Parts places and Customer Service or lack of it.

Lang wrote:

Louie

You have got to be fair to them. The 580K was last built about 30 years ago. You can not expect companies to carry full parts stocks forever. Most car companies would roll their eyes if you wanted a good parts supply for 30 year old models.

Just my opinion but I don't think it unreasonable to have to source bits for vehicles and machinery of that age from wreckers or after-market suppliers.

Lang

Yes lang you are right to some extent, most of the seals and bushs that I buy and replace are the same size's as the late model SK's, all the brakes have been up graded so I don't expect that they would carry those after 25 years the bit that gives me the craps is Case was so good until Iveco and now they are so bad no help at all, even when I was driving a late model Iveco truck and dog for the local quarry recently they were next to useless the smallest thing was leave it and come back in a week, but anyhow that's my Winge for the week.

Yes I don't think FIAT or their sub-companies have ever been very good at marketing, parts and service.

Reminds me of when the Jeeps came in swinging about 10 years ago. Fantastic ads and sales went through the roof. They could not keep up. Suddenly we started to get stories of endless warranty problems with customers having to fight for claims, wait times for parts and general disinterest in any after sales back-up. Within 5 years they had plunged from the peak to the bottom. A great range of vehicles but people got scared off.

The new 500 the same. Great little car, booming sales lousy back-up and now they have gone from top sellers to also-rans. They were not helped by Australian management handing out scores of cars to little bimbos just because they could swim fast or sing a song or even someone who knew someone from management. They had to sack the entire team and send over a new lot to try to recover the situation.

Lang

Lang I think the biggest problem with parts now is you deal with some young prat that has a degree in marketing that has no f'n idea when we have grown up dealing with older fellows who new the job inside out and were committed to what they were doing. Than god for ebay, there is a few old school parts people left in Australia the bloke I get my F100 work ute stuff from local is unreal. It has a 7.3IDI motor so all motor bits come from ebay USA there is very few of those in this country, which is not a problem mostly have it in a week freight is a bit dear but the parts are cheap so it levels out. same with the case parts.

I think it was when the Case dealerships were privatized .........I remember walking into the Case at Rocklea,and there was a stack of new hydraulic rams out the front with a sale sign........counter guy says they are clearing the Case owned stock....then he says $50 each ,$40 if you take the lot....so I did.

This is a bit off topic but I know a former Ford truck engineer who had an absolutely mint V4 engined Ford Transit van as a hobby vehicle.
He went to the Ford parts counter and the young bloke at the counter asked "What is a V4?"
My friend sold the Transit in disgust.

A V4 is a V6 with a couple of pots missing, have a couple of little ford V6's in the shed

Morris wrote:

This is a bit off topic but I know a former Ford truck engineer who had an absolutely mint V4 engined Ford Transit van as a hobby vehicle.
He went to the Ford parts counter and the young bloke at the counter asked "What is a V4?"
My friend sold the Transit in disgust.

More off topic - years back I went to buy some filters for my David Brown 990 from the local tractor place. "Mate, have you got any filters for a David Brown?" Young fella wanders off for a look. I saw him browsing the parts waiting to be collected shelves when the penny dropped. "Ah, 'scuce me, not David Brown the person...Err, never mind."

Bought filters online.

There was a single guy on the Mack spares counter at Rocklea ,and as you walked in the door ,he would tell you what truck you had ,and often have the part he had heard on the grapevine you would be needing.........then youd go round to International ,the spare parts crowded with angry owners ,five guys on the counter flipping through books and seemingly getting nowhere .............then there was Leyland at Rocklea ......counter guys used to hide out round the back so as not to be attacked by truck owners who couldnt get parts .

When Gilfoyle Inglas were the inter dealers in Toowoomba they had a bloke Phill not sure of his last name done think I ever saw him use a book
Went in one day for some filters for an AW7 Phill was explaining to a bloke the different options he could use for brake master cylinders in his truck the young fellow serving me searching for the right book under the counter and without a sideways glance Phill tells him the numbers he needed then continued with his other customer

Cheers Bluey

I dont know if anyone here remembers Blackwoods at Coopers Plains ,next to Caterpillar .......the sales area was always crammed (and hot) ,the sales guys would disappear for hours ,you could see them having cups of tea behind a mirrored glass that was supposed to be one way.........you spend hours waiting to be served............one day ,it was literally crammed out into the carpark,they had a display of chainhoists beside the door ..........someone decides to steal a couple of them ,and the counter guys are yelling out ...stop them ,stop them ,and trying to get through the crowd ........seemed funny at the time.