Parts frustration....., what else is new? Options

[Cairo94507]

So I have been ordering parts to keep the build going. Today I checked with Scotty and several parts, which were ordered months ago, never arrived. Remember I am in CA and my car is in VA and that is where parts are of course being shipped.

I spent about 2.5 hours on the phone with 4 different suppliers, well know suppliers, tracking stuff down and getting things sorted. As of now, all but one supplier have been able to address the problem and solve it. I am still awaiting an answer re my new 18mm torsion bars....

Oh well, what else could I possibly be doing with my time??????

[Jeff Hail]

This thread touches on a disturbing realization in the world. What happened to all the people who can fix stuff? In the automotive industry alone 60% of a workforce has retired or left the industry over the past 10 years alone. The sad part is they are not being replaced. Very little new talent is coming into the industry. This is a trend elsewhere in other fields as well.

Many manufacturers have now gone to computer based diagnostic flow charts. The tech goes down a list of symptoms to see what matches the ailment. As vehicles have become more complex this isn't a bad thing but techs no longer need to think which is a bad thing. The automotive repair industry has become a remove and replace process. New cars don't even need tune ups any longer. Spark plugs now last longer than the average lease.

Collision repair has become a point and click process where estimators rely on a an estimating platform to "write" an estimate but very few can repair a vehicle based on acquired knowledge. The amount of work force that has left the collision industry is staggering. Ask an estimator to now turn his or her estimate into a blueprint or repair plan and most cannot.

I'm not bashing but simply describing the state we are in. Real skills are diminishing. Part of it is manufacturing quality and tolerances have improved greatly and many things last longer. Things will still break and fail but in the world today its accepted to throw the old one out and go buy a new one. I see things everyday that can be fixed or repaired but aren't. It baffles me since it generates nothing but waste.

"Atlas Shrugged" is slowly becoming a true story.

Places like this forum are the last surviving vestiges of free knowledge that teach people based on experience. There is a lot of talent here and it also provides an opportunity for those starting out to take a leap into areas they would have never ventured into otherwise.

Shop class and Industrial Education have mostly disappeared from junior and senior high schools. This is part of the problem. Men and boys love to tinker. That tinkering has so many times led to a career path but its not as frequent as it once was.

The parts counter guy. I remember so many guys at dealer parts departments that didn't need a microfiche, catalogue or computer. They knew the product they sold. The appliance parts guy was the same.

The service industry is a mess. Customer service is not a barista who tends an overpriced coffee bar.

One thing for certain and there is nothing anyone can do about it.