Buying New Wiper Blades

I buy whatever's on sale at Autozone. The one exception I would note would be some Goodyears I got at Costco a couple of years ago for my wife's car. Those were crap, they didn't last 6 months. Other than that, they are all the same, IMO.

I buy the cheapest ones I can find and apply RainX. I have found that by abstaining from using the windshield washer fluid, they will last much longer as it is mostly methanol which deteriorates the rubber. Realistically, I can't do this in the winter so I replace them in April.

I get Ancos at WalMart. I put the winter ones on in the fall, the regular ones in the spring and keep the reservoir full of Prestone deicer. I do a lot of highway driving and hate dirty glass. I also clean them inside and out often.

For the crusty Miata, I have the same off brand silicone wipers that I put on nearly ten years ago. I think that they may need replacing, so I'll use that as an excuse to Exocet the car. The wife's Jetta gets whatever is on sale at the local parts store, on the high end of the line.

I like Ancos, but they were always hard to find, at least until Wally pointed out that I can get them at Walmart. I don't like the winter ones, though, as they tend to lift off the glass at highway speeds.

I've found that you can get a little more life out of ineffective wiper blades by wiping them down with some rubbing alcohol on a rag.

New wiper blades are also one of the first things that I do when I buy a used car. I almost never buy a car that needs a windshield and it would piss me off to destroy a good windshield when a ten year old wiper blade falls apart.

I have had the opposite with some of my small fleet. Aftermarket blades just did not work well on the 2 VWs (1986 and 1997) or on the 1992 Maxima. But the 1991 Ford Truck would probably work fine with old sox in place of the wipers. So aftermarket wipers work fine on it. When all is said and done, I got nothing here...

Valeo 600s from amazon for most things.

On the 525iT I use actual BMW rubber inserts which are dirt cheap - it still has the original frames. Also, it has a bizarrely complex washer system with a large reservoir full of "washer fluid" and a smaller one full of "BMW intensive wash solution". Also, it has heated nozzles and does the windshield, the rear window, and the headlights every 5th time you do the windshield.

I have no idea how to operate it.

i bought out a going out of business store of their wiper blades last year for 50 cents each. i go to the wiper section of the garage and grab whatever is there that fits. if i have enough that fit the saturn that don't fit all my stuff i'll give you guys a pair.

I've been using ANCO 31-series lately on all my cars, at my cost they are cheaper than the generics and last about 6 months.

I always buy Icons. I won't need them much anymore now that I've moved to the high desert.

I have Michelin beam style on my wife's minivan. They are over a year old and still work great, even after a New England winter with the snow, ice, and salt.

The Hyundai has Michelin traditional frame blades. They need replacement and I'll probably go with another set of the old style metal frames again. I'll go with whatever good quality brand is on sale in the right sizes.

I tried Rain-X beam style on the elantra, but changed them out after a month. The drivers blade is 28" long and the beam flexed and chattered. The passenger is 13" and all I can find locally are old style that fit.

Well, it's been a while but we've been using the Bosch ICONs on the wife's Civic with great success! With the winters, they do a great job of streak-free wiping!

We've been using the Rain-x All Season wiper fluid too (the orange stuff) and it makes a decent improvement with winter slush/salt/snow accumulation on the windscreen. In the rain, its neat to see the drops bead off too!

Now, we'll be adding the Bosch ICONs to the new 2014 Accord we bought! Can't wait!

Yep, ICONs on everything here too.

procker wrote: We've been using the Rain-x All Season wiper fluid too (the orange stuff) and it makes a decent improvement with winter slush/salt/snow accumulation on the windscreen. In the rain, its neat to see the drops bead off too!

That Rain-X orange washer fluid made an instant convert of me. Best $2.99 I spend on a regular basis.

I like the beam style blades. They don't get jammed with ice and can take an accidental hit from the scraper without breaking.

Anything I put on my Intrepid just works terribly. Bosch Icons, Rain-X Latitudes, Costco Crap, anything. My Miata likes its Bosch Icons.

Anyone think that downsizing the blades would improve pressure/force onto the glass and prevent streaking? The Intrepid is 24/22 and is essentially corner to corner coverage.

If you plan ahead, the RockAuto clearance deals can't be beat. You just have to remember that you actually have the wiper blades before you go out and buy some.

For the wife's Fit, we actually order the OE units from Majestic Honda. You can buy the refills for very little, and I think the OE assembly is like $25 each. Not bad, and they seem to last a lot longer than the aftermarket stuff.

We have bought 3 sets in 100k miles over about 6 years. In Michigan.

same, had someone get me OEM wiper blades for my integra and they seem to work a lot better than the aftermarket stuff, I've had mine for 6 months and they dont make much noise and do their job.

for my mk6 gti, I havent been too happy with the bosch replacement blades, they seem to make more noise and streak more than the original wiper blades that lasted nearly 3 years.

I use the Goodyear ones from Costco, especially when they have the BOGO sales. Work fine for me but I'm in SoCal where it never snows and hasn't rained much in years.

In regards to the orange Rain-x windshield wash:

I have found that really doing a deep clean on your windshield with bug/tar remover, then cleaning it with TSP, then applying a good coat of Rain-x and using the Orange Stuff keeps the Rain-x effect going without having to apply Rain-X again, for as long as you use the orange stuff.

Now, if I could just figure out how to use the Rain-X anti-Fog without streaking my windows horribly.

I'm going to give the valeo 900's a try. I did use the Goodyears from Costco a while ago and they worked great.

Duke wrote:

procker wrote: We've been using the Rain-x All Season wiper fluid too (the orange stuff) and it makes a decent improvement with winter slush/salt/snow accumulation on the windscreen. In the rain, its neat to see the drops bead off too!

That Rain-X orange washer fluid made an instant convert of me. Best $2.99 I spend on a regular basis.

when spring hits, go to target and get it in bulk on clearance. i bought 30 gallons one day for $1.09 each.

there seems to be a trend here somewhere. bulk wipers, bulk wiper fluid. i think i'm a sucker for cheap loads of stock-up items. like trucks.