Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If it's the end of a body style, won't GM pop out a bunch of fenders etc while they still have the dies set up?
I used to do a lot of work for Tier-1 suppliers (OEMs to the automakers). Below is a compilation of what I was told by the engineers:
When a car is in production, parts are made primarily for the assembly line, with a trickle (about 10%) being diverted to the warehouse for repair parts. I think the parts for the assembly plant were called "line" parts. I remember the diverted trickle being referred to as "distribution" parts.
Once the car (or the model year, for MY-specific parts) is out of production, parts continue to be made for a period of time to top-up warehouse stocks. The quantity produced for the warehouse is based on estimated repair demand for that particular part. Suppliers will keep tooling around for several (or many) years past end-of-production for the model which uses that part.
If supply of a particular out-of-production part begins to run low, the automaker will determine the level of demand, and possibly place an order with the suppliers for a new run of parts. This run is necessarily very tiny compared to the production runs, which is one reason OE repair parts are so expensive. If demand is very low but the vehicle still fairly new, the automaker may still order a new run, but will let orders pile up until they make the new run worth doing (that's what causes some of those "backorders").
Sometimes runs of out-of-production parts are produced until tooling wears out or breaks, at which point it's usually not economic to make new tooling. Sometimes they're produced until demand drops below a certain level. If a part is used on many models (e.g.: brake pads), or there is continual heavy demand (e.g.: wiper rubbers), that part may be available nearly forever. Dealer-install parts (e.g.: rear mudflaps) are usually the first to disappear from stocks; typically there are no new runs of those parts. There is NO law which says that automakers must produce repair parts for a certain number of years.
That is absolutely correct. We, for example, currently build liftgates for the parts distrubution channel in between the same parts built for the assembly line.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If it's the end of a body style, won't GM pop out a bunch of fenders etc while they still have the dies set up?
I used to do a lot of work for Tier-1 suppliers (OEMs to the automakers). Below is a compilation of what I was told by the engineers:
When a car is in production, parts are made primarily for the assembly line, with a trickle (about 10%) being diverted to the warehouse for repair parts. I think the parts for the assembly plant were called "line" parts. I remember the diverted trickle being referred to as "distribution" parts.
Once the car (or the model year, for MY-specific parts) is out of production, parts continue to be made for a period of time to top-up warehouse stocks. The quantity produced for the warehouse is based on estimated repair demand for that particular part. Suppliers will keep tooling around for several (or many) years past end-of-production for the model which uses that part.
If supply of a particular out-of-production part begins to run low, the automaker will determine the level of demand, and possibly place an order with the suppliers for a new run of parts. This run is necessarily very tiny compared to the production runs, which is one reason OE repair parts are so expensive. If demand is very low but the vehicle still fairly new, the automaker may still order a new run, but will let orders pile up until they make the new run worth doing (that's what causes some of those "backorders").
Sometimes runs of out-of-production parts are produced until tooling wears out or breaks, at which point it's usually not economic to make new tooling. Sometimes they're produced until demand drops below a certain level. If a part is used on many models (e.g.: brake pads), or there is continual heavy demand (e.g.: wiper rubbers), that part may be available nearly forever. Dealer-install parts (e.g.: rear mudflaps) are usually the first to disappear from stocks; typically there are no new runs of those parts. There is NO law which says that automakers must produce repair parts for a certain number of years.
That is absolutely correct. We, for example, currently build liftgates for the parts distrubution channel in between the same parts built for the assembly line.
