Why Does GM discontinue parts on left side of the car first? Cadillac Brougham

[caddykid60]

Hi,

I have always wondered about this.  I've needed a few parts of the years for my 1990 Cadillac Brougham.  What I have run into when calling the parts department is that one side (right side) is still available one side (left side) is discontinued.  This has happened with a few items, recently, exhaust manifolds.  Does anyone know why GM would discontinue one side and keep one side available?  Why not just discontinue both sides.  I ended up buying the right side NOS and a really super clean left side from a Cadillac parts place.  I have always thought this is odd.  Thanks, Mike

[John Morris #23947]

Because the right side is damaged 10 times more often than the driver side. Thus much higher demand for replacement parts.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Plus, the manufacturers only have to retain a certain number of replacement parts to enable the sale of these parts over the counter for something like 10 years past the end of vehicle production.

In the case of Suspension parts, it is usually the Passenger Side parts that run out first.

A funny thing happened here in Australia.

Holden had produced sufficient Chassis' for the Holden "1 Tonner" vehicle that had been calculated to enable consumers to purchase as replacements resulting from crashes and the like, and everything was sweet.  I witnessed the huge pile of new Chassis in the Holden Factory, well after the Holden 1 Tonner had stopped production.

That was until a Kit Car designer building replica Corvettes named the Parrenti, found that the Holden 1 Tonner Chassis was the best platform to use for their vehicle.   All of a sudden, the supply of new Chassis got used up, and no more were available for the genuine Holden owner as the Dies for making the Chassis had previously been converted into something else.

Bruce.

[TJ Hopland]

I always figured there were two options.

A- the side I need is the side that never breaks so no one makes new ones because of little demand.

B- the side I need is the side that always breaks so they have sold out. 

[JerRita]

I had the same exact problem with one of my broughams The parts place told me that the left side was spefific to the brougham for those 3 years only so there was no incentive for aftermarket manufacturers to reproduce them Also I found out that the manifold is good for either the 5.0 or the 5.7 Go figure When we took mine apart I was able to machine the original down level so now I have a spare WHEW Happy Bird Day to all

[Wayne Womble 12210]

I think its actually the other way around.  The LH side is closer to the traffic and tends to get damaged more often, thus they run out of replacement parts sooner for that side.   

[RobW]

I think its actually the other way around.  The LH side is closer to the traffic and tends to get damaged more often, thus they run out of replacement parts sooner for that side.   

That's what we always heard from various dealers in the body shop when they couldn't locate what we thought should still be available. Many times they did a search and found it on another dealer's shelf.