Piston Slap: Mister Goodwrench's Future With American Leyland

by Sajeev Mehta

May 11th, 2009 9:47 AM

piston slap mister goodwrench s future with american leyland

nweaver, longtime TTAC commentator, writes:

Assuming GM does go Chapter 11 and kills off Saturn, what happens to part support? I doubt it matters for my case, as a ’95 is old enough and common enough that its pretty much junkyard/recycled/remanufactured for anything major at this point anyway, but what happens to those with newer models?

Sajeev answers:

You are right; any car can live forever after the warranty expires. Thanks to the government’s intervention in GM’s 100k warranty (and Chrysler’s now Lifetime Achievement Award) you can bet your sweet bippy there’ll be manufacturer support to cover these warranties.

But don’t expect a just-in-time inventory management system for Mr. Goodwrench or the MOPAR mob. As a tangentially related Piston Slap article mentioned, get ready to take a number . . . and a reservation with Avis.

Which reminds me of a (fictional?) story my high school Economics teacher had about the USSR’s requirements for stocking replacement parts: the government compensated parts manufacturers by product weight (and weight alone), intentionally flooding the market with new engine blocks. Hence the “little things” that go wrong went unnoticed, unrewarded. Take replacement windshield wipers: the problem forced people to remove wiper arms after parking their car, lest they become a victim in the victimless crime of wiper theft.

I wouldn’t stock up on wiper arms for GM and Chrysler products, but buying stock in parts manufacturers (that supply the likes of Delphi) doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.

[send your technical queries to mehta@ttac.com]

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4 of 23 comments

Sajeev Mehta on May 11, 2009
jpcavanaugh : Please permit a contrarian opinion. So, it may not be as convenient or inexpensive as it is now, but these parts will be available for awhile, so long as the owner has some patience and is willing to do some of the parts-chasing legwork for his mechanic. Agreed 110%. Question is: how will the Government honor the warranty of newer cars? Will there be such a thing as "Genuine GM parts" to "keep your GM all GM"? Just a guess, but I suspect the traditional "aftermarket" will get in this OEM warranty claim game in a big, big, BIG way.

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CamaroKid on May 11, 2009
“Genuine GM parts” to “keep your GM all GM”? That POV died in the 90's when GM started to outsourced much of its parts and supplier operations... Take my Caddy STS... The radio, several engine sensors and several of the body computers are Denso (a division of Toyota)... The ignition switch is/was made in England. The A.I.R. pump is German. Almost all of Delphi and Delco parts are now sourced in China... and seem to be made at the same quality level as your average happy meal toy. The only thing "GM" about most "Genuine" parts is the box they came in. Just a guess, but I suspect the traditional “aftermarket” will get in this OEM warranty claim game in a big, big, BIG way. They already have.

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Gusplus on May 11, 2009

Isn't the wiper blade the victim?

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on May 12, 2009

I remember hearing that the Soviet factories had a weight goal for the electric engines they made, within a short time period Soviets had the world's heaviest electric engines...

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