$2300 for a tail light for a Ford F150? That can't be right..

[Breakaway500]

Ah..but it is. A customer cracked his taillight by falling into it during the slippery weather this winter. 2024 F150. Just an XLT not a Raptor or anything fancy.

He now needs to get a state inspection sticker but the inspector told him the cracked light was a fail. He stopped at the dealer and was told $2300..installed. Even correct used ones (you have to get the correct one, as there are 8 different ones!!) are well over $1000.

And I thought rear view mirrors at $750 each was bad!

I'm gonna go hug my 1964 F100..and its $20 taillight..

 

[Petrov]

Yes they have LED modules and backup radars, that is why they are stolen all the time.

 

[Yendor357]

I’ve said for years, “One day, we will have outsmarted ourselves”.

Well, we have.

$2300 tail lights that often get stolen is a prime example why I won’t buy anything new.

 

[Onomea]

Maybe call around to junk yards?

 

[Petrov]

Maybe call around to junk yards?

They wont have them I can 99.9% guarantee it. Cars like that dont even go to car salvage places. Most get cut and restored. The ones that do hit the junk yard have the tail lights sold before the husk rolls off the flat bed.

 

[saleen322]

I think you can replace the lens assembly for about $150 and reuse the radar module.

Here is one from Amazon Replacement F150 Tail Light

 

[.38SuperMan]

I have two Mini Coopers one having old style incandescent bulb headlights and the other new LED projector lights. Granted the one with led lights are much brighter but the $$$ difference is nuts. I bought a set of new incandescent bulbs that are brighter, Sylvania Silver Star or something like that, and the price was under $50 and the garage installed them.

I thought I’d get spare bulbs for the LED model but quickly found they’re sealed units and you can’t just replace the bulbs. And they run $1,900 each. Insane!

 

[Petrov]

I have two Mini Coopers one having old style incandescent bulb headlights and the other new LED projector lights. Granted the one with led lights are much brighter but the $$$ difference is nuts. I bought a set of new incandescent bulbs that are brighter, Sylvania Silver Star or something like that, and the price was under $50 and the garage installed them.

I thought I’d get spare bulbs for the LED model but quickly found they’re sealed units and you can’t just replace the bulbs. And they run $1,900 each. Insane!

If its gen 1 r53 you can get Xenon lights and those are GREAT

 

[.38SuperMan]

If its gen 1 r53 you can get Xenon lights and those are GREAT

Both are gen 3. One is an F56 and the other an F57. The F57 has the LED lights. I’m thinking about getting some LED bulbs from Amazon and trying them in the F56. I have an OBD and Bimmer app and can switch over the computer to LED. Supposedly it recognizes the led’s then and there’s no flicker, supposedly.

 

[Petrov]

Both are gen 3. One is an F56 and the other an F57. The F57 has the LED lights.

Ah! Well at least its not the n14 engine :0

 

[LVSteve]

If its gen 1 r53 you can get Xenon lights and those are GREAT

There are a laundry list of reasons why it's usually a bad idea to put xenons or LED "bulbs" in an incandescent headlight unit.

 

[Petrov]

There are a laundry list of reasons why it's usually a bad idea to put xenons or LED "bulbs" in an incandescent headlight unit.

Oh no, goodness no. R53 had whole separate headlight assemblies for xenon.

 

[Wdbutcher97]

Breakaway, I'd love to have a 1964 F100 like yours. I keep watching for decent trucks of that vintage, but good ones for a fair price are hard to find. Never let it go!

 

[TX-Dennis]

A PAIR of Oracle aftermarket replacements goes for 550-600. Oracle has a pretty good reputation in lighting for vehicles.

You do have to transfer the factory sensors from the old lights to the replacements.

 

[Breakaway500]

"Breakaway, I'd love to have a 1964 F100 like yours. I keep watching for decent trucks of that vintage, but good ones for a fair price are hard to find. Never let it go!"

Thanks! I've been driving it a lot this year and every mile....it makes me smile. I am actually getting 16mpg as long as I don't spur it too much. . Just put the tail gate letters on it, and my old Ca license plate! (from 1979)

It's amazing the reactions I get..especially when I take it to Lowes to pick up supplies, wood etc. They just can't believe I use it for routine chores. Might even pull my car trailer with it this year.

And to think I paid less than the cost of a new F150 tail light for it....47 years ago.

 

[sjmjax]

I use to be a car buff years ago. Foreign sports cars, American muscle cars, novelty vehicles. At one time, wife and I owned 14 of them and 4 motorcycles.

Today nothing in the market interests me. In part, the excessive complexity. Such as this example and a recent thread on the stupid “start-stop” feature.

And modern cars and trucks are esthetically ugly and largely indistinguishable from one other. Take the name plates off and you’d be hard pressed to tell one brand from another of a similar class.

Enough ranting for now but I could go on and on regarding this topic.

 

[mtgianni]

Independant body shop should do it for half that.

 

[Wdbutcher97]

Breakaway, I've had quite a few older pickups in my life, mainly because I'm also kind of old. I had a 1968 F100 with a 6 cylinder and a 4 speed that got 18 mpg the one time I checked it. The truck that was the most fun was a clean 1959 short box F100 that someone had slipped a 390 into. That's one of the trucks I wish I had kept. I sold it to a friend who totaled it six months later. I also had a 1971 F100 that I stuck a 351 modified motor and C6 transmission into just because I could. I had a lot of ambition and very little money in my late teens and early 20s, but I had a lot of fun. I wish I had kept all of the old Fords.

 

[dben002]

I needed a new catalytic converter for my 2018....Took it to the dealership.....they handed me a quote of $2214.30. Took it to an independent garage, showed them the quote....they did the job for $864.12. Brand new converter......after bumper to bumper is gone...never, ever, go back to the dealership for service...... do you hear me.....never, ever.......................

 

[DWalt]

I needed a new catalytic converter for my 2018....Took it to the dealership.....they handed me a quote of $2214.30. Took it to an independent garage, showed them the quote....they did the job for $864.12. Brand new converter......after bumper to bumper is gone...never, ever, go back to the dealership for service...... do you hear me.....never, ever.......................

Many years ago I learned the hard way to never go to a dealership for any service work unless it’s under warranty. A universal truth. On my local neighborhood bulletin board website, a few weeks ago there was a nearly identical posting about the horrendous price of a replacement Ford tail light. Someone had stolen the tail light off the poster’s truck overnight while it was parked in his driveway.