This should be a no brainer. Every year or two I go to the auto parts store and buy new windshield wiper blades for every vehicle I own. The regular kinds are about $10 and the fancy ones might go as high as $20 each.

Not this year. Autozone wants some $19 for their (generally sketchy) house brand and up to $35 per blade for the luxury line. They can't be serious.

No big deal - I came home and bought Bosch icons on Amazon for about $15/blade - free shipping, and some discontinued Bosch blades at like $8 each. I expect to pay a bit more at a B&M but this is just stupid.

Is this what they teach at Wharton? That the only way a brick and mortar store can compete is to gouge the ignorant? Might work at Williams-Sonoma but it won't work at Autozone. Autozone shoppers do their own work and they know what things should cost.

Autozone has (have?) done the same thing on batteries. I have bought a ton of their batteries in the past but not any more. Now they last exactly long enough that the pro-rated warranty is worthless. The internet knows what I know, and the internet is not afraid to discuss it. Costco batteries are the hot ticket and I bought three of them last year.

Look for Autozone to go belly up in the fairly near future. Bloviating gasbags will wring their hands, rend their garments, and decry the cruel treatment Autozone received at the hand of the internet marketplace.

No one will mention the high-priced idiots who drew full pay while driving the company in to a ditch.

My wiper blades will be here Tuesday.

Interesting ... I never thought of buying wiper blades online until you mention it. Most likely I will start the next time I need new wiper blades. Thanks for the heads-up!

I just bought some Rain-x blades. Haven't put them on yet but will this week. We will see if they are as good as they claim. I think I paid like $15 per.

Yes, I'd love to know what you think of those, Mik. Or, if anyone has any loyalty to a particular brand.

Here in the pnw, I change my blades every year, at least once, all around. They get a workout.

I don't go to Autozone; been going to Costco or (if I'm lazy) having the dealer do it, so I had no idea about their new cost model. I'll be curious to see how the stores fare over the next year or so. Based on what Steve says, it sounds like they're another B&M headed for the skids.

I'm about to lose my mind over my wiper blades.

I bought a Mini-Cooper new in 2014. It came with three years of dealer maintenance. The wiper blades worked fine; no need to replace them.

For year four, I started going to an independent repair shop. They said your wiper blades are getting old, so let's replace them. Fine, I said.

Thereafter, my wiper blades have squeaked so loudly during rain storms that I need to keep the radio at high volume. It is so bad that passengers have commented on it.

I lived with this a few months, and then went back to the dealer. They said they use new blades straight from Mini, and they replace them. The squeaking continues.

Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? It sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard and I am at my wits end over it.

quote:

Originally posted by Mikhailoh:
I just bought some Rain-x blades. Haven't put them on yet but will this week. We will see if they are as good as they claim. I think I paid like $15 per.

I've used them. They work fine but don't seem to last any longer than other blades. They had one for a while where you installed the blades then squirted something on the windshield and ran the wipers for a few minutes to break them in.. I remember those as lasting a long time but I don't see them offered any more. They were very quiet, too.

The internet seems to like Bosch "Icon" blades and they are what I usually get. It will be interesting to compare them to the less expensive (1/2 the cost) Bosch "Micro Edge" blades I got this time.

Thank you, Steve.
My Tundra is in Tucson. Needs wiper blades. Will order a pair when I get there in March.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? It sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard and I am at my wits end over it.

I have been told (but have absolutely no data to prove) that this can be caused by the wax they use at car washes. I did a bit of the Google and I see people still talk about it.

Do you use the spray wax at the car wash? If so, maybe try removing the wax from the windshield. Looks like ammonia (Windex is recommended) works - maybe boost the Windex with a little extra ammonia. Also "Glass Polish" (Glass Wax? - do they even still make it any more?) is said to be effective.

If you decide to try it, I'd really like to hear if it works or not.

[edit] Nope - What I think of as "Glass Wax", which was a paste like car wax - is no longer manufactured. I can see why - it was a lot of work to use.

What they call Glass Wax today is a spray product with silicone and wax in it - probably not what you want for this experiment.

That spray wax is not worth the money and you really don't need it with clearcoat paints.

I like the Rain-x windshield stuff, so I decided to give these a shot We will see.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
(Glass Wax? - do they even still make it any more?)

As you said, they don't make it anymore. But I sure remember it!





https://holidappy.com/holidays...ass-wax-and-stencils

Yup - that's it! My folks took turns using that stuff to clean a big sliding glass door. It was a lot of work but the result was always perfect.

We had the stencils, too.

I really do wonder if squeaking is caused by residue left over from car washes or windshield cleaner you use with a squeegee at gas stations.

Or just built-up grime over time.

For our house windows we use an ammonia/water solution with a quality squeegee and they come out squeaky-clean and beautiful. (The active ingredient in Windex is ammonia.) Perhaps that's the best way to do windshields too? Or at least see if the wipers are noisy after cleaning that way.

Oops -- just saw Steve's very similar post above...sorry.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? It sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard and I am at my wits end over it.

I have been told (but have absolutely no data to prove) that this can be caused by the wax they use at car washes. I did a bit of the Google and I see people still talk about it.

Do you use the spray wax at the car wash? If so, maybe try removing the wax from the windshield. Looks like ammonia (Windex is recommended) works - maybe boost the Windex with a little extra ammonia. Also "Glass Polish" (Glass Wax? - do they even still make it any more?) is said to be effective.

If you decide to try it, I'd really like to hear if it works or not.

[edit] Nope - What I think of as "Glass Wax", which was a paste like car wax - is no longer manufactured. I can see why - it was a lot of work to use.

What they call Glass Wax today is a spray product with silicone and wax in it - probably not what you want for this experiment.

I wash my car myself, by hand, old school. I don’t think I have ever used a car wash on it.

Another great theory shot to hell.

Do you really wash your own car? In the winter?

Yep.

In the winter, I wait for a day that is around 50 degrees. Then I get my hose, soap, and my bucket and go to town. I can do it in less than an hour (it's mini, after all), and it takes way longer than that to drive to a carwash and wait in line.

The secret is to wear ordinary yellow housework gloves so your hands don't get wet.

That said, the standard for what constitutes a clean car in winter is forgiving. If it is dirty for a few weeks, who cares?