$510.00 for an Aluminum cover for the ARC Ref. 10?

BMW has similar story to ARC. Basically it's not complicated and easier to repair than most of domestic cars and far most of japanese cars as well. The 'BRAND' drives the maintenance prices UP while the effort is substantially smaller vs. most of the cars on the market. I own 1997 318i convertible as 'garaged toy' and previously owned 1978 2002TTI. Neither one had ever been touched by any professional shop. In 90's I ordered parts mostly from Europe and Middle East and later on with internet handy I order parts from FCP Euro that are more than half-way down from dealer prices.

Enjoyed BMW (bring my wallet) a couple decades w/several 80's era cars & 1 magical '95 R100RT. the older stuff was simpler & easier to fix - the newer stuff forget about it says my independent mechanic for my '88 535is that I finally unloaded w/200K a few years ago. Owned a few ARC pieces never had any issues but they didn't stay around long. Go Music Reference & be happy & done with it.

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I've been pondering a pair of Audio Research Ref 610T tube amplifiers. $45k when new, can now be had for $14k. I've been thinking long and hard about acquiring a pair, but the specter of the $4K cost to re-tube haunts me. If I pull the trigger on a pair, I know that EVERYTHING associated with maintenance and repair will be expensive. Even the shipping back and forth to the factory will be expensive.
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Mitch4t,

The shipping back and forth would cost a fortune. If you don't have someone to service it locally I would forget about it.

Ah, the world and the way it works! I had to laugh (maybe cry) when I saw this post.

The ice dispenser in the door of my Viking fridge broke. (Note - this is endemic to Viking, they all break and there's a class action law suit out there seeking money for those hit with the problem). Anyway, the replacement plastic box that holds ice (full disclosure, it contains the auger for the dispenser, too) was exactly ....you guessed it.....$510. Either ARC owns Viking or $510 is the new magic number for luxury replacement parts costing $25 to manufacture..

For further context, my late labrador retriever once chewed up the plastic release button on the tip of the handbrake of my Porsche Carrera. This is 5 cents worth of plastic. Porsche wanted $1700 to replace the entire hand brake which, they explained, involved removing the drivers seat for installation. No, I did not kill the dog, but it's the last Porsche I'll ever own.

This kind of nonsense feels like a Darwinian imperative for those of us who buy this shit in the first place. It's like wearing a "Kick me!" sign on your back. Sadly, we've all done this to ourselves.