How Much???

 

I took the van in to the dealer to have them look at our sliding door handle to find out what part they need to fix it.  It's obvious that there is simply a pin missing.  Sounds rather simple, eh?  No.  The part they need to replace is the door handle.  Ok, how much could that be?  Good news is the labor is only $109.  The bad news is the part.  WHAT???   $154???  Grand total of $263 and in small print is "+ tax".  Ok, so for only $282 dollars, we can get a new door handle on our 7-year old Honda Odyssey. 

So, I'm thinking surely our guy who does body work can do better.  Well, he will only charge $137 for the part, but his grand total was a whopping $317.  He explained that our paint is complicated.  Something about being 3-steps instead of the usual 2-step which is why it is a pretty color.  Remind me next time to get an uglier vehicle. 

I'm now attempting to locate a used door handle which will probably be similar to hunting for a needle in a haystack.