RE: Audi Quattro: PH Carpool
Discussion
{quote]I owned and ran an MB for over 10 years....its was the MB that was featured in all the magazines when released (E22 KBD). I absolutely loved that car, but during a blip in my life...it went. I can still remember the day it pulled off the drive for the last time.
[/quote]
It's a small world. I'm the owner of this car now
[/quote]
It's a small world. I'm the owner of this car now
mikes2w said:
{quote]I owned and ran an MB for over 10 years....its was the MB that was featured in all the magazines when released (E22 KBD). I absolutely loved that car, but during a blip in my life...it went. I can still remember the day it pulled off the drive for the last time.
mikes2w said:
It's a small world. I'm the owner of this car now
Beat me to it Mike, was just going to tell him it's alive and well!Designed by (or at least adapted from the coupe by) Martin Smith from Sheffield, not Chris Bangle from Ohio, or a faceless accountant and marketing department.
I have wanted a Quattro ever since one drove past me at the bus stop on the way to school, circa 1982. I WILL have one eventually. It is nice to see one in the non-standard colours too.
And just because I need an excuse to post this again:
I have wanted a Quattro ever since one drove past me at the bus stop on the way to school, circa 1982. I WILL have one eventually. It is nice to see one in the non-standard colours too.
And just because I need an excuse to post this again:
I remember lusting after these when younger but for me, they have to be white or preferably red. I'm not usre a subtle metallic suits the rally heritage. It also looks far duller then it used to,probably because Audis have evolved rather than shocked.
Like you, I test-drove a 1986 metallic blue Coupe GT but didn't like it - it just felt heavy and I sayt too low in the seat (not tall, me).
Still love them but no longer desire one. I would happily kill for your 240Z though.
Like you, I test-drove a 1986 metallic blue Coupe GT but didn't like it - it just felt heavy and I sayt too low in the seat (not tall, me).
Still love them but no longer desire one. I would happily kill for your 240Z though.
loudlashadjuster said:
Chicane-UK said:
Can any old BMW/Merc owners comment? Can you still get parts for 15-20 year old cars?
I ran a 14yo S124 E-Class and parts were no problem. Bear in mind that the W124 was launched in 1985 so the model line in general was nearly 25 years old when I sold mine and I believe that in the main few parts were troublesome to get hold of, AMGs and 4Matics excepted.Edited by loudlashadjuster on Monday 12th August 13:42
Love these cars- a drive in one would be most welcomed. Anyone fancy volunteering their car?
Hi, first (proper) post, so be gentle!
Many moons ago (about 10 years now) I was the Parts Guy at VWG UK Ltd. I looked after the warehouse and Transport and was closely involved with inventory.
There was always an effort to ensure we held a really long tail of parts for all cars, even well over 20 years old, but to give you some idea of the size of the operation (and this was 10 years ago), every day in the UK we would ship well over 100,000 parts. We held hundreds of thousands of different part numbers in a warehouse that measured over 1 million sq.ft. Half the Dordon warehouse was 20m tall! It even had a train platform in it to accept parts direct from Germany (with its own train and drivers). Although this may be hard to imagine (the scale), this was just the UK warehouse holding all 4 major brands of parts in the UK.
Kassel, the VW Germany parts warehouse location was probably, in total, 8 to 10 times the size of the UK operation. Wolfsberg (the Audi warehouse) was probably 4-5 times the size, similar for SEAT and Skoda.
In summary, until you really see the size and scale of the aftermarket parts operations for all these major mass market consumer goods, sometimes it's astonishing that any parts are delivered at all (I had the fortune of visiting many vehicle brand warehouse in my time in the industry).
Each new vehicle model would require a simple starter stock, this would generally be around 5,000 to 10,000 depending on derivatives (this is not dealer stock, but UK Master warehouse stock), consisting of many tens of thousands of individual parts (1,000 shocks, 5,000 brake pads etc), the list is endless.
VWG in the UK and Germany did a great job of continuing to expand warehousing, investing in technology etc. to maintain this long tail of slower moving stock, but there is a line as it all cost money and effort to manage. I can assure you that in my tenure, all 'redundant' stock was not destroyed, but actually sold on to the specialists that supply these parts today - yes, at inflated prices, but imagine the bad publicity that would come if VWG sold a plastic fastener for £20 or £30 (probably the true cost of storage and supply). Better to pass that onto the other guys!
Anyway, just wanted to defend the brands. They do try, but sometimes, it just not possible to keep parts for so few cars.
Going now before I get in trouble!
Many moons ago (about 10 years now) I was the Parts Guy at VWG UK Ltd. I looked after the warehouse and Transport and was closely involved with inventory.
There was always an effort to ensure we held a really long tail of parts for all cars, even well over 20 years old, but to give you some idea of the size of the operation (and this was 10 years ago), every day in the UK we would ship well over 100,000 parts. We held hundreds of thousands of different part numbers in a warehouse that measured over 1 million sq.ft. Half the Dordon warehouse was 20m tall! It even had a train platform in it to accept parts direct from Germany (with its own train and drivers). Although this may be hard to imagine (the scale), this was just the UK warehouse holding all 4 major brands of parts in the UK.
