The perils of owning a new vehicle

Today I had to get an aftermarket part for my truck. My truck is a new model that was introduced in 2004 (mine's an '05). I had to get a really stupid part that cost only 20 bucks and had to drive pretty much all over Massachusetts before I could find the part. And yes, I did find the part and the part works - but it wasn't easy finding it.

For most of the previous vehicles I've owned, parts came by really easy. If you own something like a Chevy Cavalier or Chevy S-10 or a Ford Taurus or Dodge Neon or anything that's been around for a while, you can pick up parts almost anywhere (like light bulbs, floormats and other little things like that). I mean, heck, even Wal-Mart has parts for vehicles that have been around for a while.

For newer vehicles or ones that had a really short run, parts are damn near IMPOSSIBLE to find. I fondly remember when I had my 1985 Toyota Celica GT-S (which to this day was the best car I ever owned). That vehicle had a run from 1982 to 1985. Very short run. I had to get one part to pass Connecticut inspection, a small piece of reflective marker plastic. It couldn't have been more than 2 inches long by a half-inch high. Took three weeks to find that tiny little piece.

My recent previous vehicle, the Oldsmobile Alero, also had a short run from 1999 to 2002. Parts were not easy to find for that either if you wanted to customize the vehicle at all.

Hopefully the vehicle I have now will have a run of at least 5 to 7 years. At least then I'll know when I need parts, I'll actually be able to find them. 🙂