Does your car have a problem? Did you try going to a repair shop recently? Did you realize that you must wait for weeks if not months on simple repairs? Unfortunately, that's what's going on with the car market nowadays!
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There is an extreme car parts supply challenge, leading to longer waiting times at the repair shops. There are plenty of factors getting us to this point, and as a driver, you need to understand all behind the current car parts supply challenges in 2022.
Once you understand the main factors and what to expect, you can be proactive about the problem and follow certain recommendations whenever you deal with mechanical problems these days.
This article highlights the main reasons behind the car parts supply challenges. It also provides you with recommendations about what to do if you face some car problems and how to avoid needing car repairs.
Car parts supply challenges: main reasons
If you open the news nowadays and investigate what's going on, you'll see a huge discussion about the current car parts supply challenge. People are now waiting weeks if not months on simple car repairs because they don't have the required parts.
Mechanics find it very challenging to find what they used to find on websites like eBay motors or even in junkyards. There are many factors and reasons that got us to this point where there is not enough car parts supply.
Let's take a closer look at some of the top reasons that you should pay attention to and be aware of if you're finding it hard to get car parts:
1. The COVID-19 pandemic
The first and biggest challenge that hit the car market, in general, is the COVID-19 pandemic. It impacted our lives in many different ways, and one of the most important parts of our life that got impacted by COVID-19 is all industry.
Everybody has a car, and since most people stock at their homes back in March 2020, the last people drive their cars; therefore, manufacturers lost the demand for more vehicles. As a result, people stopped looking for car parts and didn't need to sell their vehicles to buy new ones. Thus, there wasn't any supply of used cars that could be used to extract parts and sell them as parts replacements for some people looking for them.
2. The chip shortage
If you don't already know, one of the most important reasons that got us to this point where we have a very significant car parts supply challenge is the chip shortage.
Vehicles rely on a certain number of card chips that go into the computer to design these vehicles. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic and due to many other reasons, there was a massive shortage in supplying the market with these chips. As a result, manufacturers are not producing the number of vehicles expected every year.
The problem is that more modern cars need more chips, and with the shortage of these chips, vehicles parts are now not available, making it very hard to find parts replacements in the used car market or even in the junkyard.
3. Increased car prices
With increased car prices, it was also challenging to find a car part. If you think about it this way, manufacturers are not designing cars, and the prices of the current cars are increasing significantly. Therefore, if a dealership, for example, needs to send X number of vehicles to a junkyard so people can take advantage of them to get parts for their cars, now the situation is different.
4. People avoid selling their cars
Once people started driving their vehicles again and after the vaccination rolled out, they found that the increased car prices made it very challenging to buy new vehicles. Therefore, you won't see the same number of people looking to sell their cars as a few years ago.
With more people holding on to their cars and not selling them, you also see a corresponding trend in reduced car parts that you can find in the used car market.
Average waiting time on simple car repairs
Unfortunately, the average waiting time on simple car repairs became very long in many parts. In a recent post on thedrive.com, some customers mentioned that they had to wait months until they got their vehicles repaired: “I had a Ford F-150 sitting here for four months waiting for a part,” thedrive.com mentioned. “People have to find rental cars, borrow rides, and beg, borrow and steal just to get around.”
There's no specific expectation for how long you will wait on simple car repairs. It will depend on a lot of different factors, including:
1. Your vehicle type
First of all, your vehicle type will be the biggest and most important factor determining how long you going to wait on simple car repairs the next time you're going to a garage. If your car has a lot of demand, but at the same time, there is enough supply, you might be lucky to find your parts fast. However, if there is a very high demand while your car’s manufacturer does not produce many vehicles and people are not selling their used cars, there is a very high chance that you will be stuck in the garage for weeks, if not months.
2. The parts types
The other thing to consider is whether you're looking for original parts or any used parts. Ideally, you'll be looking for original parts to avoid dealing with complications that might happen because of incompatibility issues. However, if you be realistic about what's going on, you might want to consider different types of third-party parts as a replacement temporarily until things become better.
