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Originally Posted by Desert_Fox
During my last service interval, the dealer dented my center console trim in my 335is and it took about 3 weeks for the part to arrive to a back order. This got me wondering, how many spare parts do major automotive companies really have? Ten years from now, if I need a new '335is' grey tachometer, unique dashboard piece, or any kind of rare part... will I be out of luck? My SA tells me about a couple e92 M3's with blown motors they've had that get new motors shipped out from Germany, and I just wonder how long those expensive or rare parts will be available. Maybe a stupid question, but just one of those things i've always wondered!
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Spare parts are available for as long as the manufacturer wants. It varies hugely with manufacturer and car model and specific part. Generally trim parts vanish first. The manufacturers are required to honor emission warranties for possibly up to ten years. So emissions related parts are likely to hang around the longest. But it's all a complete crapshoot. Especially with models no longer in production. Of course if the manufacturer goes out of business...
For really popular cars/motorcycles, there are independents manufacturing replicas. If you buy a Model A Ford, you may be in relatively good shape.
I've seen claims on the internet that the government used to mandate 20 years, but that the rule was rescinded. I can't verify that.
VANOS bolts for the "recall" seem to be unobtainable by BMW. Wonder how they're building new cars.