I'm going to replace the thermostat in my 03S, before I got home to order it, I stopped at the Advanced Auto near my house . Can anyone tell me why oem is $37. and Advanced has it for $7.99?I'm sketched about the in-store price, so will be ordering oem with the housing. Any thoughts?

 

I'm assuming Advanced Auto is like our Kragen/O'Reilly's/Autozone here? If so, then I'm personally thinking their parts for your car are usually generic and the build quality isn't as great as, for example, the Vernet and Wahler thermostat brands for your MCS.

 

Big difference is that OEM comes with a new gasket. I'm guessing at 7.99 it's just the thermostat. I've heard of people replacing the housing, but unless it's broken, I can't see why. The gasket, on the other hand, has been know to leak.

 

Personally, I would buy a new thermostat/gasket and probably housing from Pelican.
but better yet i get my stuff from AZ autohaus they are cheaper and just as fast with the shipping.

 

Thanks for the replies. I ordered the thermostat and housing from a (somewhat) local dealer who, when ordering from their website, you get a discount. Ended up costing me $60 for everything including shipping. I figured I'd order the housing as well just in case after going through the hassle of doing this job I needed one.