[dataway]

So .. my 2011 GMC truck is in great condition, 90,000 miles .. figure I'll keep it a few more years. So I started replacing various things. Latest was the driver seat cover ($103), new outside mirror, new tailgate protector, new lower front bumper cover. Just things that were dinged up or worn. All GM original parts.

I was quite surprised to see the build date on the seat cover was Jan. 2021 ... so some of the parts are still in production.

Anyway, got me to thinking about my 68 GTO which was two years younger than this truck when I bought it. I could have walked into a dealership and bought just about anything on the car ... but I didn't. Now I would pay fives times as much for an NOS part. Think about all the odd little parts that break or wear out that are basically cosmetic, so they get ignored. If only I had bought those parts so long ago and kept the car as pristine as possible.

Point is, if you have a late model vehicle you really like, and it has a few of those dinged up, broken, missing, worn out parts .... hey, get them while you can, genuine OEM parts ... won't be able to do it forever.

I'm tickled pink that I can make the driver seat in this truck look like brand new again with a factory cover for $103.

[73LeMans]

I do exactly this on all the high wear items on my daily drivers. (arm rests, console lids, shifter handles etc) I actually negotiate floor mats and lug nuts at the time of closing, simply because I want the factory parts, but dont want to pay for them when the time comes to replace. They may not be willing to take off money, but are willing to give in some on parts.

[77 Canamman]

Typically, OEM parts are available for around 10 years after the last time the part was utilized. Some parts go on much longer, such as a 1969-70 Chevy truck grille. They were available through GM right up to 2010.I just picked up a washer jar and e-brake release handle from my local dealer for my 1970 Blazer.

[OG68]

I've replaced three of the four window mechanisms and the drivers interior door panel of my 06 Silverado within the last year. All genuine GM parts.

[dataway]

Feels good doesn't it Specially for those of us that know the long hours of work it takes to find original parts for old cars, seems like a downright luxury to be able to just order original parts off the internet.

Now that I'm retired and don't feel the urgency to have an absolutely bulletproof dependable ride .... I'm tempted to make this truck a restoration that never has to be restored.

[Dennis H.]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

Typically, OEM parts are available for around 10 years after the last time the part was utilized. Some parts go on much longer, such as a 1969-70 Chevy truck grille. They were available through GM right up to 2010.I just picked up a washer jar and e-brake release handle from my local dealer for my 1970 Blazer.

What we have enjoyed in the past may not be our future as far as parts go. I work in the parts dept. at a Dodge dealer, and we are seeing a lot of parts are being discontinued at a much faster pace than in the past. We have had a few situations already that we could not get an oem part for a vehicle that was only 7-8 years old. Granted, the parts that are normal wear items are somewhat available in most cases, but it is that odd part that did not get ordered very often are the ones that are being phased out fairly quickly. Computer modules and electrical items seem to some of the ones affected a lot. The ten year rule that we used to have faith in does not seem to apply anymore. I think car makers now are relying on aftermarket to pick up the void. Since a lot of modules now are programmed with the vin number of the vehicle, going to a salvage yard to find a used one may not be an option. My advice is if you buy a new car, you need to drive it and trade it, in about 5-6 years, hoping to keep it for 10-20 years may not be a wise thing to do.

[400 4spd.]

Wow, how ironic that I've been searching online for two days for weatherstripping for one of my son's Chevy trucks. His oldest of three trucks is a 2001 Silverado. That particular year there were 4 versions: reg. cab, extended cab 3 door, extended cab 4 door, and crew cab.
A vendor that I buy from stocks two of the six pieces needed. After a phone call on my behalf to the weather stripping mfgr., they confirm what I've learned, no one reproduces what I need.
So as a last resort I try my friend at the GM dealership, and lo and behold GM has everything in stock at two warehouses! Not what I expected at all.
On the other hand, a few years ago I bought one of the last remaining OEM Ford weather strip seals in the system for my Ford Excursion lift gate. I've since bought used both barn doors complete, and a complete lift gate to keep on hand "just in case".

[Chief of the 60's]

With the exception of a few key pieces, I find it easier to find parts for my 1990 McLaren Grand Prix than my 2005 Dodge Magnum. Worst part is that my Magnum is a very early build with many "early build only" parts no longer available. Sorta like a '70 T/A.

