pagemaster

Ok...so here is my question. Long after the model has stopped production, does a carmaker continue to manufacture the parts for the car. logic would say no but why not under special order.....the parts must be made wouldn't they?

All the tooling is done. So why not make parts when special ordered....

Case in point. Lets take the 1st gen Toyota Tundra. There were over 700,000 vehicles built between 1999-2006...

Or even bigger...the F150...there are millions of each gen made...so why wouldn't you special order parts when needed.

Car part makers must keep the tooling....

What is more money losing...storing an endless number of parts or a parts maker building parts for special order with some downtime?

I ask this because I just ordered two parts for my Tundra. Both HVAC rotary *****...the truck has not been made since 2006 but the dealer took two days to get the parts.

Mercurycn

Yes they will continue making their parts for 20 yrs.
I am not 100% sure though.

IS350jet

In short, no, manufacturers don't manufacture parts past a model run.

Now, the long story. Manufacturing a part and making it available are two different things. The manufacturer can use whatever method necessary to insure parts are available after the vehicle is no longer made. The most common methods are the use of third party vendors, such as, Denso, Yazaki, Koito, Iki, Panasonic, etc. Also, manufacturers will build "overstock" to comply with future demand. Many, many, fast moving parts like air filters, oil filters, brake pads, wiper blades, and so on, are sold by manufacturers for 20, 30, 40, even 50 years after a model is discontinued but these parts are *manufactured* by a third party for the manufacturer to be sold as OEM. Manufacturer specific parts like sheet metal, interior trim, carpet, door panels, etc. won't usually have a shelf life that long. When they're gone, they're gone. That's why it is sometimes difficult to find interior trim on a 20 year old car.

Also, I forgot to mention, this is based on my knowledge of Toyota/Lexus. I can only assume that other manufacturers operate similarly.

DustinV

When I visited the Mercedes museum I found out that MB still produces spare parts for their vehicles that were made in the 1950s. You can obtain these parts from their Classic Center in Stuttgart.

This allows collectors and fans of classic Mercedes' worldwide the chance to own a vintage Benz without having to worry about the lack of spares. As far as I know, Mercedes is the only company that does this.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

Although im a diehard Lexus fan, i have to give MB props on that move. Thats what you call heritage. Hopefully Lexus will build that heritage in the future and do the same.

IS-SV

lol, that's the kind of answer I expect on the internet.

mmarshall

Automakers generally produce replacement parts while the cars are still under the factory warranty......after that, the decision often is based on demand, vehicle recalls/TSBs, or on a case-by-case basis. Hot-selling cars like the Camry and Accord are likely to have factory-produced replacement parts available longer then slow-sellers like the Infiniti Q45 or Pontiac Aztek, simply because of demand and profit potential. That's why Camrys and Accords are so often broken into and have their parts stolen.....there is so much demand for them that unscrupulous repair/body shops don't want to pay the high prices for factory parts.

In addition to this, other factors come into play, such as the long Federal warranties required on some emission-control, air-bag, and hybrid-vehicle parts.....some of them stay in production longer thn other parts simply for legal purposes.

So, the short answer to your question is.....it depends on the vehicle, part type, and production circumstances.

Big Andy

I know Rover always had a company called British Motor Heritage that made new panels and bodyshells for classic British cars. It was aquired from BMW in 2001 and continues to this day. All manner of parts are available and if you wanted to you could build a completely new MGB, Minis, Triumphs or similar from off the shelf parts. We have a couple of 50 year old Austin Healey Sprites and new parts are not a problem.

I was also reading somewhere that there were enough spare parts and bodyshells left over to build up to 500 new DeLoreans. Apparently a company in the US has got hold of them and can build you a whole new DeLorean. I think they are still working the kinks out of the flux capicitator though.

whoster

to contribute greatly,


it varies by each manufacturer.