Went to the local Orileys trying to find a plug in backup light socket. The generic ones with the metal prongs that snap into hole. They had nothing. Went to Advance auto, nothing. Looked at NAPA online and found just what I was looking for. The store only had one. I needed 2. Not another one in the state, and they wanted more money to ship from out of state warehouse then both of the 2 sockets cost. Is everyone else having issues with simple parts like this?
Let me refer you to the latest thread about parts houses and the answer is "Yes" https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/why-is-it-so-many-people-have-a-hard-time.1291120/
True most are out of stock but they do list them. My guess is that the demand for them has dropped to the point where they are too slow moving to stock. I haven't bought one in probably 25 years and that was before I was making my own tail light buckets. Dorman Conduct-***e Bulb Socket 84725 | O'Reilly Auto Parts (oreillyauto.com) Amazon.com: Dorman 84725 3-Wire Light Socket with Adapter Plate : Automotive Dorman 3-Wire Light Socket With Adapter Plate 84725 - Advance Auto Parts Not stocked in my local store but listed for home delivery Dorman - Conduct-***e Wire Light Socket With Adapter Plate 3 Piece (autozone.com)
Try Amazon. I got some good ones from them a while back. You might also try Taillight King. https://taillightking.com/
My local Advance shows one. I suppose I should go over and buy it later today and sit it on the shelf until needed.
Hmmm. The only excuses I can give are, I hadn't taken my pills yet, I hadn't had my coffee yet, I recently had cataract surgery and couldn't see the keyboard, the woman who cleaned my Braille keyboard didn't replace the keys in order. Does any of this sound convincing?
This is why I stock this sort of stuff when I part out cars…I rarely have to track down stuff like that.
We will be like the car builders in Cuba . If it can’t be found , adapt, modify and make what is on hand work . I went to 3 parts stores yesterday looking for an air filter for a 69 c60 truck . Next year I may have to adapt something. NAPA showed one one left in the US .
You just noticed that some parts are no longer made? This has been going on as long as cars have been around. Welcome to the hobby.
Is to be expected. As cars move to LEDs, old style bulbs and holders are needed less. You can’t expect parts houses to continue to stock parts they may only sell one or two of in a year. Same thing with points, condensers, and many other things that we consider normal haven’t been used in years on new vehicles. Time marches on, and we stay in our comfort era. Nothing wrong with that, we just have to adapt and hunt items in places we never have before.
I had to drive to 4 different parts stores a couple days ago to get an upper radiator hose for my granddaughter's modern car. Parts stores here constantly tell me "it's at our hub store". Or, "we can have it here tomorrow".
I have a box of spare "oddball" replacement parts for this reason since I plan to keep the car around a while. There are probably a bunch of items I've never considered that would be a real pain to find in the future, too. It might seem expensive to do now, but I look at those light plugs above, which I need actually, and they used to be a buck or two not all that long ago and they're not going to get cheaper - especially as they're less plentiful.
Hey everybody! There's this new fangled thing called the Internet where you can find parts that your local store can't get. You should try it sometime. ;-) Seriously, I find obsolete stuff for sale on Amazon all the time with free shipping. The prices may not be what they were back in the day, but what is?
Aside from certain items, I basically don't even try the local auto parts store anymore. It's not worth it. Amazon has been an incredible resource not only for availability of parts, but for fast delivery. A lot of stuff you get next day. Additionally, I've been trying to retrofit more commonly available parts into my cars where I can to alleviate this very issue. This just happened to me a couple weeks ago. The headlight switch went bad in my 61 Oldsmobile. This was a specific switch with a connector in the harness that plugged into the contacts on the switch, and was available only from 1961-1963. Of course, nobody has it new, including Fusick, and I'm left looking for NOS. I find one on eBay for $50 plus $25 shipping and buy it. Whatever. A week goes by, still no switch, and car is sitting there with wires hanging out under the dash and not drivable. I went on Amazon, bought a generic 8 pin GM headlight switch used from like 1965 through the 1980s, an actual brand-new part from GM, and corresponding connector for $25 and get it Prime next day. I use my test light and a test jumper to determine which wires power the headlights, parking lights, tail lights and dash lights, and put it all together. It even accepted the factory knob and shaft. Now I never have to look for an obsolete switch.
One other thing you " run down to the store" folks may not be considering is that " run" is costing you , the IRS gives you $.065 per mile ,so you know it costs closer to a buck , if you have to run 10 miles round trip that's $10 , in most cases , that's more than shipping !
I needed it for the weekend so wanted to buy it locally. I ended up ordering it from one of the Thunderbird suppliers. I may get it in time for the week end. I was just surprised that a part that was always available for most of my life was suddenly not available at the corner parts store. Guess I am just old.
Lots of parts for modern OT cars is not immediately available at parts suppliers, I go though this every day at the auto shop. This is the new normal for now, with no end in site.
You're right about that. My summer daily is an OT 30 year old GM car. Been in the family most of that time and has been well taken care of, but finding parts for stuff that isn't the drivetrain is a bear.
After market light sockets are doo doo. I had better luck using the guts out of them and rebuilding a stock one
Another thing going on in the auto parts business is the tripling of makes and models sold in the US. I started in the business in 1973. The store I worked at was a jobber for Delco, Motorcraft, and Mopar, all US only stuff. By the time the 80s rolled around, we were starting to keep stuff for imports, but just the most popular Toyota, Datsun, and VW stuff. Now, they have to deal with dozens of makes and models that weren't even around 30 years ago. The store I worked at in the late 80s and early 90s is still in business. The building is the same size it was then. I can't imagine the increase in part numbers for just the common stuff like oil filters. With overnight shipping 5 days a week from the warehouse, why keep slow moving stuff on the shelf? There isn't enough room in the building for everything. We (myself included) complain about lack of local availability but can you imagine the headaches a high volume shop has getting stuff? I talked to a buddy a while back that runs a body shop. It was bad pre-covid but now 6 months wait time on hard parts from overseas isn't unusual.
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