Aston parts supply
Discussion
After a period of lay up due to Covid lockdowns, my Aston has required a bit of TLC and gradually working through a list of a few issues. One of these is the batteries having died in the alarm siren and causing a battery drain.
Having taken the car to a specialist they advise me that the replacement is on back order with AM and has been for 12 months! Brexit and Covid both cited as the reasons why parts availability is so poor at the minute. They cannot give a date for when the part might be available other than to place an order.
This is frustrating as basically I will have to pay 2 x labour costs and also the car isn't 100% right for the interim, a pet hate of mine. I was also debating whether I put the car for sale later this year as I have an Emira on order so with a view to freeing some funds and garage space. I can't see I would have much interest in a car that is carrying some faults that cannot be remedied!
Anyone else suffering from this parts drought?
Having taken the car to a specialist they advise me that the replacement is on back order with AM and has been for 12 months! Brexit and Covid both cited as the reasons why parts availability is so poor at the minute. They cannot give a date for when the part might be available other than to place an order.
This is frustrating as basically I will have to pay 2 x labour costs and also the car isn't 100% right for the interim, a pet hate of mine. I was also debating whether I put the car for sale later this year as I have an Emira on order so with a view to freeing some funds and garage space. I can't see I would have much interest in a car that is carrying some faults that cannot be remedied!
Anyone else suffering from this parts drought?
It's a difficult one, the Emira looks nice but it's not an Aston, if you can keep both then its an easy choice.
The parts issue isn't unique to Aston though and will affect most things you wish to buy that has been moved on a boat from other parts of the world. Brexit has nothing to do with it, aside from some extra paperwork required to cross EU/UK borders.
My business is involved daily with moving shipping containers around the world, CV has had an impact as shipping companies Maersk, CMA/CGM, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd etc. have taken ships out of service as countries went into and out of lock down and then not put them back into service quickly enough meaning vessels that are in service are leaving cargo at the dock side as they have no available space.
As they are an uncontrolled industry we have seen a 547% increase in sea freight charges on routes between Asia and EU since the turn of 2021 with increase in sailing times from the likes of India/China to UK/EU ports from a typical 25-28 days to 4 months in some cases. Much of our products have bypassed UK and EU ports and found their way to Tangiers.
CMA/CGM a French owned shipping company made $42 million net profit in Q1 2020, Q1 2021 they've made $7.2 billion net profit .... source Bloomberg
Added to this fiasco (engineered for profit making purposes only), we have an HGV driver shortage in the UK. It's reported around 30,000 drivers have left the industry. Some of these are attributed to foreign drivers going back to their native countries so could be a result of Brexit but it is reported Polish drivers returned home as they could earn the same money as in the UK but with a 25% reduction in the cost of living, hardly a Brexit issue in this instance. Many drivers in their mid 50's have retired also adding to the shortage however, we have circa 45,000 drivers fully trained that dont want to come into the industry due to poor pay and conditions. Some have said they can make their money in a supermarket stacking shelves without responsibility of overloads in a truck which the driver themselves get a £1000 fine.
Large companies wish not to have drivers employed, rather preferring to use agencies to cover driver shortages paying them £50 hour while the agency pays the driver just above minimum wage!!
The parts issue isn't unique to Aston though and will affect most things you wish to buy that has been moved on a boat from other parts of the world. Brexit has nothing to do with it, aside from some extra paperwork required to cross EU/UK borders.
My business is involved daily with moving shipping containers around the world, CV has had an impact as shipping companies Maersk, CMA/CGM, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd etc. have taken ships out of service as countries went into and out of lock down and then not put them back into service quickly enough meaning vessels that are in service are leaving cargo at the dock side as they have no available space.
As they are an uncontrolled industry we have seen a 547% increase in sea freight charges on routes between Asia and EU since the turn of 2021 with increase in sailing times from the likes of India/China to UK/EU ports from a typical 25-28 days to 4 months in some cases. Much of our products have bypassed UK and EU ports and found their way to Tangiers.
CMA/CGM a French owned shipping company made $42 million net profit in Q1 2020, Q1 2021 they've made $7.2 billion net profit .... source Bloomberg
Added to this fiasco (engineered for profit making purposes only), we have an HGV driver shortage in the UK. It's reported around 30,000 drivers have left the industry. Some of these are attributed to foreign drivers going back to their native countries so could be a result of Brexit but it is reported Polish drivers returned home as they could earn the same money as in the UK but with a 25% reduction in the cost of living, hardly a Brexit issue in this instance. Many drivers in their mid 50's have retired also adding to the shortage however, we have circa 45,000 drivers fully trained that dont want to come into the industry due to poor pay and conditions. Some have said they can make their money in a supermarket stacking shelves without responsibility of overloads in a truck which the driver themselves get a £1000 fine.
Large companies wish not to have drivers employed, rather preferring to use agencies to cover driver shortages paying them £50 hour while the agency pays the driver just above minimum wage!!
Edited by BiggaJ on Wednesday 4th August 11:24
Edited by BiggaJ on Wednesday 4th August 11:43
Do you have a picture of the offending item? I ask as its a common fault on the volvo v70s (and may be the same part) there are some videos online showing how to replace the battery (it depends how long it has been faulty as iirc its more that it leaks and corrodes some of the pcb circuit. Maybe worth a google.
Have you tried calling a AM dealer for the part rather than just going to an Indi? Id fully expect AM dealers to get preference for stock in the event of any parts shortfall, afterall the factory should look after their dealer network first and foremost.
Also AM dealer rates have not changed - sure it make take a little longer to book in as Engineers are self isoltaing, but the hourly rate is constant - I have even been given the odd discount recently.
Regardless not sure Id sell any car just for a temporary shortage of parts, caused by an external factor. I also cant see the Emira covering the bases that the Aston does - but if its a case of either / or, then as you have the Emira already on order I guess you have already made that decision anyway.
Also AM dealer rates have not changed - sure it make take a little longer to book in as Engineers are self isoltaing, but the hourly rate is constant - I have even been given the odd discount recently.
Regardless not sure Id sell any car just for a temporary shortage of parts, caused by an external factor. I also cant see the Emira covering the bases that the Aston does - but if its a case of either / or, then as you have the Emira already on order I guess you have already made that decision anyway.
AdamV12V said:
Regardless not sure Id sell any car just for a temporary shortage of parts, caused by an external factor. I also cant see the Emira covering the bases that the Aston does - but if its a case of either / or, then as you have the Emira already on order I guess you have already made that decision anyway.
Not sure how I worded this to suggest as much. Any replacement is nothing to do with parts supply. However, just conscious of the fact that if I do want to sell/change in the interim period whilst awaiting parts I am trying to sell it as a non-100% car as a result. Not ideal as I am sure anyone can appreciate. Selling with a known fault that I cannot fix is frustrating and probably also limiting in terms of buyers.
oilit said:
Do you have a picture of the offending item? I ask as its a common fault on the volvo v70s (and may be the same part) there are some videos online showing how to replace the battery (it depends how long it has been faulty as iirc its more that it leaks and corrodes some of the pcb circuit. Maybe worth a google.
I would agree with this comment, usually alarm systems of an era are not just installed in one Marque. Also you may find a good auto electrician may have a suitable solution ie another type of battery that will fit and do the job.I wouldn't give up just yet surely something could be adapted.
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