A colleague has just had to wait seven weeks for a small part to repair the differential of her Vauxhall Frontera. The actual repair at the garage took about 20 minutes. The garage said it had to be imported from Europe.
I believe there was an article on a recent "Watch Dog" about Rover's difficulties in supplying car parts after it 'rationalised' Unipart. Rover has, apparently, been having to cannibalise new cars still on the production line to meet warranty commitments.
Is the UK parts industry in crisis?
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Is it time for Governments to step in then and ensure that car manufacturers either make or secure sufficient supplies of parts for a given period. Perhaps this would stop the car companies endlessly 'tweaking' and changing models in the same way that football clubs chang e their strips.
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There already are EU regulations concerning this. Franchised dealers are supposed to have a ready stock of parts for their current models and manufacturers have to have a good stock of spares for all their cars for a certain time after they have ceased production. I think it is around 10 years after the last one was produced that they are no longer obliged to have the parts available.
teabelly
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I've no reason to doubt what you say Teabelly but if that's true why aren't MG/Rover in big trouble with the authorities ?
Also, I read on another thread that BMW are going to stop making parts for cars more than a few years old (sorry, can't remember the exact number) and if that's the case how are they going to get away with it ?
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Hi,
as an engineer who used to work in the industry up until 5 years ago, I was also aware there was a rule about how long a manufacturer has to provide a certain (high percentage) of spares for a particular model. And my recollection is exactly along the lines Teabelly wrote.
I don't have any more info about the rule to hand and it may turn out in the end to be a myth.
CMark
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well vote wih your feet then and go elsewhere.
people are quick to poo poo land rovers. i recently went into get a piece of 5/8 heater hose for one, only to be told that it was a specially molded part. my heart sank. but they not only had one on the shelf but it only cost £1:80. not bad for a 20 yr old car.
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I find if you use a specialist rather than the average local main dealer you can usually source the required parts very quickly.I am often surprised how quickly i can source parts for some pretty obscure Japanese cars when other people struggle and or wait ages for UK spec Renaults,Audis and Rovers etc.Seems strange to me the disdain that a lot of outlets have for their parts dept when the margins they work on are far higher than selling the new cars.Allways makes me laugh when you ask a dealer parts man for a rough price for something,they rarely can,ask a car breaker the same question he can tell you exactly how much and how many and where it is in stock everytime.
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