How much longer will Porsche supply parts for 911's?
How much longer will Porsche supply parts for 911's?
01-10-2010, 12:01 PM
#5
Team Owner
who knows .. the good thing about our cars is there was not many changes for a lot of years so it is worth aftermarket companies to invest in product. not ideal but it does mean some readily available parts . I only worry about Bosche CIS parts .. for that we are depending on canibalizing each other as cars get written off or retired and rebuildable cores become available.
again .. not ideal.. fortunately these parts are extremely robust ,,,,
again .. not ideal.. fortunately these parts are extremely robust ,,,,
01-10-2010, 12:06 PM
#6
Race Car
Porsche couldn't care less about their heritage. They have very little interest in a car after it has been sold. I know all the thinnly veiled PR they have done, but it's the same game they've always played. They do not care. Even parts for the latest models can be hard to get, They keep as many parts as they can to meet the 10 year requirement from the U.S. government. The reintroduced parts were an attempt to get a slice of the indie repair shops profit found in the aftermarket.
01-10-2010, 12:09 PM
#7
Team Owner
Porsche couldn't care less about their heritage. They have very little interest in a car after it has been sold. I know all the thinnly veiled PR they have done, but it's the same game they've always played. They do not care. Even parts for the latest models can be hard to get, They keep as many parts as they can to meet the 10 year requirement from the U.S. government. The reintroduced parts were an attempt to get a slice of the indie repair shops profit found in the aftermarket.
they are just another quarter by quarter " operating income" company with a very clever marketing department .. but when the rubber hits the road they don't give a flying crap if your car is out of warranty.. ask all the owners of grenaded m96 engines how much support they get from Porsche ..
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01-10-2010, 12:32 PM
#8
Race Car
As a Porsche factory tech. I paid thousands of dollars out of my own pocket(in time) in order to correctly perform warrenty opperations that Porsche simply would not pay me to do. I had to look this owner in the face if this car came back. Porsche did not. My name was on the work performed and I was responsible for making that car go down the road. I may have a bit of a bias here, but I made my living working on Mercedes, Porsche was a labor of love and the company knew it. Anybody in the business of German car repair will tell you your a fool for working on Porsche. It's a joke honestly. The best place for the support and enthusiasm of Porsche ownership is in the aftermarket. Many indie Porsche techs are salary and that helps. The factory may have made some concessions here since I worked for them, but most professional technicians will call you crazy for working on Porsche.
01-10-2010, 03:18 PM
#10
RL Technical Advisor
Porsche couldn't care less about their heritage. They have very little interest in a car after it has been sold. I know all the thinnly veiled PR they have done, but it's the same game they've always played. They do not care. Even parts for the latest models can be hard to get, They keep as many parts as they can to meet the 10 year requirement from the U.S. government. The reintroduced parts were an attempt to get a slice of the indie repair shops profit found in the aftermarket.
Generally speaking, it will be the aftermarket and used parts that keep these cars on the road.
My biggest concern is that aftermarket parts do NOT undergo the QC checks that Porsche A.G performs so as more & more components are manufactured in Asia, there may be some serious issues. I've already seen things I didn't like and am VERY careful about what I use and where it comes from.
These cars have a huge & loyal following and customer demand for good, not necessarily the cheapest, parts can keep these cars going for decades.
01-10-2010, 08:37 PM
#11
The auto industry has changed meaningfully in the past 20 years with respect to in-house part production (past) vs. designing and then farming out production to a 3rd party (present). After recouping r&d the manufacturer will typically award a long term provision contract to a part manufacturer and collect license fees...they have nothing to do with the process otherwise so it's no skin off the OEM's back. As long as there is demand and a manufacturer with a need to fill factory capacity (read: THEY ALL NEED THE BIZ) the parts will be produced.
01-11-2010, 12:00 AM
#12
Rennlist Member
Looking at many aftermarket suppliers that stock Porsche parts, you will notice that several OEM Porsche parts are no longer available even now. I think the answer to your question is as long as there is a profit to be made, someone will provide a substitute part. The real question is what will the price be for that part.
01-11-2010, 10:23 AM
#13
Race Car
Prices on the 944/951/968 parts have skyrocketed over the past decade. Its amazing. Porsche is pretty good about the maintenance stuff. I can say that most of Porsche parts are good. Interestingly, a 911 fan belt for instance, will have Porsche script on it right behind "Gates", or "Good Year" and some would be led to belive that that part is the same as the same manufacturers application available at Autozone. Wrong. Porsche farms out certain parts to other manufacturers and dictates the specs. A Gates belt with Porsche written on it is much different than the same belt from the same manufacturer. Sourcing factory parts is always a good idea. It ties in with the above post concerning the licencing and profit. Porsche is keeping a close eye on suppliers like Worldpac and SSF concerning demand for different parts and the makers of those parts for royalties. I had a Porsche factory rep walk into my indie shop and grill me on my parts suppliers. Then wanted to know what it would take for me to shift some of my business to the dealer. The answer was easy - price and availability. I already had the best deal available through the local dealer (for whom I was a tech) as I knew the Parts manager very well and he tried to bring along my (and other indie shops) business by offering preferential terms and prices. It helped him move parts and thus his paycheck. Parts are a neccasary evil in the business, but demand the best from your shop. Its good for our cars and will hold Porsche's feet to the fire for a continued supply of quality parts.
01-11-2010, 07:55 PM
#14
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Think on it this way. If a particular part becomes NLA and grounds all cars of that model, then they sell no more parts for that model also. So they keep it alive as long as they can make money on the model, not the individual part, but they don't loose money on a part either. They will tend to OK 3rd party parts suppliers. A bigger problem is they don't have the knowledgable parts people they once had. The parts numbers are changing and no telling what you might get when you order.
I drive my 911SC daily, but like the South in the Civil War, I know it is a loosing cause.
I drive my 911SC daily, but like the South in the Civil War, I know it is a loosing cause.
01-11-2010, 08:41 PM
#15
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Who would gain if Porsche ceased parts distribution simply because of model year. As long as there is reasonable demand, everyone in the distribution chain gains. Local Porsche dealers are the best source of advice, high quality parts and competitive pricing.