3. Your area
Some locations in the United States are experiencing more waiting times in the repair shops. For example, if you live in an urban area where it's typically busy in their pair shop, you'll find it more challenging than waiting for a long time nowadays, considering what's going on with the car parts shortage.
That's why you might want to consider going to a different suburban area with fewer customers and where you can get your partner placed. However, you won't at the same time to ensure that the skill sets you're looking for are there. If there are no good mechanics at a certain shop, there's a very high chance that you're going to sacrifice introducing mistakes that could lead to further complications costing you more money and more waiting time.
Recommendations to avoid long waiting time on car repairs
Considering what's going on with the long waiting time in the repair shops, every driver needs to understand and familiarize themselves with any recommendations that could help reduce the waiting time or avoid it completely.
Let's take a closer look at what automotive experts recommend:
1. Follow up with regular maintenance
The most important recommendation to avoid waiting time on repair shops is to prevent problems from happening in the first place. Where clear that car problems are expected to happen at any point in time; however, by following simple recommendations, you can delay it as much as possible, so hopefully, once this time comes to deal with major problems, things become a little bit less stressful than what we're dealing with nowadays. Different graph if you followed the recommendations in your vehicle's owner’s manual, you have a good chance to avoid major car problems that require parts replacements.
For example, if you maintain your oil changes and tire rotations or other types of regular maintenance is coming you don't have to worry about Major damage is like intent overheating and other problems that could happen prematurely because of missing regular maintenance.
2. Choose your repair shop
If you're looking for simple parts replacements, you don't have to go to the busiest repair shop to get them replaced. In other words, if you live in an urban area and expect a lot of waiting time in general, you should expect that your waiting time might be doubled if not tripled nowadays.
Therefore, if it takes you a little bit more time to drive to another repair shop where there isn't much pressure, you should do so to avoid waiting for a long time.
3. Shop for your parts
If you notice that the repair shop will take a long time until they find parts replacements, it might be a good idea to invest some time and search for your parts. There are plenty of online websites that might post certain car parts replacements. For example, you can check eBay motors or Craigslist for certain vehicles.
Keep in mind that there is a risk about finding your parts because there are a lot of scammers, and if you don't have the right experience to determine whether this part is in good condition or not, you can end up buying a bad part.
The other thing is that even if you bought the car part yourself, you'd have to figure out how to install it. You might need to go to the independent shop and have them install it for you, but it's still not going to be the same waiting time as waiting for them to find you the car part.
4. Be open to nonoriginal parts
Although our recommendation is always to buy original parts, you might get to a point where you must choose nonoriginal parts. Unfortunately, it is very hard to find parts replacements that you would easily put in your vehicle, so you don't deal with major complications. However, with the current car shortage, you have to make the hard decision about choosing another non original part as a temporary solution for your problem until things become better.
5. Evaluate selling your car
If you got to a point where your vehicle needs necessary repairs, and you need an important part that is very expensive, you might want to step back and evaluate the situation if you're never, for example, you're dealing with several challenges related to this repair:
- You want to get your vehicle fixed as fast as possible
- You want to buy a part that could be expensive
- You need certain skill sets to fix the vehicle, which could involve high repair costs
- Repair costs might pile up to get that point where it's close to your vehicle's value
If that's the case and you were very stressed about what's going on with your car, you might want to evaluate selling your vehicle instead. The current car prices are increasing significantly, and it could be a perfect time for you to sell your car and buy a better one that doesn't have any major problems.
Note that selling a car nowadays can be simple, but it involves many risks if you don't do it correctly. Therefore, we encourage you to reach out to cash cars buyer for more information about how much to expect for your car and to get it sold fast for the most money.
Final thoughts
Car repairs are not avoidable, and there will be a point in time when you must get something fixed. However, something to be aware of is the current car parts supply challenge that led to extremely long waiting times at the Repair shops.
This article provided you with the main reasons behind the current car parts supply challenge. It also highlighted some recommendations on what to do if you need a car repair and how to avoid car repairs that are not necessary.
If you go to a point where your car has major mechanical problems and must get it fixed, you might want to evaluate the situation carefully. If repair costs and waiting time are very challenging, it could be better for you to sell your car instead of wasting time, money, and energy.
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