# Are companies obligated to make replacement parts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482 "2015-08-21T22:31:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/21 "2015-08-22T18:36:28Z")
Cars can be recalled and sometimes the recall will require a part replacement. So that’s another reason they need to have spare parts. ---
**Author:** ![bubba001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f17d59/32.png) [@bubba001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba001)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/22 "2015-08-23T03:36:54Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s an economic decision by the manufacturer as to what extent they make parts available: it’s often profitable selling the parts; it creates customer goodwill and an increased likelihood the customer will buy from that manufacturer in the future. I worked in a GM engine plant. At the end of every model year, we would run service parts, for that year, the parts went into storage, for dealers and other repair places. Some parts had surprising numbers of service runs. We used to run about 200 intake manifolds per month, on average. I asked a product engineer why? A manifold doesn’t have any moving parts, and seems unlikely to be damaged. The reason was that people doing repairs on other parts, that attached to the manifold, would sometimes use the wrong bolt, one too long, and it would bottom out and crack the casting. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/23 "2015-08-23T12:34:42Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Cars can be recalled and sometimes the recall will require a part replacement. So that’s another reason they need to have spare parts. Not sure that one holds. In general recalls where parts are replaced are done because the factory-installed parts were defective as designed or as built. So to do a recall you first need to identify the defect. Then engineer part(s) without the defect. Then manufacture enough of these non-defective parts to meet your needs and fill your pipeline out to the dealers. Then you can issue a recall notice and start the \*en masse \*swap-out. Having run off a few (tens of ?) thousand extra defective parts at the time of the initial production would not be helpful; that’d just be more expensive stuff to take to the landfill, after crushing to ensure it doesn’t find it’s way back into the gray-shading-to-black market parts stream. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/24 "2015-08-23T13:42:25Z")
For the last five years, we have been replacing the building fire alarms at a local university campus. The system that was in place is obsolete and there have been no replacement parts available for the last ten years or so. The older system is only programmable in DOS. Another of our clients has contracted us to expand the fire alarm speaker network on their campus so it can be used for building paging. Their original paging system is unreliable and no parts (or qualified technicians apparently) are available to keep it running. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/25 "2015-08-23T15:15:35Z")
By some act of law many government contracts require manufacturers to have spare parts available, or second sourcing of those parts. In addition they may be required to turn over patents, copyrights, and company secrets in the event that they can no longer supply parts or even the original product. A sale of the business would require the purchaser to follow those same contract terms. Contracts between private parties may specify the same as well, but not based on any law I know of. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/26 "2015-08-23T15:23:41Z")
> [@bubba001](#): > > I could be wrong, but having worked in the auto plants most of my life, I was always told that the manufacturer had to make parts available for a 10 year period after the sale. True in my experience. It’s part of the contract you sign in order to be a supplier. You usually have to have the ability to make them. Sometimes you can strike an agreement to make one final run of a large number of parts of an amount that should last for ten more years. This allows you to retire obsolete assembly equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/27 "2015-08-23T17:07:38Z")
It only makes sense to have supply meet demand. You can still get parts to keep your 60s era Mustang and Beetle going. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/28 "2015-08-23T17:25:04Z")
With 3D printers becoming cheaper and better. It would be nice if manufacturers who decide to discontinue part supply would post CAD files. Maybe have some legal protections against other companies mass producing them, using them in their products etc. In particular, for those flimsy little plastic pieces that break and render an otherwise useful product a candidate for the landfill. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/29 "2015-08-24T03:33:29Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Does anyone have a cite for this? It’s not really true in the strictest sense, but there is a grain of truth. It’s complex because there are a lot of global jurisdictions, and sometimes within a single nation (e.g., California). Different governments have different warranty requirements for different vehicles systems (e.g., corrosion, emissions). And of course there’s the OEM profit incentive, and the ability of the aftermarket to support (a _lot_ of parts are simply supplied by tier 2 companies). So, there’s no one, single 10 year rule, and the rest of it has to do with various warranty, profitability, and regulatory requirements. Probably not the simple answer anyone was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/30 "2015-08-24T18:57:15Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > It only makes sense to have supply meet demand. > > You can still get parts to keep your 60s era Mustang and Beetle going. “Supply meets demand” is the toy part of the actual economics. The rest of the story is that Supply S is a function of price. So we have a function, call it S(P). There’s a corresponding demand function D(p) also depending on the same price variable. And they’re loosely interconnected by a cost function C(v) which says what it costs to produce a given volume. Businesses can and do sell items at a fully-costed loss, but very rarely at negative direct margin. Nor are below-fully-costed sales a large percentage of their overall business (at least not for long). So the C function (or a slight discount to it) forms a possibility border for solutions to the intersection of S & D. There is no \*a priori \*assurance the two functions cross inside that envelope to provide an equilibrium. e.g. there is a non-zero \*desire \*for factory original heater cores for 1953 Hudson Hornets. The worldwide \*desire \*happens to be 2 units per year. At that level of _volume_, the cost function tells us the \*price \*needs to be $1000. And the demand function tells us that the demand at a $1000 price is zero. The desire will remain unmet since economic demand is zero. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482/31 "2015-08-24T19:12:13Z")
I plan on cornering the 1953 Hudson Hornet market. I’ll be rich beyond the dreams of avarice! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-obligated-to-make-replacement-parts/728482.md?page=1)