Once again thanks guys, I have passed all this information along.
Aprillia many thanks for the possible location, with regards JIT I came across this some years ago when I did some consultancy for Denso at Telford, a massive plant covering about 40 acres but with a stores area not much bigger than the floor space of a semi detached house. All components were required to be at the unloading bay x minutes before they were needed on the line and whilst I was there some items arrived by helicopter as the cost of stopping the lines was £000 per minute. Interesting indeed.
HJ it seems your advice was spot on (as usual), its not hard to work out why these cars are being offered at huge discounts when it seems a minor accident can mean the car is off the road indefinately as the parts cannot be sourced. It can only be a matter of time before the finite supply of certain salvage items goes the same way and then whats left? Unless someone picks up produiction for items like front bumpers which I suspect are a common required post accident item, bodyshops will be full of Rovers waiting for parts.
I will let you know how this unravels
as always
Mark
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Didn't the later 75s have a restyled front bumper? Might be worth investigating if they are available more easily (if it will fit of course!)
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Out here in Australia cars quite often have their front bumper bar replaced by a roo or bull bar. I am sure that is not at all what you would want on a prestige vehicle but you might be forced into taking whatever you can get if you cannot get a manufacturers part. Roo and bull bars are usually made by small manufacturers on a very small scale so perhaps some enterprising small UK factory could produce something more appropriate. It looks like an opportunity for someone.
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I am not sure the Nullarbor and Lemington Spa High St, while both being deserts of a kind, have all that much in common.
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But would you roo it if you ignored the suggestion?
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Just to update this my business associate has called the links and companies mentioned and there is no likelihood at all of a new bumper from within the UK. As mentioned above the salvage yards did not seem to have any good ones as most has been destroyed in the accident that put the car in the yard in the first place. However he still needs the insurance co to agree to using a salvage part and neither they or the garage are keen, but I dont think there will be any left by the time they agree.
This means the car will not be leaving the workshop in the near future whilst the garage and workshop wring their hands.
More annoyingly another part of his insurance co keep ring to ask when is he returning the loan car, a question both he and the garage cannot answer.
He is pinning his hopes on there being a bumper or two in Longbridge and that when things are settled being able to source one but I feel its a pipe dream.
Look long and hard at those dicounted Rovers guys a small accident could mean its off the road for months if not for ever.
as always
Mark
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Good point Mark.
Some people are very naive about car parts. The notion that running a Rover will be OK because 'somebody will make the parts if there is a demand' is very flawed. Don't compare a Rover 75 with something like an MGB or Morris Minor. There are a lot of parts in a modern car and they often change slightly from year to year. I wouldn't buy a new Rover, not even at half price.
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After seeing this tale unfold Apillia I have to agree.
Without wishing to be unfair to anyone considering a deeply discounted Rover the adage "where fools rush in" might apply here. Theres a very good reason the discounts are so deep and that is the trade know certain parts have gone for good or are are running out fast.
My associate did mention he learnt in the course of his calling around there are several body parts for the tourer that are long gone from the shelves and as its a rarer model hopes of anyone making a few up are far fetched indeed.
As always
Mark
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Presumably insurance premiums are going to go through the roof for two reasons: the scarcity of available parts and hence the length of time VOR leading to the increased cost of the hire car, and if there is a demand for anything, the less scrupulous in society will meet that demand by 'obtaining' it from vehicles wherever they may be parked. Could it soon be the case that the value of the spare parts will be worth more than the complete vehicle? now there's an investment opportunity!
Steve
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How long will be before bits start "diappearing" from parked cars. Another step towards anarchy !
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Told you so. Someone nicked the "s" whilst the post was parked in mid air!
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Having always been in the frame to spot an opportunity I did briefly consider the economics of buying the stored Rovers just for spares. Assuming just 2 Rover 75s have a frontal accident every day and new bumper is then needed I doubt the supply from new broken cars would last long, to make it worthwhile you would have to overprice the bumper to take account of the bits you would never sell and with the value of Rovers falling faster than a falling thing its not a starter, who would pay over the odds for a part to keep the car on the road when its value is melting faster than an ice lolly in the desert at midday.
Game over for Rover owners I'm afraid.
as always
Mark
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Quite often you see cars advertised in the local Press as being suitable for spares etc.
So, with Rover 75s at half-price or less, there's the answer...:-)
Buy two and use one for spares.....
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just love the way they try and tempt you to buy a new 75 (one ad in today's national papers) by screaming "Save over £9000 ...."
they're having enough trouble finding buyers at 50% off, so the line (abt saving on what would have been the full price, but in reality would never have been paid) is a con.
thanks to this thread, a new Rover doesn't even sound good value at 10% OF original top price.
btw, i don't gloat or dance on this particular grave, merely (sadly) state the obvious.
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Well, at 10% of original price you're talking around £2k or so, depending on model. I certainly wouldn't spend £10k on a new 75 (and the parts availability issue also puts a big question mark on the value of after-market warranties as well, I would have thought), but I'd consider spending around £3-4k on a youngish 75 whose minor repair costs I expected to pay for myself (e.g. not put claim for new bumper through insurance but buy one from scrappie instead). I know, I know, full of flaws for many reasons such as the claiming from third party if involved in a non-fault accident etc., but if prices got down to that sort of level, it might be worth a punt.
