$1200 for a new headlight bulb.. what?!!

[BlkPnthr]

The headlight on my 2002 Legacy has died, so eventually figured out how to pull it apart and get the bulb out. Went into Repco and asked for a replacement price.. near enough to $1200!! There was a cheaper option apparently, that being almost $400.

Surely there must be a more reasonable option? It's just a bulb!

[Guest]

send me a pic. its probably an hid bulb. i can do for under a $100 possibly have numbers D2S D1S D2R D1R on it or the light. but send me a pic if i can identify it ill price it up.

[BlkPnthr]

Thanks! Sounds much more reasonable.. funny how i went into the shop thinking about $20-30 would be reasonable, and now $100 seems cheap : Guess that shows how much i know about HID bulbs.

Here's the photo, it's D2R. The other feature of it that isn't shown in the picture is a metal strip/wire that is running parallel to the bulb up the length of it on the other side:

[BlkPnthr]

Also, anything wrong with these? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/performance/bulbs/auction-464084772.htm

They're 8000k instead of 4300k.. is that a problem?

There's also a few on TM that are 4300k, and cheap as chips for a pair, but D2C..

[Guest]

needs to be d2r buy that pair and do both sides. dunno how they come up with $1200 let alone $300 the narva option is about $300 but i dont know how many they sell. 8000k will be far more intense but then again they are a chinese bulb as opposed to a phillips... you get what you pay for but not if you buy off repco.

you probably already know but dont touch the glass on the new bulb when you put it in.

[newsuba]

8000k is aimed at those who want that intense blue look.

[B4 2000]

i got my Philips from a shop down in dunedin, $380 for the pair or $200 per bulb

i priced at subaru they were $350 a bulb iirc

Mine are 6000K (some call them crystal white), 8000k are too blue for my liking and other people facing you IMO

4300k are true white, a hint of yellowish when warm up

[subout]

Prob cheaper to replace whole light off trademe

[Guest]

im pretty sure 8000k is illegal but the bosses skoda light are factory and the bluest ive ever seen. get 4300 or 6000k to be on the safe side.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/performance/bulbs/auction-464339184.htm

[B4 2000]

Nah 8000k are still legal, they come factory on some cars

[BlkPnthr]

Yeah not that keen on 8000, 4300 preferable but 6000 would be fine. So the worries about buying the trademe cheapies vs genuine Philips are how long they'll last?

 evowrx said:

you probably already know but dont touch the glass on the new bulb when you put it in.

Didn't know that, thanks. What happens? Took out the working bulb to take it into ripco as it was easier to get at, so that bulbs potentially been touched..

[Guest]

id change both so they look the same. keep the good one as a spare. at that trademe price its worth a shot. you can get 6 bulbs for one good quality one so id try it. if youre happy its a win otherwise its only $40 down the tubes.

they blow coz they burn hell hot and the oil off your fingers is like water on a bulb so they blow up. hid burn way hotter than halogen.

[BlkPnthr]

Almost bought the $40 pair, then looked around at genuine ones just in case. Tempted by these which end up as roughly $150 for two incl shipping: http://www.hidorigin.com/philips-4300k-oem-d2r-hid-bulb.html

Or could buy from NZ, not Philips as such, but OEM for $134: http://www.hidreplacements.co.nz/index.php/hid-oem-bulbs/app-replacement-bulbs-d2r.html

Funny how the Philips state the rated life as 3000hr vs 5000 on the cheapies, but then they could say anything. Who would bother timing how long their bulbs actually lasted for!

[Guest]

saying oem doesnt mean a lot man. unless you buy phillips/hella/osram/narva any of the cheap bulbs are as good as each other. the ones you speak of are on trademe for $65 a pair i think. personally i wouldnt believe the specs on chinese bulbs. we do sell them as an alternative and havent had too many problems though.

when you ask them about their testing procedures the pictures they send you can be quite disturbing. water proof to 1m means finding a dark dungeon, taping a light to a broomstick, dropping it in a bucket then filming them running around showing different views of the bottom of the bucket while spinning a chinese sales spiel.

[BlkPnthr]

Ok, so if i get trademe ones, i may as well just get the cheapest available? Otherwise genuine philips are the "safest" option in terms of quality?

Tempted now to just pay the $150 for piece of mind

Even more tempted after reading this: http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/101472-not-all-hid-bulbs-created-equal.html

[Guest]

just remember unless otherwise stated theyre a chinese bulb. the brands i mentioned are all german by memory. i can do you narva ones ive pmed you with price no one will beat that if they can, theyre not narva.

[spark_38]

The chinese bulbs don't last. They are often found in the cheap 'hid' kits sold throughout trademe/jaycar, etc... I've had a few blow out.

Was chatting to the Hella rep recently, and he said the factory bulbs almost never blow. Even after 10+ years. The light does yellow with age - and as such you can also get lower K rated bulbs if you didn't want to replace both.

Factory ones are usually around 5k, the higher the k, the whiter the light, less brightness. 5500k is about the sweet spot, I think. 8000k and above they almost tending towards the blue end of the light spectrum.

He also mentioned most HID bulbs are made by either Philips or Panasonic(?), and repackaged. All the Narva, Hella, Osram, etc... ones are anyway.

Had to replace the ones in a mates V7 STi, they were around $140 a bulb (trade) for the Philips (German) ones.

[newsuba]

 B4 2000 said:

4300k are true white, a hint of yellowish when warm up

That would be 6500K.

Pure white with no tinting.

;D

Ditto on what Jason said about el cheapo Chinese bulbs, just say no.

[BlkPnthr]

Yeah, have decided against the el cheapo TM ones. Currently considering Philips ones on Amazon, which work out at roughly $125NZD for a pair incl shipping. No reason to think they wouldn't be legit? http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Xenon-Headlight-Bulb-Pack/dp/B00480J4KA/ref=lh_ni_t

Amazon doesn't think they'll fit my car, but i'm guessing that's because of model differences between the countries

[B4 2000]

you sure it's $125 NZD?? i had a look at ebay and they seems to be around the $200USD for a pair

the part number for my 6000k is 85126WX

[BlkPnthr]

Yeah they're $43.49USD each (as per my link to amazon above), so $87 plus about $15 shipping, totalled $102USD

Currency converter app on my phone made that out to be $125NZD. Could be wrong, but i'm guessing $130 max.

Have ordered them. No night driving for me for a couple of weeks now is the only disadvantage i can think of. Lucky we've got two cars

[Guest]

 spark_38 said:

He also mentioned most HID bulbs are made by either Philips or Panasonic(?), and repackaged. All the Narva, Hella, Osram, etc... ones are anyway.

i think its osram that make them all phillips narva or hella

[BlkPnthr]

Arrived today, bloody quick! And i chose the cheap, slow shipping option as well. Decided to do a quick "how-to" just in case anyone else was interested: http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic,29485.new.html#new

The bulbs from Amazon look like they're legit to me, the glass on the bulb itself is slightly tinged blue, but seem okay otherwise. And despite them saying they wouldn't fit, they do.