As someone else has already mentioned, Murphy’s law says something like - a part kept on hand is usually the part that is never needed!
I can well understand people keeping parts as there is a fear that those parts might become difficult to obtain, however it can be very hard to work out what parts will actually be needed, and whether they might be available from aftermarket sources in the future. Do I stock pile 40 parts at $500 each today, or pay $1,000 per part in the future for the parts I actually need? Who knows?
I don’t think that the parts shortage issue will be confined the the VF as once Holden is completely gone, all Holden parts will be aftermarket or nothing.
The good news is that many of the VF parts are global. The electrical system was ‘global A’ so many parts from other global A vehicles many well be interchangeable? Also, the drivetrain, particularly for the V8s, are widely used in many GM models so I don’t think that there will be any issues with ‘go parts’ as such. There is already a large range third party parts available for the V8s.
The bad news is that GM has announced that it intends to cease producing petrol engine cars by 2035 - 14 years away. while GM probably won’t have a significant presence in Australia in the immediate future, it is indicative of that automobile manufacturers generally will soon be investing in manufacturing electric drivetrain vehicles. The market for, and value of, ICE cars may rapidly diminish In the next decade or so?
So, the $64,000 question is whether to invest money in a stock parts now, or hold off and buy ‘as needed‘ - wherever that be aftermarket parts or another car?
Personally, I don’t have enough spare money to risk ‘investing’ in a stock pile of ‘maybe needed’ car parts, so I’ll probably take the risk being at the mercy of the quality and availability of aftermarket suppliers or the high cost of bespoke manufactured parts. At least this will give me some flexibility should automotive technology rapidly shift away from the ICE.