--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Has this press release been superseded, then?
www.xpart.com/html_content/pressReleaseEnglish_200...m
[[[
XPart seeks to reassure MG Rover customers on parts availability
Desford, UK ? 8 April 2005
XPart emphasises that it will continue the partnership with its customers, the MG Rover and Tata (UK & Ireland) Dealer Networks, and assures them, and owners of MG Rover vehicles worldwide, that they will continue to receive the world-class parts and support that they have grown to expect from XPart.
(contd)
]]]
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Bumper apparently available on ebay - 4556543444
Chris M
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Bumper apparently available on ebay - 4556543444 Chris M
>
This auction is for one wheel nut only.
What does that mean?
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>>This auction is for one wheel nut only.
>>What does that mean?
The auction is being used as a cheap advertisement to sell all of the parts from the car being broken. So if you want the front bumper then you email for a price. It saves the seller from listing every part, plus there are no listing fees or final fees involved as this would then be a private transaction outside ebay.
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Forgot to mention that the parts are usually cheaper than a scrappy - provided the car is not the other end of the country and the part required is difficult to send by carrier.
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>>as this would then be a private transaction outside ebay.>>
My understanding is that this is a serious breach of e-Bay's terms and conditions and there are specific warnings against such practices.
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Maybe it is, but it's very common.
When it comes to Rover 75 front bumpers it would appear beggars can't be choosers.
Chris M
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If Rover spare parts are going to be so very difficult to obtain in the future, there's likely to be some business in purchasing brand new cars and dismantling them for spares.
I believe this is already done by some who trade in spare parts for Japanese motorcycles, as the spares, separately sold, are more valuable than a complete bike.
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"If Rover spare parts are going to be so very difficult to obtain in the future," then
depreciation - already bad - will get a LOT worse.
madf
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As there are many thousands of Rover cars on our roads, few spares manufacturers will ignore such a potential market.
The 75 is different in that, fine car though it is, sales levels for such vehicles are not as high as the smaller, higher volume sales models.
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It could be done something like this......
Get a large tank of plaster of Paris.
Hire a crane.
Slip a local youth a fiver and get him to 'borrow' a 75 with a towbar from someone's driveway (someone who has just jetted off to Florida for a fortnight would be ideal.)
Hitch the crane to the towbar and lift gently until suspended above the plaster of Paris.
Lower until nose of said 75 makes contact with the mucky stuff.
Leave until set then lift out the 75 again.
Visit all the accessory shops in the area and buy a tin of Plastic Padding from each (this will avoid raising suspicion)
Fill the mould with PP and wait until set.
Chip off the Plaster of Paris.
Attach bumper to your 75 with some 'No More Nails' (should be OK I've tried it on just about everything else.)
Paint to match - if availability of paint proves difficult mix up a few old tins of Hammerite until the colour's about right. (If these cannot be sourced from your garden shed you are obviously not qualified to carry out precision work of this nature anyway.)
Dust off the 'borrowed' 75 and return to driveway.(If any particles of plaster remain on the nose, put some bird seed on the bonnet and wait for the pigeons - resultant fallout should merge with any remaining stains. If particularly stubborn to remove they will be attributed to the pigeon's dietary habits.)
Thereyougo - job done!
Next week, I'll be explaining how to replace a cambelt with a pair of old braces .....
Graeme
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There has been a great deal of misleading information circulated regarding the on-going availability of MG Rover Parts, however it is worth reading the XPart press release posted earlier on this thread as this is still the case...
www.xpart.com/html_content/pressReleaseEnglish_200...m
The part number I believe your are looking for is DPC000060LML, Rover 75 saloon front bumper. We are getting back to full supply of this product now with over 100 received in stock today and a further schedule of 200 per week going forward. This means that backorders will now be fulfilled in order of priority and date placed. With on-going demand and the current level of backorders on this part number we expect to be back to normal supply within a few weeks.
When we say we are working with suppliers to maintain and increase overall parts availability from its current level of 94%, we mean it.
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On that authoritative note (The screen name should give you an idea of how authoritative - and it's genuine ) I can't see there is much to add.
I'll lock this later. Thank you, Xpart, for the contribution.
No Do$h - Alfa-driving Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
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>>with over 100 received in stock today and a further schedule of 200 per week going forward>>
Are Rover 75 owners always involved in so many bumps or accidents...:-))
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I'd be interested to hear HJ's response to XPart's post - and whether he'll redress the balance both here and in the DT where he has been fairly forthright in his views!
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Have passed this information on to my associate.
The repairing garage say if it is the case these parts will become available they would expect to be able to repair and return the car sometime in late July/early August, assuming they are reasonably positioned in the back order schedule.
That means 2 months off the road for a minor frontal, lets just hope he doesnt need one of the 6% of spares that are not available as well.
On behalf of my associate, thanks for your help
as always
Mark
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