Technical (Lack of)Availability of Parts-Shock Absorbers! Panda 4x4.

[Alex4x4]

I was recently told by my mechanic and saw for myself the right O/S shock absorber was leaking hydraulic oil! So it and its cool counterpart on the N/S needed replacing!?
So decided to go online and went to Shop4Parts! As we know they are very competitive!
Online it said parts were on back order!?
So I spoke to them and they said were awaiting a delivery/ but unsure when items would arrive or Clear Customs!?!
So i thought i would go with online and source elsewhere!
Seems to be a Common Theme - everyone said they are on back order?!
Tried numerous other sources in automotive industry but again was told tail of woe - post covid/Brexit!
One said - where as it used to 2-3 days to obtain parts from Europe it’s now taking 2-3 weeks, another said its been a nightmare for their business with delays and holdups!
I was quoted by another that to obtain some Bilstein B4 OE shocks quoted delivery date last week as in November 2021!?!
Eventually my mechanic managed ti but obtain some OE parts from Mopar at an eye watering retail price of £205-00 each excluding vat and fitting plus sundries!!
He tried numerous other sources and also ran out of options!?
Anyone else having issues in obtain parts or was it just me having a bad month?!
Also without starting a heated political debate what is going on?!?
I wonder if lack of HGV drivers us also a factor?! Anyone else out there had similar issues??

 

[gar074]

"Also without starting a heated political debate what is going on?!?"

Good luck with that!

I think you know the answer to your question. And it's going to get worse. I haven't tried to buy parts from the EU for my Panda or my Barchetta lately, but two of my previous suppliers of Matra parts (one French, the other from the Netherlands) are no longer shipping goods to the UK, and a third has put their prices up massively, citing additional duties and shipping costs.

Oh, and my joiner tells me the price of timber for our new kitchen has doubled in the last 3 months, and is set to rise again. And the brickie building some garden walls for us is having trouble getting cement, which apparently is being rationed by the builders' merchants.

As a country, we are f***ed. Royally.

 

[chris3234]

"Also without starting a heated political debate what is going on?!?"

Good luck with that!

I think you know the answer to your question. And it's going to get worse. I haven't tried to buy parts from the EU for my Panda or my Barchetta lately, but two of my previous suppliers of Matra parts (one French, the other from the Netherlands) are no longer shipping goods to the UK, and a third has put their prices up massively, citing additional duties and shipping costs.

Oh, and my joiner tells me the price of timber for our new kitchen has doubled in the last 3 months, and is set to rise again. And the brickie building some garden walls for us is having trouble getting cement, which apparently is being rationed by the builders' merchants.

As a country, we are f***ed. Royally.

Timber prices are a world wide issues not just UK


And I also has issues getting parts in October last year some billstein shocks were going to take 5 month's because they kept canceling production for more profitable lines

 

[Goudrons]

All this just goes to show we in the UK don't really make anything anymore.
Yeah we might nail together a few Nissan or Toyota parts and say we make so many cars, but most of these parts aren't made here.

Though with the little we do make and the drip of stuff being imported, we can't get anyone to drive the feckin' lorry to deliver it as over 20,000 EU drivers sodded off home after Brexit.

Now the governement want to change the way new HGV drivers are trained to speed up death on the roads, or as they know it, HGV driver testing.

They want to double HGV tests to 3000 a week then let us pick up the massive insurance bill for all the inexperienced new drivers through higher priced goods.

 

[murphyv310]

Hi.
It's not good what's happening.
I repair vintage Radio and TV sets, now as a hobby but I have loyal customers and continue to do so. One is a hospital consultant in Poland and three weeks ago he sent me a Soviet TV, its been stuck in customs for two weeks and after I raised a case with UPS it seems its been disposed of due to the valves showing a bright silver deposit inside the glass envelope. This is of course due to firing the Getter which leaves a bright silver deposit not Mercury as those twits in customs thought. So the item was removed from the carton opened up and examined then scrapped without notification.
What a bag of worms and how many deliveries are held due to all this red tape

 

[portland_bill]

I don't know the exact year, or engine in your car, but both misterauto.co.uk and autodoc.co.uk are showing stock of ones for a diesel.
Might be worth a browse of their sites with your exact requirements.

Both take about a week to deliver, but I've been successful with Autodoc since Brexit, as have others on here apparently.