So at what age is a vehicle classed as old!!.

I know what you mean. They can't even get a headlight protector, that fits properly, for the Maxima.

Kingswood HK - 16 years
Falcon XD - 22 years.
Maxima ST - 14 years and still purring like a kitten.
100 series - 4 years so far - it will see me out.

A car is only as old as it feels

I could be wrong, and quite often am, but I thought I had seen somewhere that vehicle manufacturers had by regulation or some type of requirement to make available spare parts for vehicles up to 10 years old. After that, good luck.

Cheers
Pop

I've had my 80 series for 18 years and no problems buying spares, not that it has ever needed much.
I see some beautiful 60 series in my town so they obviously get parts ok as well.

Own a 40 series - funny there's still plenty of parts around if you know where to look.

I was reading an article the other day that stated that the average age to vehicle scrapping is now 13 years, down 2 yrs since year 2000.

You will have problems getting trim components after as little as 3 yrs, you will have trouble getting "slow-moving parts" (i.e. parts not often ordered) after as little as 8 years, and by 12 years, many parts are "ex-Japan" (or wherever they are made or kept).
Holden parts are NLA (no longer available) after around 20 yrs, Ford are NLS (no longer serviced) after around 20 yrs - and if you have a Jeep, good luck on getting any parts at all, even for current vehicles! [;-)

Aftermarket suppliers are pretty good at keeping up supplies and basic components for around 30 yrs.
GMB supply water pumps for just about anything still running, and you can still get a good range of aftermarket stuff for old Holdens, Fords, and Toyotas of the 80's.

I found out that Mazda and Toyota have totally wiped any records of vehicles built before 1977, you can't even get any form of parts catalogues for them. Everything for the years before 1977 has been binned, along with any parts older than that, lying in Japanese parts warehouses.

If you have a vehicle for sale, 2002 is the oldest year model that car-buying organisations will consider buying.
It's almost impossible to get finance on any vehicle older than 12 yrs, unless you pay an exorbitant interest rate.

Cheers, Ron.

G`day Axle.
My old girl, wagon, not the missus, 60 series TD will have it`s 30th birthday in March next.
360,000 something on the clock and it`s still doing outback trips.
A good front door trim has been the only part that was difficult to find.
It`s never had any computer/electronic type problems and that`s why i`m going to keep it. LOL

Scrubby.

The OKA is 21 next year, so a party will be due, I reckon.
500,000km and going strong.

Margaret's 1987 Mazda 121 will be eligible for classic registration in 3 years.
280,000km. It can't depreciate any more. :)

No plans to sell either. No problems maintaining either.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

I wonder how insurance companies are looking at older vehicles as trims and panels become less available. Used to be that insurance got cheaper as the market value decreased but maybe that is no longer the case. I did read somewhere a while ago that Great Wall vehicles were having problems getting replacement panels.

Our '87 Troopy is still going strong and rarely needs parts - in fact a real concern is the chance of him being stolen as a source of spares, usually for export to Africa.

On a trip a little while back thought we had a carby problem so we went to a dealer to see if there was anyone who could give it a skilled look - no problem says the pretty young receptionist - err..do you know what a carby is? - well....no, but I'm sure there's someone here who will. Someone did - an older bloke who sent me to the town's expert on such things.

When is a vehicle old? When it's value starts to rise!

Cheers

John

I live in SA. A few weeks ago I needed a thermostat housing, fan belt and a couple of other bits for my daughter's 85 Celica. Sprint auto parts in Port Adelaide had all the parts in stock.
The local car air-con spare parts distributors were able to sell me the puller for the air-con compressor pulley...also in stock.
Dealers wouldn't carry many parts nowadays that are older than the current model.
Bob

Its my understanding that Mercedes stock parts for even preWW2 models, but that after about 20 years they inflate the prices year by year to cover the stocking cost.
I have a friend who is now 90 who bought a 67 Mercedes 280SL new and had it for 25 years.
After about 18 years or so she had a prang which resulted in a broken star in the grille.
The new one cost $1500 back in about 1992. The car is now owned by the Merc Dealership at Maroochydore as a display unit.

Porsche also carry parts for a long time. I had a 1984 924 turbo which had been fitted with a local aircon and overheated. I was at Scuderia Veloce one day in about 2000 and asked if they could get me a 2 fan radiator shroud. No problem 2 weeks from Germany and cost only $125.
Of course the best is probably Land Rover where the pom specialists remake parts for even 48 models and there is still NOS around from various armies. AFAIK you can still get new engines for series 2 and also MOD recod ones .
Regards Philip A

on a trip in 2010 I went to toyota in darwin to get a transfer case seal replaced on my 97 80 series.only to be told they didnt work on old vehicles.
when questioned further I was informed they would only service vehicles still under warranty.
they did offer to take the job on and outsource to another workshop at $140per hour.
I asked who they would use and was given a list. then went direct to one of those and got the job done at $100 per hpur.
would be interested if still the same today as methinks the economy may have changed somewhat and perhaps toyota are no longer in a situation to be so picky with the work they take on.
cheers
howard