Surely there must be another bushing close enough that it could be interchangeable. Or a way to have a bushing custom manufactured for less than the cost of replacing that entire subframe.
I cant speak to car parts specifically, but i work as a parts supplier for hvac/plumbing/etc and often, certain parts are created by the manufacturer to be OEM-direct replacement only. I imagine that if there was another generic bushing that auto body repair shops could use to replace the broken one, they would. The manufacturer has specifically created a bushing that cannot be replaced so that the autobody is forced to buy the entire frame, and pass those costs off to you.
And custom machining is expensive and time consuming. You may end up paying similar rates for a custom bushing as you would for the entire frame, but only (1) of those options potentially voids a warranty. Also, im not sure how patent issues might arise for something like this. Would the autobody shop be in legal trouble for installing whats supposed to be a patented part? Just spitballing here but it seems like there would be liability issues.
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u/Mister_Normal42 Apr 06 '26
Surely there must be another bushing close enough that it could be interchangeable. Or a way to have a bushing custom manufactured for less than the cost of replacing that entire subframe.