I can give you some perspective here, as a long-time vendor for turbo Regal parts. Back when the cars were hugely popular, we could not build enough parts to satisfy the need. So we grew, added personnel, and was almost always able to ship orders the same day. Now remember, there might have been a TOTAL of 70,000 turbo Regals ever built and sold, and this includes the hot air cars. So the market is very small, as compared to say, the Mustang crowd. Nevertheless, we always had the passion to keep the parts going. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's, Caspers business was virtually 100% Buick parts.
Fast forward to June 2012. Caspers business is exactly 2.8% Buick parts. Our current resources are concentrated on very large quantities of parts - we currently supply GM and many other companies on the OEM level - and this is what pays our bills. Our 16,000 sq. ft. facility is virtually maxed out today.
We started as a GN electrical parts supplier, and we still supply electrical parts currently, but not nearly the quantities of the early days. By necessity, we have gone in other directions, mostly just to keep the business going. We used to stock 100% of the GN parts we manufacture and sell, but today, maybe 20% are actually stocked. There is no percentage to creating inventory for parts that rarely sell anymore (we pay tax on inventory like everyone else). Components are now difficult to purchase, many items have fallen to obsolescence, or disappeared altogether, so it's getting to be a trick just to find era-correct parts. Our website is not tied to inventory, so you could order a part, pay for it, and not have it available to ship that day. In spite of this, we try to get parts in your hands in a reasonable amount of time, but sometimes, it may take days or even weeks to ship. It all depends on the part.
So I guess I don't want to make excuses, but it does happen with ALL vendors for parts that are low in demand on a limited vehicle that's 25+ years old today. The percentage of GN vs Other parts we produce is regularly shrinking, and from a business standpoint, my accountants tell me we should not even be supplying turbo Regal parts. But I still have a passion for the car (I have four turbo V6 powered vehicles) so I'm committed for now. But it gets tricky; add to the mix, our "competition" who continually and systematically clones our designs and undersells us whenever it can. It's hard to justify a new design on a product when you have blatant copying - especially in the shrinking turbo Regal market. And all of us vendors who actually do the design work are going through this. Look at how many vendors have fallen off the charts in the last ten years. You see the trend going on.
So don't be too harsh on vendors, but don't tolerate too many excuses either. Just try to understand where we all are coming from.
