I need to replace the power steering pump on my 1997 Geo Prism. I called several auto parts stores and car repair shops and, for reasons I don’t understand, the price quoted for just the part varied from ~130.00 to ~780.00. The weird thing is there are no prices between these two extremes. The price quoted is either ~$130.00 OR ~$780.00. What could possibly account for the huge difference? Again, this is for the pump only, no labor.
Brand new with no core exchange, and “reman” with a core exchange, I would guess.
Thanks for the quick response. All the places claimed they were new and the core exchange varied between $33 and $50. One place quoted $770 for a new pump and around $200 for a rebuilt. I’m astounded by the difference in the quotes and that there is no middle ground. I wondered if I wasn’t asking the right questions!
Well, there are different options when asking for a pump: you can get only the pump, you can get the pump and reservoir, or you can get the pump, reservoir, and pulley. I can’t see how a pump/reservoir/pulley that was made of gold could be worth almost 800 bucks, but you never know.
It’s not possible that the very expensive supplier thought that you meant a power steering rack, is it?
I don’t think so. I specifically asked for the power steering pump and it was two different places that gave the high quote. Perhaps they both though I meant the rack. I first called the dealer and, with labor, it was nearly a thousand, so I called several other places and got the lower quotes but then another local repair shop (that has had reasonable prices in the past) gave a quote similar to the dealer’s. That really confused me. Another mechanic said he would do the replacement for $296 and it’s a new pump with a lifetime guarantee. Very odd.