Wiper blades - what do you buy? (to buy, living)

[mzbk2l]

My first set of Valeo Ultimate Frameless blades just turned 3 years old and is still holding up great in the AZ sun. No streaking or chattering or rubber breakdown. I have them on four of our family's cars now.

They fluctuate from $12-14 apiece on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CD8HH8/

[Remington Ranger]

Wiper blades in the desert die from the extreme heat, not due to use during the rare rainfall we have. They dry out and get hard, cracked and inflexible making them pretty useless when it does rain. I've been in the Phoenix area for 36 years and replace my wipers every 2 -3 years.

Also, car batteries die quickly here. Cheap or premium batteries tend to last about 3 years. And unlike Wisconsin, where I came here from, where batteries gave you a hint they were going south, down here they are really good until one day you get in your car and you battery is just dead. The exception is the Optima gel cell batteries, which are much more expensive. I've purchased them in the past and had one last 5 years. The don't make them for my Hondas, but they are worth the extra cash if they make one for your car.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

On my mother's Fiat 500, after the one of the high quality beam blades (driver side) that came with it since we bought it in 2014 needed a replacement, we initially replaced it with one of the cheap SuperTech blades from Walmart. That blade only lasted two months, which is making us think twice about buying the cheapest available blades. We replaced that one with a Trico Flex beam blade. Now the other beam blade (passenger) that came with the vehicle is needing replacement. Since the blade for the passenger side isn't readily available in stores, we bought a Trico NeoForm blade from Amazon. The Trico NeoForm seems to have excellent reviews, including from some people from the Valley on Amazon.

I was wondering, do you seem to prefer to buy high-quality wiper blades, or do you prefer to buy the cheapest available wiper blades? Considering how long the beam wiper blades that the previous owners installed on my mother's Fiat 500 have lasted compared to the cheap SuperTech blade that we tried, I am thinking we should steer clear of the cheap blades. I did read somewhere that Walmart actually switched manufacturers last year for the SuperTech blades; they were formerly rebranded Anco blades, but now they are made in China by Rally Manufacturing and quality has suffered.

Are your wiper blades broken? Or is the rubber (wiping) performance not up to par when it was new?

I never replace the blade, I only replace the rubber. My car is a Camry and I buy the OEM rubber replacements from the dealership and replace them on the current wiper blades on the car. They run about $15-20 for the front set (2x rubber inserts) and they last a very long time even through summers, easily 2 years on 1 set. It's also easily replaceable, can be done in a few minutes.

The only time i'll replace the blade itself is if there's obvious discoloration. Just to make it look nice again. Other than that, it's a complete waste to throw a whole blade out just because of the rubber.

[BIG CATS]

Buy the cheapies because you'll hardly ever use them, and why waste money on expensive blades that dry out and break just like all the rest? Ive sprung for the overpriced Rain-X brand wipers and they didn't last any longer than the $7 Auto Zone specials. Its an absolute waste of money to buy expensive wiper blades here.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Buy the cheapies because you'll hardly ever use them, and why waste money on expensive blades that dry out and break just like all the rest? Ive sprung for the overpriced Rain-X brand wipers and they didn't last any longer than the $7 Auto Zone specials. Its an absolute waste of money to buy expensive wiper blades here.

In contrast, we never had to replace the high-end blades that were included on the Fiat 500 that we bought in 2014 until this year. We replaced one of them with a cheap SuperTech blade from Walmart and it only lasted two months. I do believe there is a difference in rubber quality.

[hikernut]

Is your stuff falling apart? Thank Walmart | Grist


Last purchase I made at Walmart was a pair of sneakers that were worn out after about a month. Yeah, the price was low, but the cost per step was very high.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by hikernut

Is your stuff falling apart? Thank Walmart | Grist


Last purchase I made at Walmart was a pair of sneakers that were worn out after about a month. Yeah, the price was low, but the cost per step was very high.

I don't buy most of my clothes from Walmart except for basic things such as T-shirts, socks, and underwear. For my usual polo and button-down shirts, I mostly buy IZOD, which is sold at JCPenney, Kohl's, some Macy's, Belk, and Amazon.

[hikernut]

I just don't trust them, after my own experiences and also reading about some of the things they do to cut costs.


At least Costco has a generous return policy on most things. I've only returned a couple of items over the years that I wasn't happy with, but got no complaints or resistance.

[Pink Jazz]

Almost a year later, the Trico Neoform wiper blade on my mother's Fiat 500 is still going strong, and the slightly older Trico Flex blade is doing fine as well. I'm glad we didn't waste our money on those cheap Walmart blades.

[cactusland]

I have a question, do all of you have your cars fully garaged, or in carports, or out in the open? I imagine if your vehicle is fully garaged your wipers last far longer.