wowww.. just take a look at it. is the seller from this forum?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cente...spagenameZWDVW

 

I don't think so...probably mazda3forum

 

meh thats old news http://www.gaugepods.com/ sells them, just looked at the ebay version and its outrageously priced

 

do u have a direct link to that item? i cant find it on the website....

 

Here. Try this. http://www.gaugepods.com/mazda.html

But I can tell you that mattleegee does A LOT of work and modification.The Lotek as it comes looks like crap. It doesn't fit well and stands above the top of the dashboard because it fits over the OEM dash.
As the auction states, it takes one of these AND a stock upper dash panel ($$$) to make one of his. Then he fits and blends them together.
I'm quite sure he puts a hell of a lot of time and effort creating these. It's a labor of love or he wouldn't do it.
And yes, mattleegee is on the mazda3forum and several others (msproto-24/7.com too) He's very into these cars.

 

whatever. 255 is a f*cking rapeage. I could understand 150-175, but 255 makes my *** hurt just looking at that price.

theres not even a buyout!! greed....

 

i totally agree but where else r u gonna find quality work like this? just lookin at the Lotek u can tell how crappy its gonna look in the car. id rather unscrew my oem dash and completely replace it with this than make holes in it to make room for the gauges

 

Your *** must hurt a lot then. W/the cost of things these days I know mine does.
What did you pay for your F5? That's just a bent tube with a sensor pick up welded on and a universal air filter. And they are mass produced.... Thousands have been sold to help cover their development, set up costs and the cost to manufacture.
Or your tint?Bet that was $200+ too.

In the first place, I have no axe to grind 'cause I don't even know the guy personally, but he is offering a custom/semi-custom piece. Craftsmanship costs money... these days more than ever before.
Second, that auction already has 3 bids, which means if there was a Buy-It-Now option, it's now gone. And since it does have 3 bids, where did the auction start?
Third, the Lotek piece alone costs $45 before shipping and is a really cheap piece of vacuum formed plastic that doesn't fit well and makes noise as it rubs against the original dash piece (according to those that have tried it.) Can you imagine what it costs to buy the dash center piece from Mazda? Have you EVER bought any replacement or accessory pieces directly FROM Mazda? Add to that his time and materials(fiberglass, resin, paint, tools, etc?) and it is completely understandable why it might cost more than a factory, mass produced piece.

 

It's not greed at all. It's time he's investing into the part.The materials are only part of the cost, the skill involved to make the part is what you're paying for.

If you think you can make that part for less money, you might just have a good business on your hands. Typical labor at any kind of fabrication shop will easily run you $60-80/hour....think you could make one of these in 3-4 hours?

 

Here, here.