Area-51 R2, help sourcing Fan Bracket Mount "VNPD3"

This is a hard to find part. Dell charges high price for it which got consternation from user

i got a torn down case that had two of these one good the other partially damaged but still functioning 

one possible way to find it is to own more R2+ case and save some for parts

you can chat w Dell sales for stock info if you are willing to pay for it

i save my 3rd case for parts. Finding individual part such as 2.5 hdd mount is difficult. One seller was selling part at ridiculous price b/c supply demand imbalance.

PS I traded a gpu for my case really because I need the Dell psu cover plate also hard to find

@redxps630​ I have an irrational fear of the case failing. I want it to last forever. What are the common failure points on these? The lights having a hardware failure?

No worries by the time your case fails there are plenty out there that users still want to get rid off and sell at lower price. It has not reached the point of rarity to be collectible in museum.  The R5 cases will always cost more as are its 2nd gen MIO board, but there are so many R2 out there on the market.

LED lasts a very long time.

We have 2009 Dell XPS cases that still have bright led lit today.

I had seen the latch of side panel broke so that is a potential fail point 

@redxps630​ Might just end up buying a secondary case for backup like you said. Especially if I’ll need a new FIO for the one I have now. 3 different dell agents said the part is out of stock.