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Thread: Merlin's Wisdom--- Collectible Automobile VX Article

  1. #1
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    Post Merlin's Wisdom--- Collectible Automobile VX Article

    Some of you may have seen the August 2011 edition of Collectible Automobile on the VX. Since the article harps pretty heavily on parts availability issues I thought I'd ask an expert (something the magazine obviously had not done). Here' s his verbatim remarks:

    Hello again,



    After reading these articles, I wanted to offer you my candid opinion on this issue. To clarify the headlamp issue, the author actually mentions “headlamp buckets”, which usually refers to the metal structures that support each headlamp from behind, not the headlamps themselves. As with most modern vehicles, however, the VX uses a one-piece panel that supports both headlamps, grille, radiator, a/c condenser, etc. This support panel currently shows three in stock in the U.S., but is not listed as discontinued, which normally indicates stock can be still be found overseas.



    I’ve worked in this industry 17 years now, and for the last 12 years have been supplying through this dealership original-equipment parts for VW, Nissan, Saab, Suzuki and Isuzu. As such, I understand the limitations of owning a vehicle that has limited parts support beyond the OE manufacturer. Shortly after I started here, for example, VW discontinued parts support for any air-cooled VW, instead selling most remaining stock to aftermarket companies. With Nissan, we’ve slowly been reaching a point where OE parts for the 240/260/280Z models are also no longer available. Granted, these examples are all over 30 years old now, but there were tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands in VW’s case) of these models produced over the years, so the aftermarket can easily make a solid business case for continuing to support them.



    While I certainly agree that the author of this article seems to take a jab at the VX, history tells us that Isuzu will not continue to support this vehicle for decades to come. Luckily, the running gear is closely shared with other models, so the aftermarket will do a fine job of providing mechanical bits to at least keep these running for quite some time. VX-specific parts such as body panels, interior panels, headlamps, etc. will not get the same support, however, and will make restoring one of these trucks down the road a tough proposition.



    As I’ve said before, for the immediate future I wouldn’t predict anything more dire than a continuation of the long delays we sometimes experience in receiving parts from Isuzu. The long-term might be a different story, but I don’t think it’s worth anybody losing any sleep over. If the fear is that this article may have hurt resale value, it’s important to understand, as most in this industry will admit, that cars are simply not an appreciating investment anyway- save for a few ultra-rare examples of a few select classics.



    In fact, this article reminds me of the saying “there’s no such thing as bad press”. Here we have a full-color, multiple-page spread that in my opinion does little more than simply highlight just how capable, unique, and rare the VX really is!



    Regards,



    Merlin Richardson

    Assistant Parts Manager

    St. Charles Automotive

    636-441-4481, ext. 204

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    Thumbs up

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    That was really cool for Merlin to respond in such depth! Thanks for posting this.

    Quote Originally Posted by blacksambo View Post
    As I’ve said before, for the immediate future I wouldn’t predict anything more dire than a continuation of the long delays we sometimes experience in receiving parts from Isuzu.
    "Sometimes" is right. Last year I bought parts that had to come from Japan and it took about 7-8 weeks. This year - after the tsunami - parts from Japan took about 2-3 weeks. Not bad!

    So far I've ordered 9 items from Merlin and only 1 part I asked for was listed as "discontinued/no longer in production." It is the little plastic rivet that secures the leading edge of the door frame weatherstripping to the A-pillar. Knowing that it was discontinued let me know I needed to be very careful when removing the old one. I did so and was able to reuse the old part.


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    Can the article be read online, and can u post a link? Or are you talking about the WSJ post?
    EX OWNER 2000 Foxfire

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    He means the WSJ post.

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    How could Merlin have worked in the industry for 17 years? Those who met him out in Moab a couple of years ago can back me up when I say that the man looks like he's only in his early 20's.

    Quote Originally Posted by RickOKC View Post
    It is the little plastic rivet that secures the leading edge of the door frame weatherstripping to the A-pillar. Knowing that it was discontinued let me know I needed to be very careful when removing the old one. I did so and was able to reuse the old part.
    Rick, I know they aren't stock, but a VERY similar (if not dead on match) plastic rivet can be found at any NAPA/AutoZone/O'reily auto parts store. They usually have a big binder of fasteners behind the counter that you can look through. I stripped the plastic flanges off of one of those, took it to my local NAPA, looked through the binder, and found a VERY close match for it. Had to buy a whole bag of them, but that ended up costing me $20-$30. They also have matches for most of the clips that hold all of the interior panels in too, as well as many other fasteners throughout the VX.
    "The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."
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    Good call mindaugas, since it was for sale on eBay I just assumed it was a clipping from an older article. Sue did you realize it was from THIS MONTH'S edition when you bought it?

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    Quote Originally Posted by MSHardeman View Post
    Rick, I know they aren't stock, but a VERY similar (if not dead on match) plastic rivet can be found at any NAPA/AutoZone/O'reily auto parts store.
    Wow, I'm surprised they had something close - it's kind of an odd shape! I was also surprised how many automotive fasteners my little Ace Hardware stocks. When I painted my hood insert, they had all the right clips for the underhood insulation and even the thin, clear plastic washers for the insert. I even found a suitable replacement for the useless plug that's located in the cowl panel between the wiper arm connections (the old one was eaten by the UVs so it was chalky & white. Stupid little stuff like that bugs me.)

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickOKC View Post
    So far I've ordered 9 items from Merlin and only 1 part I asked for was listed as "discontinued/no longer in production." It is the little plastic rivet that secures the leading edge of the door frame weatherstripping to the A-pillar. Knowing that it was discontinued let me know I needed to be very careful when removing the old one. I did so and was able to reuse the old part.
    Oh yeah Rick, I know that same one.......it's the one I snapped off when removing my old, torn weatherstripping to install a new one .......I even went back to the bag the strip came in looking for a rivet..... Thanks Mark, I'll make a stop at Napa to see if I can find one.

    But, I haven't replaced it and the rubber strip seems to stay in place just fine....I tested opening & closing the door a bunch (just ask Dave how many times ) to see if the rubber would come out of the track or bunch up or whatever, but nothing...it's still fine, been about 4 months.

    Quote Originally Posted by vt_maverick View Post
    Good call mindaugas, since it was for sale on eBay I just assumed it was a clipping from an older article. Sue did you realize it was from THIS MONTH'S edition when you bought it?
    No, actually, I also thought it was going to be an older article. Was surprised to see it was from August 2011 when it came.
    VX KAT
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    Merlin's lying about his age? What a weird thing to do? Gee, he sounds much older than twenty on the phone. I've been deealing with him for five years. That means he was fifteen when we started, and even younger when Tone started.

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    Quote Originally Posted by blacksambo View Post
    Merlin's lying about his age? What a weird thing to do? Gee, he sounds much older than twenty on the phone. I've been deealing with him for five years. That means he was fifteen when we started, and even younger when Tone started.
    Not sure if you were kidding, but I think Mark was "kinda" kidding.....when we met him in '09 in Moab, we all commented m, that Merlin looked much younger than we "expected", he was probably 33-34-35 then, but a very young looking man. Just an FYI...

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    Just so I'm clear. We all believe Merlin could well have 17 years of parts sales experience, and is a credible parts information resource for the VX? Because if he's not, I'm going to begin to believe that the Collectibile Automobile article, and we VX'ers are all living in outer space---"big time". Thanx

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    we VX'ers are all living in outer space
    We all drive sci-fi vehicles, we moved into outer space a long time ago

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