[dataway]

Wonder what happens to the thousands and thousands of parts for a model/year that never sell, scrapped? Crushed? Sold to vendors? Or do the manufacturers keep them in the system until they are all sold?

[OG68]

In 30 years they go on Ebay and sold as NOS

[dataway]

Yeah .. but how to they get into the hands of private citizens if they were not sold over the counter at a dealership?

[The Champ]

Back in the early 2000's, I was able to get a factory rear sway bar directly from a nearby GM dealer for my '64 GTO. I happened to mention to one of the owners that I wanted to find a rear sway bar for my car and he looked it up on a GM parts system locator and sure enough, they had them in stock. IIRC, I got the factory rear sway bar for about $65.00 delivered...

[M91196]

Originally Posted by dataway

Wonder what happens to the thousands and thousands of parts for a model/year that never sell, scrapped? Crushed? Sold to vendors? Or do the manufacturers keep them in the system until they are all sold?

There are companies that buy the old inventory and make it available to the dealers for a time then they can do what they want.

Some stuff is duds, blown out for scrap value right away(unsold for x months/years.

I don’t think you’ll see boxes of 2020 parts being sold by random guys in 40 years just because the way old parts are disposed of is much different now. Plus a lot less of them, as the business is more efficient.

Pre computer/internet/air freight dealers needed to kept parts on hand local and didn’t have many options to sell them once they became obsolete.

[Dennis H.]

There are companies out there that offer dealers pennies on the dollar for their old inventory of parts. so dealers will unload items that they have in inventory that have little or no sales history in a year. Old parts are becoming an expensive burden to car dealers and to the warehouses that supply them, so they do not hold on to them like they used to. It becomes cheaper to write off these parts than to inventory them. There are times when we just plain scrap new parts when they become discontinued by the manufacturer. Another problem is some of the vendors who makes the parts for the car manufactures go under, and there is no one who will pick up the part, so it becomes unobtainable. I do not see it getting better in the future of parts, as new cars become more complex, and those parts fail 8-10 years down the road, and many are so unique, they may never be picked up by aftermarket because of the costs to reproduce it.

[jerry455]

Vintage Part is one of those companies. I have bought some Fiero stuff from them over the years. Good company to work with.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by dataway

Wonder what happens to the thousands and thousands of parts for a model/year that never sell, scrapped? Crushed? Sold to vendors? Or do the manufacturers keep them in the system until they are all sold?

I know there was a guy in Michigan that was dumpster diving for Fiero parts when the plant closed.

And YES, a lot of the parts were, and still are, getting sold on ebay.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by jerry455

Vintage Part is one of those companies. I have bought some Fiero stuff from them over the years. Good company to work with.

Is that "Vintage Part" or Vintage Parts?

[dataway]

Looks like it Vintage Parts

https://www.vpartsinc.com/

Yep, just what Jerry described. Pretty cool someone is going this.

I remember when in the 80's the dealers ran out of automatic shift cables for a 68 GTO. Everyone was burning them up by not replacing the engine ground strap .. turn on your headlights and it would heat up the nylon liner and ruin the cable as the engine grounded through the shift cable.

About two years ago I ordered a brand new GM crank damper for my 68 ... did a search on the part number and it turned up some dealer had some.

[Dennis H.]

Originally Posted by jerry455

Vintage Part is one of those companies. I have bought some Fiero stuff from them over the years. Good company to work with.

Vintage Parts is on our Mopar parts locator when we search other dealers inventories for a part we need. We buy from them about once or twice a week.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by dataway

Looks like it Vintage Parts

https://www.vpartsinc.com/

Yep, just what Jerry described. Pretty cool someone is going this.

I remember when in the 80's the dealers ran out of automatic shift cables for a 68 GTO. Everyone was burning them up by not replacing the engine ground strap .. turn on your headlights and it would heat up the nylon liner and ruin the cable as the engine grounded through the shift cable.

About two years ago I ordered a brand new GM crank damper for my 68 ... did a search on the part number and it turned up some dealer had some.

I'm assuming you need to know your part numbers?

I checked it out and it seems their search function isn't geared so much by model, but by part number. I am also only seeing part numbers with no application and not much of a description.

Unless I'm doing something wrong.