QOTD: What's The Silliest OEM Charge?

by Tim Healey

Published: February 25th, 2026

Ford wants to charge $495 for a front trunk, aka a "frunk", for the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

That seems pretty silly to us. But it's hardly the first time in history that an OEM charged a lot for a relatively inexpensive part, nor the first time an OEM charged for some that is typically free.

So, what is the most egregious example of this?

You know what to do. Sound off below.

[Image: Ford]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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8 of 37 comments

MaintenanceCosts on Feb 26, 2026

Someone mentioned blinking third brake lights. Paying extra to make your car more confusing to drivers behind you is really great.

2 Reply
- See 3 previous
- 28-Cars-Later on Feb 26, 2026
  
  Maybe its sending Morse code via the brake light?
  I require assistance immediately. Struck by iceberg in 41.46 N., 50.14 W.
  
  3
- EBFlexing on ur mom on Feb 26, 2026
  
  How is it more confusing?
  
  1
- MaintenanceCosts on Feb 27, 2026
  
  When brakes are on, lights should be on. Making the light flash makes the status of the brakes ambiguous, especially on cars that also have unified side brake lights and turn signals.
  
  1
- EBFlexing on ur mom on Feb 27, 2026
  
  You are the only person, in a country of 330 million, that is confused by this. An 88 year old relative of mine is not confused by this.
  Normal people can see the other two brake lights and realize what is happening. Also, a rapid 3-4 blink flash then going to steady should not be confusing. Maybe you should not be driving if you cannot understand this.
  
  2
Big Oil on Feb 27, 2026

Did you ever notice that automakers sell you a "luxury" car that only takes "premium" gas of 91 octane, but then no gas station sells 91 octane, so you have to pay $1/gallon extra for 93 octane? Fortunately, it's only $1.
And you only consume around 30,000 gallons in your lifetime, so really it's nothing.

Like Reply
- See 1 previous
- EBFlexing on ur mom on Feb 27, 2026
  
  TrollGhost, every gas station sells 91. No need to lie. Also, why did you change your screen name? We really want to know
  
  Like
- Lloyd Bonified on Feb 28, 2026
  
  Big Oil you can't be this stupid
  
  Like

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