Spare Parts For Older Cars: Supplies Are Guaranteed

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Spare Parts For Older Cars: Supplies Are Guaranteed
Spare Parts For Older Cars: Supplies Are Guaranteed

Video: Spare Parts For Older Cars: Supplies Are Guaranteed

Video: Spare Parts For Older Cars: Supplies Are Guaranteed
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Even those who drive an old car do not usually have to worry about spare parts. Most manufacturers will keep supplies ready for at least ten years after the series has been phased out.

By Thomas Geiger

A few clicks of the mouse are all it takes for owners of older cars to look confidently to the future at the repair shop. Even if your car has not been built for a long time, a breakdown does not necessarily mean the end. Because in order to secure supplies, the manufacturers keep the spare parts for earlier models for many years after the series phase-out.

VW, for example, makes a difference: "Basically, parts that ensure driving operation, such as the engine or transmission, are kept in stock 15 years after the vehicle has been phased out," says Malte Harbusch from VW's spare parts sales department in Wolfsburg. Other parts would be kept for ten years. Other manufacturers also mention similar deadlines: Porsche keeps the equipment parts in stock for 10 years and the “ready-to-drive parts” for 15 years. At BMW, press spokesman Andreas Sauer promises supplies for at least 12 years.

Demand is determined statistically

DaimlerChrysler's “Global Logistic Center” in Germersheim shows what dimensions the parts supply can take on. According to the manufacturer, the warehouse supplies more than 400 wholesalers worldwide who supply the service companies. A total of around 400,000 parts are stored in Germersheim and the associated external locations. Another 90,000 parts can be ordered. According to the information, the stock alone includes 16,000 different screws.

How many parts the manufacturers put into storage after the end of series production is determined using complicated formulas: "The number of items can be determined by statistical evaluations of the spare and replacement part consumption in the preceding periods," says a Porsche spokesman in Stuttgart. VW expert Harbusch adds: "Depending on cost-effectiveness, long-term quantities are set and stored in the post-production period and even all-time quantities in the case of bestsellers such as the Golf."

If spare parts are scarce, the alarm bells ring in the warehouse. Then, according to BMW spokesman Wieland Bruch, individual batches are reissued or the parts are manufactured by hand. However, companies are often looking for alternative solutions: Instead of having one seat cover rewoven, they offer the customer, for example, four others that are still in stock, explains one employee.

Suppliers are also held responsible

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Manufacturers often bring their suppliers on board for this delivery obligation: At Siemens VDO, for example, Michael Lutz is responsible for organizing the flow of materials. The supplier and the manufacturer have jointly determined residual quantities for tens of thousands of parts. "We are walking a fine line," says Lutz: "Too large a reserve drives up costs, and supply shortfalls can be costly."

According to the manufacturers, shortages are the exception. In most cases, many parts remain available even after the guaranteed period. They are then passed on to the classic car division. How good the supply of spare parts is there was demonstrated in 2005 by BMW's “Mobile Tradition” with a 2002 tii: it was built in 1973 and its parts were actually manufactured 30 years ago. However, according to BMW spokesman Bruch, the classic workshop did not build the car itself until 2005 - from parts that came almost entirely from the warehouse. (dpa)

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