Front Seat Belt Retractor problems of the 1999 Toyota Tacoma

Just bought a 1999 Toyota Tacoma pre runner and the seat belt on the driver side will not retract. I have looked at various junk yards and all do not retract. I spoke with another guy who has the same year and type truck as I do and he said his will not retract either. This seems to be a widespread problem and it needs attention. I have called Toyota parts dept and they want to charge $126. 99 for a new assembly, that seems kind of expensive for such a small part. I was thinking it was made to defect so they could make more money. Also since seatbelts are mandatory shouldn't it be the responsibility of the company to make them hold up better?.