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#1
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Parts availability: How near is the end?
Ordered some rear strut mounts today and was told that only 6 of one side (I forget which) remain in inventory in the U.S.
The prospect of being unable to find parts for these cars is starting to gnaw at me a bit. dcb |
#2
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
I think that is most likely incorrect.
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#3
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
Unfortunately I think the day is also drawing near for some things. The lack of aftermarket support for our cars' specialized parts means that as the OEM stock is depleted, we will either have to cannibalize those cars that are not repairable, or find our own solutions to the parts issue using some creative design and problem solving. Hopefully once I'm out of school I'll have the tools and resources to do some of that problem solving.
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Chris 92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping 2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos 2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold 2020 Ram 1500 Longhorn - Red Pearl |
#4
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
That day is here for some parts, and it sucks.
Glass is a major one, when someone broke into my car, a Subaru dealership said it would take at least two weeks to get the window in, and that there were only 2 left. It was one of the rear roll-down windows. Windshields are bad too, sucks for people with the bronze ones, from what Ive heard those are impossible to find. Also, the crank angle sensor went out on one of mine, and I couldnt get a replacement. Lucky for me theres a couple wrecked SVX's in a local junk yard, so I pulled one and it worked. This is one of the major reasons I no longer drive an SVX.....
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D.J. McPhee 2006 Infra-Red Ford Focus ZX3 ~ 67k No longer SVX'n, Ill always miss them! 1995 Polo Green LS-i ~ 95k 1992 Dark Teal LS-L ~ 145k (04/91) #2231 1992 Claret LS-L ~196K (05/91) #0831 |
#5
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
When I had my wheels stolen 2 yrs ago, I got a price from local dealer who came back and said only Left Hand were available from Subaru Japan - and a ridiculous price.
As we are only just 10 yrs from the end of production of the SVX, but majority of the cars are 15 + yrs old I think parts are not that rare - yet - and further down the track with a little thinking outside the square, parts from Legacy or Subaru in general may well be a workable solution. |
#6
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
It's sad that a corporation the size of Fuji Heavy Industries is willing to let their customers down after such a short period of time.
Mercedes prides itself on having parts available for all models regardless of the age or production run. |
#7
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
Aren't manufacturers only required by (US) law to support a model with parts for 10 years after the date of last manufacture? We're going on 13 years out on '97s now.
As a former Mercedes owner, I was always impressed with parts availability. I came to the conclusion that the cars themselves (especially my old 190E) were overrated, but parts availability was outstanding! |
#8
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
Quote:
I heard that thru our old local subaru delership. But prehaps the guy was wrong? That I dont really know on that. I still can get the odd bit for my 1973 GSR and 1974 DL from subaru.
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1992 NZDM SVX Maroonish Red/Black ( 1st car ive owned with an cd player ) Has been retired 1989 Vortex 6 Maroon 1983 RX Silver Grey 1973 1400 GSR Yelo 2 Door Coupe awaiting Restoration |
#9
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
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I have replaced my bronze windshield 3 times... Last one was 3 weeks ago. Took 2 days to get it though. Keith |
#10
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
using up all the bronze....
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#11
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
FHI and Subaru have absolutely no interest in helping SVX owners, they do however want to make a little bit of money off of the extreme loss that the SVX was to them by selling off their parts inventory. I would expect nothing less, after all it is business, and the point is to make money.
Tom |
#12
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
I was speaking by phone with someone at a Subaru dealership who was obviously accessing an inventory database.
Tom's right: Subaru will "help" owners or any make only so long as it is a profitable endeavor. That means cheerfully selling-off existing inventory or replacement parts, and ONLY existing inventory. Even if they thought they could recover the cost of retooling, the price of newly-manufactured glass or strut mounts or fenders or whatever would likely be astronomical. I realize this isn't a new topic, but this particular episode really got me to thinking about how it would suck to learn that an essential part IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. The real question is, are there a thousand strut mounts sitting on a shelf somewhere in Japan, or none? dcb |
#13
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
It's the blue windshields which are not available, I think bronze is still fairly common for a king's ransom of course.
I would like to see the actual numbers as to how much Subaru lost on the SVX. Fuju Heavy Industries Ltd. is a gigantic diversified company. The actual amount of money they lost should be of little consequence to them. I think the real issue is that it's inconvenient to make parts for such a small number of cars. Think about it, how many SVX are actually still on the road? Definately well under 10,000 in North America. Last edited by Blacky; 12-29-2009 at 06:12 AM. |
#14
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
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Unlike most show cars, which were trimmed down to lower the costs as they went into production, the SVX was designed as they wanted it to be, without regard to the bottom line. Their goal was to sell 10,000 SVX's annually. As an investment, Subaru actually lost $3,000 on every Subaru SVX sold, for a total loss of around $75,000,000 on this project. However, they considered this a small price to pay for the increased awareness of Subaru's presence as a quality, forward-thinking auto manufacturer. .
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. Subaru Ambassador 1996 Polo Green LSi #216..138,100 miles...SOLD JFICX8659TH100216.....Date of Manufacture: November 16, 1995..... Fuji Heavy Industries..Ōta North Plant....Ōta City,. Gunma Prefecture, Japan In-Service Date: January 2, 1997 "The Pristine Green Polo Machine” First Polo Green on the Network First Clear front turn signals, JDM Alcyone hood emblem, rear panel, and BOXER engine cover on the Network (US) (2000) First 5000K HID factory fog lights (2007) First SVX JDM BBS wheels on a USDM SVX (2013) HID lighting (5000K) for headlight and H3 fog lights, PIAA SuperExtreme 120W high beams, rebuilt EG33 longblock, Cometic head gaskets, Phase II flexplate, AMR aluminum radiator with custom silicone hoses, 160A high-output alternator in aluminum-ceramic coated case, new design alternator wiring upgrade v.4, rare factory headlight protectors, refinished JDM BBS mesh aluminum wheels and custom, polished billet aluminum new hex center caps, LED grille mod, R1 Concepts high-carbon cryo slotted rotors, Akebono ceramic pads, Goodridge S/S braided brake lines, Smallcar Stage 1 shift kit, ThermalTech aluminum/ceramic-coated valve covers, Energy Suspension urethane front & rear swaybar bushings, Bontrager22 rear swaybar with QS Components Chromoly Teflon/Kevlar endlinks, "$15.00/5 minute" suspension mod. Hella Supertone horns, Custom stainless steel exhaust system with 2" headpipes, Magnaflow cats, AeroTurbine AR25 resonator /AWD "Bullet" muffler. R.I.P. 2010 Subaru Outback Limited 2.5 CVT...338,000 miles. Totaled by a 1,300 lb. COW March 4, 2016 2014 Hyundai Avante Limited ...178,000 miles. Actually quieter and smoother than the Outback 2007 Mazda Miata MX-5 PRHT...102,000 miles. Plenty of parts, service and windshields. 4th Registered Network member —2/21/2001 My NEW locker..I...My Email..I..Wikipedia/SVX . . |
#15
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Re: Parts availability: How near is the end?
Sorry...
So blame me! Actually, I got one bad chip on the way home from getting a windshield installed... No kidding! |
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