'Indefinitely unavailable' parts
 

One of the things I've never got around to addressing is a leaking washer fluid reservoir in my 2007 V8 Vantage. At the last service the shop checked with the nearest AM dealer and was told that the part was 'indefinitely unavailable', but I shopped around the usual places anyway. Now, 6 months after actually paying a vendor for the replacement part it has still not turned up. Rather than set the clock 'back to zero' so to speak I've decided not to cancel the order, but my more general question is - do we feel that parts availability for these cars is a temporary blip or will continue to be an issue long term? I can't imagine the aftermarket is going to jump in here unless someone decides to make a carbon fiber washer fluid reservoir ;) And of course there's the question of a vendor taking money for a part that may or may not ever turn up ;(

I always check AstonMartinBits.com - typically their prices are the best and they have new and used options

Yes - tried them already. They told me that even though they had the part listed it wasn't actually available.

Maybe remove and head to the Ford dealer. Maybe it's a Ford part, and good parts man would be able to find it. Worth a try.

This might be it.

https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/par...eadlamp-w.html

In the automotive industry, most suppliers are held to 10 or 15 year contracts to provide service parts after the end of a model run. In this case, if the bottle changed in 2008, then technically the clock started at the end of 2007MY. Service parts are normally the biggest loss a supplier has, as it's expensive and frankly a huge PITA to run "a few parts" for a service order. It's also expensive for whoever is holding those parts in inventory, because it's such a slow mover and taking up space. As with any car that is low volume, and from a company that is very small and has very little power to "push" suppliers, it will only become much harder over time to find rare service parts. It's one of the big negatives of owning a special, low volume car. This is not like owning a 60-70's Mustang or Camaro, where the resurgence of popularity has allowed there to be money in the aftermarket for companies to go after.

It's because of these reasons where I debate if it's even worth owning older cars anymore; if you want to have the easiest access to parts, owning a current production model car is best, and after that, one that's less than 10 years old past the last model year. After that, if it's not high running vehicle (for example, a Ford Explorer that they made millions of), or a car that has suddenly become hugely popular by retirees with money, then things get very tough. It becomes even tougher for components that you can't easily manufacture; for example, with today's machining capabilities, you can sometimes re-engineer something and have a machine shop make it. You can't do the same with things like glass, engine sensors, etc.

TL;DR: There's a good chance your washer bottle doesn't exist. If it does, it's so old and stale in inventory that whoever is holding it doesn't know they even have it. The supplier who makes it probably doesn't want to make it and is ignoring your order indefinitely. Aston service doesn't have any desire to chase down your one off part. I recommend trying to fix your current bottle, or start searching for a generic replacement that you can fit in its place.

Thanks. They must have found one that fell off the back of a shelf. I actually need the headlamp wash also (so two motor connections), so it's this one -

https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/par...-headlamp.html

Almost twice the price ;) Unfortunately it's marked as 'available to order' so they don't have one either.

Can the original one be fixed? Epoxy, plastic welding, etc?

Has to be welded, those bottles are polyethylene and epoxy won't stick to it. I assume it can't be that difficult to repair a small crack with the right technique.

I would assume that parts availability is going to be a problem going forward generally speaking. For example, the alarm module I had to fix is not for sale anymore though there's a good chance an updated part might work. On the bright side, a lot of parts are so expensive in the first place it's probably cheaper to do custom repairs hilarious

Worth a try though. Aston prices always kind of pricey.

Have you tried Redpants? I found this. Admittedly, I have no idea if this is up to date but it might be worth emailing Rich.

As a former parts guy, I have to think that a component like that is used on multiple vehicles that Aston draws parts from, possibly Mazda, Volvo, or Jaguar/Land Rover? Are there any manufacturer markings or additional numbers on that reservoir?

https://newstore.redpants.lol/produc...antage-rapide/

Turns out that the part is shared across a few different AM models, so my search radius got a bit wider.

Looks like the reservoir is made by a company called Bolton Plastic Components, check out the link below, it's shown in a picture on their website. It may be worth an email to them to see if they can supply it directly or let you know who could, or what additional cars it's used for.

http://www.boplas.co.uk/automotive-p...nd-reservoirs/

Great thought. Solid investigative work-

That's exactly what was needed to be known, outstanding job!