Arm rest replacement?
- Thread starter fraochdha
- Start date
stevetsmith2
Member
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- 07, Mazda, CX9 GT and 04 Mazdaspeed Miata
I have an 07 GT. The Drivers arm rest has torn. Mazda is telling me I get to replace the whole door panel. It didn't go any where after that. If someone has any suggestions, please step forward.
Thanks
Steve
Thanks
Steve
There is an AWESOME website called www.car-part.com that you should check out! It allows you to enter the year, make and model of your vehicle plus select the part you're looking for and also your zip code. Then it searches thousands of auto salvage yards across the country and displays every compatible part that it finds!
Even if you aren't able to search for something quite as specific as the door panel armrest, you can find door panels instead. Then you email each of the individual businesses that have the door panel and tell them you only want to buy the armrest. One or two of them may decline to take apart the full door panel, especially if they have an entire set in good condition. But I guarantee that you will find some who will happily sell you only the part(s) you want. That will be especially true if the door panel isn't in perfect condition overall or if it's the only one they could salvage from the wrecked vehicle.
I restored a '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee back to almost perfect condition a few years ago using only parts sourced thru car-part.com! I also saved more than $1000 when I had to replace my 2006 Mazda3's manual transmission (shift fork bent inside of sealed transmission casing and no repair shop would even open it to take a look for less than $700! My A/C compressor had also locked down a few months prior to the transmission problem. I found a salvage yard thru car-part.com that had a 2006 Mazda3 s with only 18k mile on it and it had been totaled from a side/rear impact. So the transmission and A/C were still in perfect condition up front. I paid $600 for the transmission ($100 of which was the freight service who shipped it) and $125 for the A/C compressor. I installed both parts and a new clutch ($190 new online) in a few hours for free. New OEM parts plus labor would have cost around $2000 and I spent just $915. It has been almost 60k miles and over four years since I did all that and it all still works like new!
The first time I used car-part.com was when my Mazda6 was barely a year old and had around 18k miles on it. I had a nasty run-in with a pothole-from-hell (14" deep, and 15" x 14" opening- it was closer to a sinkhole! It trashed two of my 17" wheels, damaged the suspension on on the right front and broke two motor mounts! The wheels alone would have cost $600 each from the dealer. But two like-new ones from a salvage yard were only $150 each! It took almost two years, but I eventually succeeded in making the County reimburse me for every penny of those repairs!!! Granted, I had to raise sheer hell to every tv and radio station in the Atlanta area, plus the Atl newspapers. I also had to put signs in my yard and on my car saying that the county's lack of road maintenance cost me so much money...but if you raise hell long enough and resolve to fight to the very end no matter how bad it gets, eventually you will WIN! But I haven't gone near the courthouse or sheriff's office, even though I was born and raised in this county, just like my parents and grandparents...I have a gut feeling that they have a standing "shoot on sight" order out for me! (boom05)
There is also a massive salvage yard in Fort Worth, TX called Mazda Nissan Heaven. I would shoot them an email also and see what they have to offer you.
Even if you aren't able to search for something quite as specific as the door panel armrest, you can find door panels instead. Then you email each of the individual businesses that have the door panel and tell them you only want to buy the armrest. One or two of them may decline to take apart the full door panel, especially if they have an entire set in good condition. But I guarantee that you will find some who will happily sell you only the part(s) you want. That will be especially true if the door panel isn't in perfect condition overall or if it's the only one they could salvage from the wrecked vehicle.
I restored a '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee back to almost perfect condition a few years ago using only parts sourced thru car-part.com! I also saved more than $1000 when I had to replace my 2006 Mazda3's manual transmission (shift fork bent inside of sealed transmission casing and no repair shop would even open it to take a look for less than $700! My A/C compressor had also locked down a few months prior to the transmission problem. I found a salvage yard thru car-part.com that had a 2006 Mazda3 s with only 18k mile on it and it had been totaled from a side/rear impact. So the transmission and A/C were still in perfect condition up front. I paid $600 for the transmission ($100 of which was the freight service who shipped it) and $125 for the A/C compressor. I installed both parts and a new clutch ($190 new online) in a few hours for free. New OEM parts plus labor would have cost around $2000 and I spent just $915. It has been almost 60k miles and over four years since I did all that and it all still works like new!
The first time I used car-part.com was when my Mazda6 was barely a year old and had around 18k miles on it. I had a nasty run-in with a pothole-from-hell (14" deep, and 15" x 14" opening- it was closer to a sinkhole! It trashed two of my 17" wheels, damaged the suspension on on the right front and broke two motor mounts! The wheels alone would have cost $600 each from the dealer. But two like-new ones from a salvage yard were only $150 each! It took almost two years, but I eventually succeeded in making the County reimburse me for every penny of those repairs!!! Granted, I had to raise sheer hell to every tv and radio station in the Atlanta area, plus the Atl newspapers. I also had to put signs in my yard and on my car saying that the county's lack of road maintenance cost me so much money...but if you raise hell long enough and resolve to fight to the very end no matter how bad it gets, eventually you will WIN! But I haven't gone near the courthouse or sheriff's office, even though I was born and raised in this county, just like my parents and grandparents...I have a gut feeling that they have a standing "shoot on sight" order out for me! (boom05)
There is also a massive salvage yard in Fort Worth, TX called Mazda Nissan Heaven. I would shoot them an email also and see what they have to offer you.
