensor for my old Astra G which very occasionally would go into limp mode. £115, never opened it, sold it for £20.

 

[EyesWeldedShut]

14 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Electronic throttle petal and position sensor for my old Astra G which very occasionally would go into limp mode. £115, never opened it, sold it for £20.

 

Did better than my sister then - she ended up trading in the car because of this exact problem (and the inability of the dealer up in Elgin/Inverness to actually fix it). Their loss, she likes new things + consistency and is now on her fourth new CashCow after the Astra

[grogee]

Not necessarily expensive individually but I've hoarded a lot of Maestro spares and then paid to have them media blasted then powder coated, eg front subframe and fuel tank. They're in storage, gathering dust. Along with a cheese grater wheel that I had media blasted, and haven't got around to painting yet. 

Also in the cache of bits:

Bonnet

2 front wings 

Rear floor panel 

Front panel 

Slam panel

Driver's door that I paid to be sprayed  (that's now an art installation in my dining room) 

Set of rear lights 

Sunroof

A cylinder head that cost me £200, then a further £250 to have ported. I fitted it and there's no compression on cyls 2&3

A Unipart period correct cruise control kit

Cv joints... The list goes on and on. I really am a complete fool. 

[grogee]

2 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

When I was recommissioning the Mk1 Carlton I found the thermostat housing rotten and bunged up.
 

It subsequently broke in two after removing it. I needed a new thermostat and top cover, but I was SURE I had a thermostat in the box of spare parts. So I set to trying to find the top cover. These are or were unobtainable, but the part was shared with a lotus Carlton. This is bollocks, because that immediately added OMGLOTUSEXPENSIVERARECARTAX!

 

but nevertheless I was desperate for one so I bought it. On arrival, I dug my way through the spares box looking for the thermostat I thought I had, only to find a genuine top cover still in its GM bag in the box. No thermostat. Now I had two top covers, one free and one costing over 50 quid.

 

 

This could be a separate thread - bits you bought twice because you lost them but found them after you'd paid for a replacement 

[comfortablynumb]

I must admit to buying parts 'because they're there'

Particularly MK2 cortina stuff, a lot of it (like @sutty2006's thermostat housing) is now so expensive, if I see things at autojumbles I tend to buy it, regardless of whether I actually need it at the time.

The result is I have three cars, and probably enough to build another two...🤦