re: Loss of Alfa parts supplier

["brad artigue" <brad_artigue@domain.elided>]

<< Where then will we be in 2005 when Alfa are sold in the U.S.?  Will we have
access to the parts to keep our existing cars alive or will these parts simply
"dry up" by reason of the new wave? >>

It is my opinion that, in 2005, we will be in roughly the same situation as we
are today.  No one should expect the new Alfa dealerships to know anything
about the older cars.  They likely will not fix them beyond maybe changing the
oil.  They probably won't take them as trades on new Alfas.  And I seriously
doubt they will carry any parts unless Alfa suddenly implements old technology
in their new cars.  The way I see it, if the car isn't able to tell the modern
era mechanic what's wrong with it, they just don't have a clue.  Last I
checked my 82 wasn't offering up any information and my 91 offered up some but
not enough.

As far as the loss of Alfa parts suppliers, this is a shame, but there seem to
be a lot of parts distributors for such a small market.  There are fewer Alfas
on the road this year than last year.  This is because there are really two
types of owners - those of us owning these cars to preserve them, and those
who buy them because they can be had cheaply.  In both categories you have a
demand for parts, but I will sacrifice a thousand dollars for a transmission
rebuild where some owners would just as soon junk the car (and some of them,
well, are junkers.)  So the demand for parts will decline over the years.

I do not see any sudden shortage of Spider parts.  There are too many on the
road and the demand for quality still exists.  I fully expect to be able to
find what I need for many years to come.  I do not think that light is burning
so brightly for the more "modern" cars, the GTV6's, the Milanos, the 164s.
They didn't have as long a production run and I do not imagine shared sales
volume with Spiders.  They also (flame if you wish) are not as popular for
restoration/retention purposes.

If there is any bright side to this (this is how I see it) you will see better
looking, better running, and better driving cars in the coming years than
before.  The faction of "it's cheap and I drive it" owners will diminish, and
the "let's keep it, make it run and look good" owners will still exist.  It
may mean less cars on the road, but the percentage of quality cars will be
much higher.

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