Originally Posted by onehundred80
If you make parts like this it costs a lot of money to set up the mold and machine and then you have to produce a good few to make it worthwhile.
As Dan said, they were made for warranty issues. Auto manufacturers spend LOTS of money each year to prevent lawsuits. They likely did an ATB (all-time buy) and made a run of a few thousand parts. This cost will not be eaten by the manufacturer, they simply pass it to the customer. That's why it's $50+
A customer can't sue because a part is too costly, they can only sue if a suitable OE part is not
available. Chrysler is technically supporting the car, and that's all they're liable for. They could charge $200 and it would still be legal, just not ethical. Supply and demand... how bad do you want to fix your cupholder?
As for the Mercedes stamping, they still had proprietary manufacturing rights to the car (hence the R193 chassis designation). Chrysler only had rights in sales/marketing... hence the blue and white sticker on the poly bag
