Alan Patterson
Enthusiast
I accidently left my Gas cap in Monterey today. This occurred while filling up for the return trip home after attending the Skip Barber car control class with 19 other Viper folks on Thursday. (Awesome Class!!) Unfortunately I figured out the cap was missing about 150 miles from Monterey and I did not want to back track. I stopped at a "Car Quest" auto parts store in Stockton and told them I needed a new cap. They said I had to buy it at the dealer since it was a "special item". Fortunately there was a Dodge dealer just down the road another few miles at the Stockton Auto Mall so I headed there...
So I go to the parts dept. and ask for a 1998 GTS gas cap. The parts guy says OK and checks his computer--and checks some more. Finally he says "you may want to sit down for this" (He probably should have said bend over for this). Then he tells me the gas cap costs $530. I said hey, I don't need the whole assembly, just the plastic gas cap. He says that's what you get for $530! I proceded to tell him it was a mistake and that there was no way it could be priced at $530. So he begins to lecture/tell me that some Viper parts are very expensive since they are so specialized, etc. (The guy was serious!) Anyway, I ask him if he has one in stock. He says no it is a special order part (I should think so) So next, I ask him if they have a gas cap for a 1996 viper GTS. He looks that one up and says he does not have one in stock, but if he did, it would be $8.00...I proceded to tell him it should be the same one as the 1998 GTS thus the $530 price for it was wrong. So he says No, it has a different part number and once again the $530 price is correct.
Next, I ask the parts guy if there is a Kragens auto parts store near by...fortunately there was and it was only a block away. So I go in to Kragens and buy a gas cap for 6 bucks. Thats $6.00 or $524 less than the Dodge factory gas cap.
The outer cover lid closes a little too tight, so I may shave off the handle portion of the plactic gas cap a bit, but it sure beats the price of a new 1998 "factory gas cap"!!!
So I go to the parts dept. and ask for a 1998 GTS gas cap. The parts guy says OK and checks his computer--and checks some more. Finally he says "you may want to sit down for this" (He probably should have said bend over for this). Then he tells me the gas cap costs $530. I said hey, I don't need the whole assembly, just the plastic gas cap. He says that's what you get for $530! I proceded to tell him it was a mistake and that there was no way it could be priced at $530. So he begins to lecture/tell me that some Viper parts are very expensive since they are so specialized, etc. (The guy was serious!) Anyway, I ask him if he has one in stock. He says no it is a special order part (I should think so) So next, I ask him if they have a gas cap for a 1996 viper GTS. He looks that one up and says he does not have one in stock, but if he did, it would be $8.00...I proceded to tell him it should be the same one as the 1998 GTS thus the $530 price for it was wrong. So he says No, it has a different part number and once again the $530 price is correct.
Next, I ask the parts guy if there is a Kragens auto parts store near by...fortunately there was and it was only a block away. So I go in to Kragens and buy a gas cap for 6 bucks. Thats $6.00 or $524 less than the Dodge factory gas cap.
The outer cover lid closes a little too tight, so I may shave off the handle portion of the plactic gas cap a bit, but it sure beats the price of a new 1998 "factory gas cap"!!!