Kassel, the VW Germany parts warehouse location was probably, in total, 8 to 10 times the size of the UK operation. Wolfsberg (the Audi warehouse) was probably 4-5 times the size, similar for SEAT and Skoda.
In summary, until you really see the size and scale of the aftermarket parts operations for all these major mass market consumer goods, sometimes it's astonishing that any parts are delivered at all (I had the fortune of visiting many vehicle brand warehouse in my time in the industry).
Each new vehicle model would require a simple starter stock, this would generally be around 5,000 to 10,000 depending on derivatives (this is not dealer stock, but UK Master warehouse stock), consisting of many tens of thousands of individual parts (1,000 shocks, 5,000 brake pads etc), the list is endless.
VWG in the UK and Germany did a great job of continuing to expand warehousing, investing in technology etc. to maintain this long tail of slower moving stock, but there is a line as it all cost money and effort to manage. I can assure you that in my tenure, all 'redundant' stock was not destroyed, but actually sold on to the specialists that supply these parts today - yes, at inflated prices, but imagine the bad publicity that would come if VWG sold a plastic fastener for £20 or £30 (probably the true cost of storage and supply). Better to pass that onto the other guys!
Anyway, just wanted to defend the brands. They do try, but sometimes, it just not possible to keep parts for so few cars.
Going now before I get in trouble!
Chicane-UK said:
...we're similarly exasperated by VW/Audi group's poor efforts at helping us keep our cars on the road...
It's especially ridiculous as Audi love to trot out the Audi Quattro at any opportunity they get, yet evidently make life just as hard for the enthusiasts trying to keep them on the road by making parts virtually impossible to source. ...Why are VW/Audi so half arsed in their support for their older / classic cars?
Audi love to trot out the quattro whenever they can, but it usually makes an appearance as they try to flog some new, bling-ridden, bloated tank of a car. Hoping to suck in a few fools. VAG don't seem to care a great deal about enthusiasts looking to keep them on the road. It's especially ridiculous as Audi love to trot out the Audi Quattro at any opportunity they get, yet evidently make life just as hard for the enthusiasts trying to keep them on the road by making parts virtually impossible to source. ...Why are VW/Audi so half arsed in their support for their older / classic cars?
On a similar tack, I contacted Audi about getting a few parts for my A8. More out of curiosity than anything, as I probably could have got what I needed from a specialist breaker. Bearing in mind, I was just after parts for a 13 year old car, not an old quattro! I never did find out what was available and what was not, and whether certain parts were still being produced - though I gather many unique parts are no longer made, leading to silly situations like breakers charging £75 a side for a 6" plastic grille that sits next to the foglight and has no real function other than to pop out and drop onto the road as you drive. Though when I contacted them, they were more than happy to tell me about their approved used D3 A8's - I did tell them if I had wanted that model, then I would have bought one!
You have inadvertently hit the crux of the problem! Whilst the main warehouse has all this stock, customers still have to get through the dealer network to get their hands on it! Always the weakest link and frankly, a real bug bear to me during my tenure at VWG (and other manufacturer franchises).
Inevitably, a decent dealer has a decent (but over-worked, under utilised, not appreciated and poorly paid) parts man in the background. An endangered species these days!
Agree, second comment about the car, much better!
Inevitably, a decent dealer has a decent (but over-worked, under utilised, not appreciated and poorly paid) parts man in the background. An endangered species these days!
Agree, second comment about the car, much better!
Baryonyx said:
Audi love to trot out the quattro whenever they can, but it usually makes an appearance as they try to flog some new, bling-ridden, bloated tank of a car. Hoping to suck in a few fools. VAG don't seem to care a great deal about enthusiasts looking to keep them on the road.
On a similar tack, I contacted Audi about getting a few parts for my A8. More out of curiosity than anything, as I probably could have got what I needed from a specialist breaker. Bearing in mind, I was just after parts for a 13 year old car, not an old quattro! I never did find out what was available and what was not, and whether certain parts were still being produced - though I gather many unique parts are no longer made, leading to silly situations like breakers charging £75 a side for a 6" plastic grille that sits next to the foglight and has no real function other than to pop out and drop onto the road as you drive. Though when I contacted them, they were more than happy to tell me about their approved used D3 A8's - I did tell them if I had wanted that model, then I would have bought one!
On a similar tack, I contacted Audi about getting a few parts for my A8. More out of curiosity than anything, as I probably could have got what I needed from a specialist breaker. Bearing in mind, I was just after parts for a 13 year old car, not an old quattro! I never did find out what was available and what was not, and whether certain parts were still being produced - though I gather many unique parts are no longer made, leading to silly situations like breakers charging £75 a side for a 6" plastic grille that sits next to the foglight and has no real function other than to pop out and drop onto the road as you drive. Though when I contacted them, they were more than happy to tell me about their approved used D3 A8's - I did tell them if I had wanted that model, then I would have bought one!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff