Two elderly gentlemen, who once earned a successful living in the automotive business are having dinner in a private club in London. At one point, the American, a retired aftermarket parts supplier chides his British host, a retired head of a British luxury car firm, on the price he demanded for his parts: “Wish we could’ve done that he says. Several years ago a friend of mine was obliged to replace a fender on a car of yours and was charged $350 for it! That’s outrageous! We could never get more than $120 for a fender.”
“Harumph!” Said the host. “Probably wasn’t enough! What year was the car?”
“Late 30s, early 40s, I believe”, came the reply.
“Should have charged hugely more!” said the host huffily. “Think man! Early on we made a commitment to supply every replacement part for every car we ever made, forever. Stupidest thing we ever did! Take your friend’s fender. We invested in the raw materials and the manpower. We trained and paid someone to build it, we have since stored it, kept it secure from theft, warm, lighted and dry, and moved it at least four times, for over sixty years! Cost us a fortune! And you think $350 was outrageous? Theft, if you ask me!.”
In the history of the automobile in America, the battle to supply replacement parts came early. Once car manufacturers recognized that a profitable industry existed whose sole product was the replication of parts of their design for their customers, they wanted it.
The acronym “OE”, for “Original Equipment”, and “OE approved”, came to imply a level of quality not extent in “aftermarket” or as they were first derisively known, “jobber parts” of unproven quality.
The replacement parts industry grew first out of a need for local service and supply, and also as a result of the auto manufacturer’s inability to supply replacement parts in a timely manner. As auto manufactures developed dealer networks and replacement supplies, they competed directly with the independent repair market and their suppliers. It is worth noting that there has always existed a market for products of superior quality to OE.These became the base products of the hi-performance market.
The advent of car “warranties” gave car manufacturers another powerful tool to win the replacement parts battle in the minds of consumers. At first they flatly stated that the use of parts not of their manufacture would void the vehicle warranty. A court battle ensued and they lost. But it was too late anyway. The horse had left the barn. The aftermarket often offered superior products and solutions to existing OE parts issues and the repair outlets far outnumbered manufacturer’s dealerships. By the 1960 sixties aftermarket companies products were considered the equal to, or superior, to oe parts. Names like NGK, Bilstein, MANN, EBC, and Motul became synonymous with “better” than OE parts.
We are now reaching an equilibrium. Aftermarket manufacturers are now supplying parts to the car manufacturers who lack the knowledge or ability to research and produce parts of superior quality themselves. Bilstein comes to mind. They have leveraged their extensive suspension experience and many high end cars now come standard with Bilstein shocks. The introduction of computer managed components ushered in the latest battle for control of the aftermarket parts market. As the law currently stands, the aftermarket has the right to repair and manufacture replacement computer components, and OE manufacturers are obligated to supply the aftermarket with both the necessary specifications of their products, the tools and the regular updates required to diagnose and repair said units.
According to independent repair facilities, manufacturers comply with the law in varying degrees and at various costs. Once again, the aftermarket has found a way. Independent testing equipment manufacturers are supplying independent repair facilities s with diagnostic tools and programs that allow them to service newer computerized models. The downside is that many small shops cannot afford the equipment and updates and now limit their efforts to pre-computer cars. A market that cannot expand.
The latest twist:
A recent court ruling affirmed that while one may pay for and have title to a GM automobile, the software remains GM’s property and does not belong to the titled owner of the vehicle. This would imply that only GM or GM licensed outlets would be allowed, by law, to alter, repair, replace or program a computer on a GM car.
The John Deere tractor company has gone one step further. They assert that buyers do not ever “own” their vehicles but merely “license” the right use their new high-tech tractors. John Deere maintains ownership. There now exists a surprising parallel between John Deere and Ferrari. Owners of Ferrari FXX models, a highly sophisticated racing version of the Enzo model street car, must contract with the factory to store, prepare and deliver their cars to factory organized track events around the world. The FXX is not street legal.
Meanwhile, the legal battle over the car we drive has just begun. As more and more of the functions of modern vehicles become manipulated by complex software, the implications to independent replacement parts manufacturers is huge.
How does all this affect the enthusiast and current European car market?
Fortunately, a significant part of our market involves European cars. Many of these are pre-computer cars and some are increasing in value with age. This is not to say that major European manufacturers are not exerting pressure on their independent suppliers to control aftermarket availability, but, possibly because they are dependent on multiple suppliers, they would have difficulty going as far as GM and John Deere.
At this point, ours is simply the issue availability of replacement parts. And we will be fine so long as companies such as eEuroparts continue to source quality replacement parts and clever, easy to replace, assemblies like loaded brake calipers and loaded strut assemblies.
The future of the availability of replacement parts has shifted from the “hidden costs of replacement fenders” that our two elderly gentlemen were discussing to whether and who will be permitted to supply parts in the future. This legal battle is far from settled.
