My 2019 Toyota Rav4 Repair Was Quoted $500 for Parts and Labor at a Local Shop, but I Found The Replacement Piece On Amazon For Only $80.

A cracked taillight is a common problem that might not seem like such a big deal at first glance. However, once you've gone to a garage to have it taken care of, that small crack widened into a bigger issue as a recent Toyota owner found out posting a quoted price of $500 for her 2019 Rav4 taillight, wondering if the estimate is correct especially when they found the part online on Amazon for much less.

Related article: My daughter just got a quote from our local Midas to replace both rear brake calipers, rotors, and pads (all aftermarket) for $1500.

The Estimate Was Not a Scam

While a repair quote of $500 for a piece of colored plastic, including labor requiring the most basic handyman skills, might sound like another situation of repair quote inflation, shared opinions on the Reddit r/Rav4 Forum showed that this is not atypical, and some models actually cost much more for the same repair.

Most posts encouraged the Rav4 owner to just DIY and save money.

This is one of those situations where I would DIY it. YouTube has a ton of videos on how to replace it. They wanted over 1k to replace my passengers side mirror. I found a new one on Amazon for 90 and a YouTube video on how to replace it. It took me maybe an hour of my time. Super easy―drcigg

I had this same issue in my 2019 RAV4. I bought the part from Amazon for around $90 and went to a local body shop for installation; they charged $70 for labor. Toyota dealership quoted $500+ for parts and labor―nimsj420

The Advice is Sound But With Some Caveats

The problem with car repairs with cheaper non-OEM parts has been reported several times on this automotive website:

1. Don't Buy Aftermarket Parts for Your Toyota Warns This Mechanic
2. Toyota Maintenance Non-OEM Parts Warning
3. Junk Parts from China Warning by Toyota Mechanic

It might not seem like a big concern in this case with a simple plastic taillight. However, according to a few other thread posts, the fitment of that non-OEM taillight can become a bigger problem down the road.

I work at Toyota in Canada, and one of my recent clients smashed his rear taillight on the RAV4 Hybrid XSE. That repair cost is accurate as it includes parts and labor. But you can always go aftermarket or find a third-party shop to swap it out; it's super simple labor. When dealing with dealerships, they are obligated to go OEM factory parts & hourly labor is $150. I hope that helps. Edit - if you do go aftermarket parts, then there is the worry that the seal on the taillights will weaken over time and cause condensation, which can cause electrical issues with the harness in the long run―k1drobott

Water leaking into a taillight can cause serious electrical issues as noted in a $5,600 repair bill for this Ford F-150 owner's tail lamps.

Another caveat to keep in mind is that if you buy a non-OEM part from Amazon or another online vendor and pay a mechanic to install it for you, as one post in the thread reported doing, if that part or anything related to the repair goes wrong, the garage will not warrant the repair.

It might surprise you that sometimes something as simple as a fake Toyota gas cap can cause problems for your vehicle.

Concluding Remarks

The takeaway message is that even simple repairs using non-OEM parts can wind up with you having made a small problem even worse. Before attempting these types of repairs, do your online research and find a video of someone who has done it, what they discovered while doing it, and weigh the DIY savings against the possibility of a new problem developing afterward. Sometimes a repair bill is the cheapest way to go.

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.