When Mercedes proposed today’s Ask, my mind instantly went to the Cadillac XLR and its infamous taillights. After a quick Googling, I can confirm the XLT tails are still going for a pretty penny, with a low of about a grand and a high of $3,000 or so. But they’re out there, so not exactly unobtanium. More like “unobtanium without a lot of cashium.”
Some parts, however, are much harder to find, at any price.
Mercedes has this tale of woe:
For me, it’s this damn wheel:
I’m trying to restore my 2012 Smart to as close to factory condition as possible. It shipped new with these wheels. As it turns out, very few Smarts ever came with these wheels in America
I should never have sold mine!
There’s a set for sale in Tampa, but the guy refuses to ship and didn’t even respond to my message, anyway.
All the others are in Germany and are like $400 per wheel, plus shipping and import duties, and that’s a hell to the no.
I occasionally find entire Smarts for sale with these wheels, but I don’t feel like buying a whole car just to steal its wheels.
I feel you, Merc.
How about you? Have you encountered a required part that was so Unobtanium it may as well have been mined from Pandora? See you in the comments!
Top graphic image: GM
GMT400 – Replacement Airbag steering wheel.
I feel this. Both my ‘96 and ‘99 steering wheels are peeling. The ‘96 only has one bad spot about 2” long, but the ‘99 rim had basically disintegrated. Put a cover on it which is fine, but I did recently find a guy in TX that recovers GMT400 steering wheels. I might send one to him.
I wrapped mine in electrical tape and then put a cover over it haha
1st gen 4Runner plastic fender trim behind the rear wheel to the bumper cap. 1 person makes fiberglass reproductions of the corner caps and bumper itself and I 3d print the corner caps based on a 3d scan, but nobody makes the plastic trim between.
Also the rocker trim. And tailgate window regulator. And vent window seals. There are a few things.
2005 4Runner – I have no idea, I never have to replace anything
Not for a car but my Seadoo. It’s a 2005 RXT with a 4Tec 4 stroke engine, when they were mostly switched from 2 stroke to 4 stroke. It uses a closed loop cooling system. The parts that the main hoses clamp to are originally nylon. They crack over time and new replacements are no longer made by BRP. There are two sources for new CNC aluminum ones, one in Germany and one in Australia. Not quite unobtanium but close. Certain electronic bits are also no longer made and used is the only option. Thankfully old Seadoos are a bit Lego-like.
I should probably start stockpiling replacement parts for the Evo. There is still a good bit of mutual parts that it shares with the base Lancer available. The Evo specific parts are starting to become scarce. The rear fascia is no longer available, nor is the OEM flywheel. I recently bought a full set of motor mounts and out of the 4, one of them is already scarce. Luckily there is a good bit of aftermarket out there, but if you want to keep one bone stock, and sometimes the OEM part was the best option, it’s going to become a bit of a scavenger hunt.
OR! There are replacements out there, but they cost a goddamn fortune. Want the MR spec Bilstein shocks and struts? You can find them for $700 to 800 per part. And Bilstein won’t rebuild them either.
My 96 bronco came from the factory with turn signal mirrors. Not only was the 96 bronco the very first vehicle to have turn signal mirrors but it was an option that most of them didn’t have. Mine had it because I have the original window sticker. They quit working years ago and someone switched them out for regular mirrors. I’m trying to put it back the way it was. I believe there’s one company that may be able to take a pair of mirrors and put the led parts in them. Not completely sure though. I used to have a 2000 insight that there were several parts that were NLA. Even the front shocks. I also owned a 2001 Isuzu Vehicross, don’t even get me started.
I drive a jeep wrangler so I am very hard pressed to come up with parts that are hard to find.
The XLR is a harbinger of doom. I have a 2009 Avalon beater and the high-mount brake light was out. I went to O’Reilly for a $2 bulb, quoted $211 for a replacement LED light assembly. I ordered the least expensive EBay replacement for $34, still many times more expensive than a plug and play bulb, incandescent or LED. Similar story on our Hyundai products, especially headlights. I imported a used Korean set for my Stinger at $1,500 – one of the better prices I found. No aftermarket options at all. Same story for our GV80 after I became curious and checked.
Then, what about all of the screens and cameras integrated all over the car. All of those are so deep into a larger component that you’d be forced to buy the assembly from the manufacturer. Highway robbery, and these cars will inevitably have shortened lives.
I always bristle at car reviewers who shame vehicles for having light bulbs in the tail lights instead of LEDs. Embrace the light bulbs, you fools.
These were incandescent lamps?
There are some specialists with odd rare ones.
Nope, all LED, with the emitter embedded into the plastic lamp assembly and soldered or otherwise permanently attached. Removable modules, or better, bulb sockets, would eliminate any issues, but the automakers are motivated by greed and facilitated by consumer naivety.
They should be replacing at no charge àny LED fixtures that fail without an obvious external cause.
