[s-cars] Longevity and

[Fifield, Douglas]

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<Dave said:
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Chris,
Personally, I think Audi's support of their older cars stinks.  I've had 2
85
urqs, still have 1, and getting any trim or interior parts is pretty much
impossible.  I have BMWs in my history, and still have 2 (an old E30 M3 and
a
'72 2002tii), and I'm able to get virtually anything for either car.  Audi
starts dropping off parts on cars that aren't even 10 years old.  I'm not
sure how they can get away with this.  It would be nice to see the club try
and lobby for Audi to provide better support for older cars.  I've seen the
BMWCCA lobby for various things with BMW, and they have experienced success.

But in answer to your original question...  pretty much the only option is
to
locate, and maintain a relationship with, good dismantlers.  That's what we
have to do with the urqs.  Also, NLA parts in the US are often available in
Germany for some period of time after they disappear here.
FWIW,
Dave>


Dave,

As a manufacturing engineer for a mid-west maker of industrial surface
cleaning equipment, I can speak to the economics of carrying replacement
parts for models that have long left the production line.  While it is a
benefit to the owners of said equipment, it is a definite hit to the
manufacturing operation.  Companies that choose to support obsolete models
do so by charging more for the units coming off the line.

If a company wants to lower its manufacturing cost (and associated product
cost), one way to do that is to limit the time period where repair parts
will be made and inventoried.

Douglas in MN
95.5 //S6Avant - mine
98 Mercury Mountaineer - her work sled
98 Toyota RAV4 - for sale
73 BMW R60/5 - lonely in the garage