samplesj - makes a valid point about the parts list being only part of the cost. Once upon a time it was believed that the retail price should be approximately 5 times the cost of parts. This allowed for the above mentioned overhead and the dealer margin of, typically 40%. Following that formula backwards we can say that parts should represent about 1/3 of wholesale. Factory direct companies fall somewhere in between because they assume costs that the traditional manufacturer placed on dealers.
I submit that in today's marketplace, volume is down for most manufacturers and prices have shot up. Other manufacturers whose volume has remained stable or expanded, have likewise raised their prices exponentially because the sales climate invited such a move.
The onus is on the gullible customer, not the greedy manufacturer. We are the ones, through our complicity, who have created this exploitive pricing structure.
Supply and demand is not an incorruptible system. In our case, it has been artificially modified.