They are sensitive to heat.
Side diffracting fiber powered by LEDs or some other hid source has a lot of potential.
The ABS computer on my wife’s van.
We got a van without traction control way back when. Almost all vans like it have traction control. When the ABS computer croaked, Toyota doesn’t make the ABS computer without traction control and thus the new ones are incompatible. Took 5 different junkyards sending us ABS/T computers that were not right to find a junkyard ABS computer that is compatible.
That was 2-3 years ago. The van has started acting weird with not registering a speed until 10 mph again, which is what happened the last time the ABS computer died.
I wonder if there is some place that rebuilds them, because if I find another junkyard ABS computer, I will send the one in the van now out for a rebuild so I can have a reliable one.
The PCM (Power Control Module) for the Jeep Wrangler TJ-series. They are known for failing and there are no OE replacements; junk yards are full of TJs that are otherwise fine but have bad computers. There are some aftermarket options, but many won’t pass emissions because they never show the emission system as “ready” for testing. To my knowledge there is one source for a solution; a guy in Florida uses salvaged PCMs from other Chrysler products (I think mostly PT Cruisers, so nothing of value is being lost); he’s figured out how to reflash the PCM to work with a different vehicle. Each one has to be programmed individually to match your VIN, but once all that is done you can swap out the computer in about 3 minutes and get your Jeep back on the road.
Didn’t Chrysler extend the emissions warranty to unlimited mileage specifically for that PCM issue? At least for 05-06, where the PCM is definitely unobtanium unless said one guy can repair it, so I’m not sure what would happen if I tried to actually USE that warranty…
Let’s put it this way: California has a carve-out SMOG exemption for the TJ because of the PCM issue and the lack of parts and factory solutions. The TJ is allowed to pass California SMOG with two faults; so aftermarket computers can be used to keep the vehicle on the road despite them never showing “ready to test” on the O2 sensors.
I want to say that again: California wrote into statute that the TJ can fail SMOG and still be registered.
There’s potential nightmare scenario!
I have the OEM computer for a later model adapted mostly to make the gauges happy.
In theory, I can run without it, as the engine computer gets one way information.
Engine is a Tier Zero mechanical.
The OEM thermostat for my ’97 ZJ has been discontinued. The replacement the shop found seems to work well enough.
I also can’t find the little metal clips that clamp the top and bottom of the air filter housing together, but I’m starting to think this isn’t a Jeep-specific part (and that I should just haul myself to a junkyard instead of poking around online). This is also less of an issue since I started servicing the air filter on my own, and I know to be super careful with the remaining clips.
My early production date E39 uses a very specific hot-film MAF that doesn’t exist anymore. What the fuck am I supposed to do when mine fails? There’s nothing similar which you can adapt either. That same MAF is also shared with some late E36s and the Z3.
2005 Ford Econoline with the infamous 6.0L diesel. Ours has been mostly reliable [knock on wood], but changing the oil cooler assembly gasket (and what a setup that is) meant disturbing the remote oil filter lines that run down to the side of the block since the trucks had the filter mounted top of engine. Those oil pipes just kind of ‘float’ in bores of the oil filter housing with O-rings around the end. Well, corrosion had eaten at the exposed tops of the bores so once it was all reassembled they leaked and no combination of O-ring would get them sealing again. So it needed a new oil filter housing which Ford discontinued, no aftermarket, and used ones are likely similarly suspect. One of the big, generic-ish parts websites was the only place that claimed to have new old stock ones and literally 2 left (unless they’re playing FOMO inventory games) which fortunately worked out.
I drive a 2017 Fiat 124 and pretty much any body part is hard to find, with tail lights being particularly difficult. Wehn my car was side swiped, it took 363 days to find a new taillight.
I just got home from test driving a 2018 124 Spyder and I’ve been leaning towards buying it, but felt like i should be getting a bigger discount over a similar Miata.
I am so glad you posted. You’ve confirmed my instinct that parts will be a lot more scarce than Miata spares. It’s a real shame because the FIAT is so very much better looking.
Now it all depends on how eager the dealer is to move the one I drove.
Even knowing what I know, I would still pick the 124 over a Miata. I prefer the turbo engine over a naturally aspirated one and as you pointed out, the 124 is much better looking. It’s also not super common like the Miata. Also, the mechanical parts are incredibly easy to source (the engine is in several cars across the Stellantis brands and the rest of the mechanicals are Mazda), though in six years of daily driving I’ve never had a mechanical issue. It is by far the best car I’ve ever owned.
Are we counting OEM only, or aftermarket?
Aftermarket XLR tail lights are available from Aliexpress
2018 Buick/Opel/Holden TourX, formerly an orphan but now a foster child under the Peugeot-Fiat-Stellanis corporate umbrella. Right now owners are having trouble finding front struts. It will get worse, but there’s at least some devoted folks hoarding parts cars.
