[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by inkiboo

You are saying 10, another poster is saying 15.

I repeat, there is no legal obligation for a car manufacturer to make parts once they stop making the car. If there is an obligation, show me the law.

I've had to source non-OEM parts for E39s, E60s, E70s and E90s because BMW don't make the parts any more, and in the case of some models they had only been out of production 5 years.

EU definition of a car's life is 10 years. The OEM is obligated to support a product for its lifetime.

Many OEM's support for 15 years, but this is not legally necessary.

http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documen...ditions/native

[inkiboo]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

EU definition of a car's life is 10 years. The OEM is obligated to support a product for its lifetime.

Many OEM's support for 15 years, but this is not legally necessary.

http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documen...ditions/native

It even says in that document that it is regulated at a country level, citing Germany as 10 years. And again, it's not true because parts go EOL from BMW all the time and within the 10 year limit. BMW also get round it by increasing the price of old parts as to make them effectively unavailable.

You've shown EU guidelines, not laws. Big fan of the EU but their 10 year rule, which applies not just to cars, is almost impossible to enforce.

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by inkiboo

It even says in that document that it is regulated at a country level, citing Germany as 10 years. And again, it's not true because parts go EOL from BMW all the time and within the 10 year limit. BMW also get round it by increasing the price of old parts as to make them effectively unavailable.

You've shown EU guidelines, not laws. Big fan of the EU but their 10 year rule, which applies not just to cars, is almost impossible to enforce.

If you mean individual part numbers, then yes they can be superseded by an updated part. As the updated part is 'comparable' then no harm, no foul.

Regarding pricing, part manufacturing volumes dictate pricing. Part volume drops, batch size drops, manufacturing prices rise. Simple economics.

You'd have to give specific examples of parts you can't get to convince me. Pretty much all OEM's I've ever worked with, work to at least the 10 year rule. Please note that dealer fit accessories do not qualify.

I've known Ford to place an order for one single part because someone wanted an oil filter for a mark 2 Cortina. That is an extreme case but absolutely true.

[Skyhigh]

10 year is the mandatory minimum support for aviation parts as well, from the moment sales stop.

EU legislation dictates law implementation in every member-country.

As mentioned already - the part does not have to have the same P/N, as long as there is a backwards compatible alternative. Materials and subparts become obsolete all the time, but as long as an "assembly" is backwards compatible, they have adhered to their obligation.

Besides that - car manufacturers have limited profit margins on selling cars but appreciable margin on selling spare parts! This is where the money is! No one would drop that sooner than really necessary.

[Digidick]

Originally Posted by jackstrath

Alright Mr technical..., i knew what he meant, someone else above knew what he meant and im pretty sure you knew what he meant, plus the fact you didnt even help by giving a bit of input to the guys question shows that you just wanted to be awkward...


OP as others have stated, its a bad idea having half adaptive half not, full set of bilsteins might be a cheaper/better way to go.

Cheers fella

[ian332isport]

I don’t understand how you can think replacing a single shock with a used shock is somehow different from replacing it with a new one. You still have mismatched shocks.

Even if the used shock comes from a similar age/mileage car, the way the car is driven, and the roads that it’s been driven on can be totally different. Consider one car that’s travelled 50K miles primarily on the motorway, and another car that’s done 50K crashing around back roads and country lanes. I can’t see the shocks having the same performance.

[Digidick]

Originally Posted by ian332isport

I don't understand how you can think replacing a single shock with a used shock is somehow different from replacing it with a new one. You still have mismatched shocks.

Even if the used shock comes from a similar age/mileage car, the way the car is driven, and the roads that it's been driven on can be totally different. Consider one car that's travelled 50K miles primarily on the motorway, and another car that's done 50K crashing around back roads and country lanes. I can't see the shocks having the same performance.

I hear what you're saying and if a matching pair came about then I'd get both and sell my single one.

I'm taking the strut apart this weekend just to check the top mount etc.... and then I have a mate with an MOT shaker machine so I'll give that a go. Can't recreate the noise whilst sat on my drive, needs a bit more force or motion.

[VinceCaruso]

I'm in similar situation on a 2011 Z4 30i (except mine is DEFINITELY about the money)

Regular fronts are $298/ while the adaptive are $677/ (a net difference of $750).... since the consensus is "don't mix and match"... how much will I notice if I replace all 4 with non-adaptive shocks? (BTW I believe that rears are cheaper than front but haven't looked yet).

Also found Koni FSD shock which seem to be a hybrid (but I'm not sure).