All good points, Jaime. Thanks! It also seems (to me) that there’s a range of vehicles that continues to move forward based on their age, and right now that range is the 80s and 90s models. They’re not quite in the “classic” realm, but still in the daily driver realm for some. I think that has some bearing on demand for parts and where the owners are sourcing things, too, which has a big effect on why Mercedes does or does not continue to produce parts for them.
-D > On Sep 1, 2022, at 7:14 AM, Jaime Kopchinski via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > Is not that they "don't care about" them, its simply a matter of suppliers > no longer willing to make the parts and not finding a cost effective > replacement. If there is a demand, they will try to find a solution. > They're a business, not a parts charity. > > Next complaint will be that reworked replacement parts are too expensive. > It takes significant resources to manufacture any parts for any car, new or > old. Engineers, purchasing, business cases, testing, quality control, raw > materials sourcing, tooling, etc. They don't just walk up to a machine and > push the "make me door seals for a 123" button. > > Think about how you buy your parts...are you supporting the system by > buying from MB genuine? Or are you looking for the cheapest possible > source regardless of quality? Then complaining when MB support is gone... > > Owners of the 60s cars are happy to pay for parts as the value of their > cars are increasing. MB responds by making parts available. (Like 4.5 > engine mounts, NLA for a few years, now available again with a new > supplier). > > 90s car support brings up another issue: electronics. If the chips don't > exist to buy anymore, its simply impossible to make the parts. Period. > But as the value and demand for these cars increases on the collector > market, you will see more solutions appear. If your goal is to keep your > beater on the road as long as possible and cheap as possible, you're not > the target market for these solutions. > > > > On Thu, Sep 1, 2022 at 10:03 AM Kaleb Striplin via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > >> How long ago was that? Now days you can’t even get door seals for 123 >> coupes. A lot of 124 parts are now unavailable. Many of the ACC vacuum pods >> are NLA. As previously mentioned you can no longer get 123 oil coolers or >> 126 SDL radiators. Vin coded ignition tumblers for 123 124 and 126 are NLA. >> Perhaps they want to support very old cars or very new cars, but middle >> aged 123-126 they don’t care about. >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>> On Sep 1, 2022, at 7:57 AM, dan penoff.com via Mercedes < >> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>> >>> Very true. >>> >>> When I was “restoring” the 65 220SEb I was constantly amazed at the >> parts I could still get from Mercedes, and in most cases, how relatively >> inexpensive they were. For instance, I could still get a lot of rubber >> parts, both seals and suspension. A full set of bushings for the rear swing >> arms were less than $100. New front/rear springs, $110/each. >>> >>> The left front spring was really bad on that car, so bad that corner of >> the car was a good 2” low. Dealer checks on them and none in stock, but not >> NLA. Turns out, they had run out of inventory and were waiting on a new >> order. So they were still sourcing these things over 50 year after the car >> was built! >>> >>> -D >>> >>>> On Sep 1, 2022, at 4:27 AM, Jaime Kopchinski via Mercedes < >> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> Try getting parts for 50s and 60s cars. You'd be amazed how easy it is. >>>> >>>> You have to be creative in this business to find parts, but having a >> source >>>> like the classic center is pretty amazing overall. It's pretty >> remarkable >>>> what they do have. >>>> >>>> For example, I just bought a vacuum pod for the distributor of a 300SEL >>>> 3.5. Pretty obscure part, still available, under $100. >>>> >>>> Is it perfect, no of course not, but be thankful they put so much effort >>>> into it, its still pretty special. >>>> >>>> Jaime >>>> >>>> >>>>> On Wed, Aug 31, 2022 at 7:31 PM David Bruckmann via Mercedes < >>>>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> I agree re; NLA parts. And not just obscure stuff, but for example the >>>>> window regulator kit (the little nylon disc and clip) is NLA. Which is >>>>> nuts. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Kaleb Striplin wrote: >>>>> But they do not have anything that a normal dealer could not order? >>>>> Correct? The number of common parts that are becoming NLA is alarming. >>>>> >>>>>> On Aug 31, 2022, at 4:32 PM, Jaime Kopchinski via Mercedes < >>>>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> ?The classic center is alive and well, and even just moved into a new >>>>> (much >>>>>> larger) facility inside the Long Beach VPC. Tom retired months ago, >> but >>>>>> hes still active online. I get parts deliveries all the time from >> them, >>>>>> still excellent service and loads of parts in stock. >>>>>> >>>>>> Jaime >>>>>> >>>>>>> On Wed, Aug 31, 2022 at 4:16 PM Kaleb Striplin via Mercedes < >>>>>>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I have not heard that. I don?t think the classic center really does >> much >>>>>>> anymore anyway does it? They only have the same parts any other >> dealer >>>>> has >>>>>>> as far as I know. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Aug 31, 2022, at 3:14 PM, David Bruckmann via Mercedes < >>>>>>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> ?I may be late to the party, but I recently learned that Tom Hanson >> has >>>>>>>> retired from the MB Classic Center. >>>>> _______________________________________ >>>>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>>>> >>>>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>>>> >>>>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>>>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Jaime Kopchinski >>>> http://www.jaimekop.com/ >>>> _______________________________________ >>>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>>> >>>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>>> >>>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________ >>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>> >>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>> >>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> >> > > -- > Jaime Kopchinski > http://www.jaimekop.com/ > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