In the late 90s I had an ’88 Saab 9000 Turbo. The climate control system had an assembly in the dashboard that had a thermistor and a little fan to “inhale” ambient air from the cabin rather than get affected by surrounding materials. Mine stopped working, but shoutout to Scanwest Autosport in Seattle. They have some parts cars and pulled a replacement and saved me a ton of $$. They also had several funky old 99s they lent out as loaners if I was having something bigger done (timing belt replacement).
I imagine replacement glass is a problem for a lot of older cars, domestic and foreign.
Mine is a weird and unexpected paint point on an 87 Ramcharger where parts should have been absolutely plentiful: the heat riser valve on the exhaust manifold passenger side. And I am talking about the spring version, not vacuum actuated one. Def a junkyard exploration.
When I was trying to source the correct lower radiator hose for my ’73 164 with the B30 straight six, I found only one guy in Australia that actually sold them and it was next to impossible to coordinate a purchase.
Also, weirdly enough, spark-plug wires for my former Sterling 825. Rarer than hens teeth.
I wouldn’t have minded finding a supplier for the viscous coupling used in the NP249 transfer case, but I decided to just change over to a 242 and get rid of the viscous coupling entirely. I’m thinking that mostly doesn’t count.
So I’ll go with the other one: I have a ’69 Dodge Coronet. Mine’s the base-level ‘440’ trim, and trim is the problem. It had a nice little chrome strip that went along the side of the vehicle.
Super Bees and Coronet R/Ts didn’t have that trim, and those are the versions of the Coronet that people care about.
This means a) nobody reproduces the trim, because nobody’s restoring the grocery getter, and b) when people would pull body parts out of the junkyard, they weren’t careful about removing the trim without mangling it.
Even though the cars with the trim greatly outnumbered cars without, here in the future, I can’t get the trim.
Starting with the most challenging and working my way towards the least, I’ve come up with this list. Some could be reordered upwards or downwards a position or two without making much difference, though:
1972 Velorex 435: Pretty much all of it is vanishingly vanished, although some Jawa engine/transmission parts aren’t too bad.
1980 KV Mini 1: More or less tied with the Velorex except that I have a parts car.
1981 American Microcar Tri-Ped: Minarelli engine parts are out there but not much else is.
1981 HMV Freeway: Even some Tecumseh engine parts are becoming trickier to find. Spare mufflers apparently don’t exist. Anything specific to the Freeway is, um, specific to the Freeway.
1982 Austin Allegro: Anything shared with a classic Mini is available (mostly). As it turns out, not much is shared with a classic Mini.
1982 Triumph Acclaim: Not always straightforward but so far no absolute dead-ends.
1970 International 1200D: There’s a thriving Scout community. This isn’t a Scout.
1967 SAAB 96: Nobody has had brake master cylinders for decades. I have a shed full of parts, which helps with most items.
1976 Volvo 66 GL: Generally good parts availability from the Netherlands. Shipping larger or heavier items is pricey. I have a parts car.
1926 Ford Model T: Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly) well supported.
https://www.theautopian.com/microcars-saab-stories-and-hondas-triumph-members-rides/
Right now I’m having quite a bit of difficulty sourcing a replacement splash shield (Jaguar redesigned it when they facelifted the car in 2010 so it covers more of the underbody) and mine halfway fell off the car while I was in New York and scraped Red Asphalt’d itself all to hell. Otherwise it really hasn’t been that bad; and Jaguar actually still sells a lot of X150 XK stuff new as well. More than I would have expected.
The un-find-able part is what caused my wife to stop letting me go to car auctions. I will explain. In the mid ’90s I was restoring a ’69 Kharmann Gia Convertible. When I bought it, the body was rough and missing bumpers. No problem, I thought – every part for these cars is available. Wrong. Bumpers were impossible to find. Non of the catalog outfits had them. I found some in England, but cost, compatibility and shipping were an issue – plus I was piecing them together from different sources. So I started looking for another car with intact bumpers. My local police auction listed a ’70 gia on the upcoming auction. I went to check it out and turns out it was a Type III fastback. I decided to watch to see what it went for and nobody would bid on it. So of course I did. $75 dollars later, I spent $125 to have it towed home, where it sat for 3 years in my garage before a gave it to a kid down the street.
Now I have to sneak out if I want to attend an auction.
CTS wagon factory roof rack. The most commonly asked for item in the forums, and actually a common scam item because people are willing to drop $1000+ for them.
Trouble is the roof slope and narrow channels means that only a few aftermarket options will fit, and even then they need some modifications like shaving down the sides and/or a riser in the rear.
Apparently 1st gen Explorer roof rails work with a bit of trimming.
2000 Jag XKR Cabrio and – surprise – it’s the rubber seal for the roof. I’m missing the 20cm bit that seals the window to the roof, all British Car Specialists just laugh when I mention it’d be nice to get fixed. Oh well, only drive it in the dry then, or get my passengers some waterproof trousers…