well said Jaime.

On Thu, Sep 1, 2022, 10:15 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/
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> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> 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:
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> > >>
> > >
> > > _______________________________________
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> >
> >
> > _______________________________________
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>
> --
> Jaime Kopchinski
> http://www.jaimekop.com/
> _______________________________________
> http://www.okiebenz.com
>
> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
>
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