Yesterday, I accidentally drove my 2006 XLR with the truck upon in an underground garage, and damaged the exterior center mounted brake light at the tip of the trunk.
Does anyone know what it will cost to replace?
Should I purchase the part from someone other than the dealer, and then just have them swap them out?

I've had good luck with buying parts from partstaxi.com and gmpartsdirect.com

I'm sure its not difficult to swap out - you could probably do it yourself

My dealer quoted me $728, parts and installation. Ouch!

My dealer quoted me $728, parts and installation. Ouch!

GMpartsdirect.com has it for 269.41 and install it yourself. p/n 10342236

I have sent the following email to my dealership service writer:

"As you know,I am a member of an XLR blog called "Cadillac XLR forum."
Another member told me that the cost of an XLR brake light from GMpartsdirect.com is $269.41. My invoice has me being charged $492.20, basically a 100% markup. See invoice # CDCS388603.
Please tell the parts manager that I expect him to "come down to earth" and be more reasonable, or I intend to lodge a complaint with the dealership management."

Let's see what happens.
Thank you again for your help.

Lotsa luck! But that is probably a normal mark-up.

Floyd

Floyd's right. But a question to ask is "Are both lights official GM Parts?"

China makes some really good knockoffs......

Today I was told by the dealership that gmpartsdirect.com is a private (not GM) company that purchased large volumes of GM parts during the backruptcy for "pennies on the dollar."
GM now charges the dealerships more than gmpartsdirect.com does for the same parts .
My dealer did offer to reduce the charge for the brake light by $135.00, so I guess I'll go with that.
The part still hasn't even arrived yet, though.

Thanks everybody!

Your dealer's parts folks are misinformed and lowered the price for you while still making a good profit.

gmpartsdirect is operated out of Flow GM Auto Center in Greensboro, NC. --A GM Dealership! They have been offering discount-rate OEM parts (not Chinese clones) years before GM declared bankruptcy. Due to their high volume of online parts sales, they sell at just over cost, while still making enough profit to justify their existence. When my folding top hydraulic pump went out, my dealership wanted $1532 to replace it. I bought it online for about 40% off and had my dealer install it, saving enough money in the process to pay for the labor.

Note that Flow dealership's parts prices differ from gmpartsdirect. For example: The CORSA Exhaust System (P/N 14156) GM List price is $2119. Flow advertises it for $1907. gmpartsdirect is $1488. It pays to shop around, and shipping prices can add up. I found a vendor who met the lower CORSA price and shipped for free, saving a bundle.

Dealerships make the majority of their revenue profit from parts and services, not necessarily auto sales. Like printer companies, the initial equipment outlay is not as important to the bottom line as the follow-on support.

Other forum members can share their experiences with online parts providers. Mine have been positive with gmpartsdirect, though waiting periods can be weeks instead of days if the part is not in stock. They have been good in regards to providing me with anticipated shipping dates via email. My pump took a week to arrive, while my rear swaybar kit arrived in just two days.

I hope this helps you!

CC :seeya

I was in the dealership today for my weekly free car wash.
I got $134 credited back to my AMEX card, and the brake light still hasn't arrived. It's promised for next week.
Come to think of it, I don't remember exactly why they asked me to pay up front, before obtaining the part, except that they'd "get it faster."
Ahead of me on line from the car wash, a man who must have been at least 80 years old (and probably more) got into a brand new black CTS-V.
I sure hope I'm doing that well at his age!

My brake light was installed today, so I guess that is the end of the story.
Again, thank you, everyone.