Reattas being parted at an alarming rate

[Ronnie]

If you look at Reatta Facebook groups you can see a lot of the threads are about someone parting out a Reatta. I guess the reason for that is parts are getting so expensive for a Reatta, both new and used, that people don't want to spend the money to fix them.

 

What does that tell us? Are Reattas parts, and paying a mechanic to keep them up, getting so expensive that the threshold where a Reatta should be parted our versus trying to fix them up getting lower?  Or does it mean that less people are interested in them and figure there is more money to be made parting out an old beater than trying to sell them?

 

The way it's going the only people who are going to own a decent Reatta are people that can afford to pay big money for a low mileage Reatta to admire, brag about, and drive occasionally. The days of buying a Reatta as a cheap car seems to be over. Yeah, you can still buy a higher mileage Reatta at a good price, but after you spend the money on parts and labor to get it in good condition, your cheap driver isn't going to be so cheap. Especially if you have to pay a mechanic to do the work.

 

My advice to Reatta owners who plan to keep them, is buy up all the parts that you can afford right now that are on Facebook and hang on to them because the price of those parts is going to get much more expensive and harder to find as the number of Reattas dwindles because of people parting them out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Top Down]

Here is an analogy to this topic.   Just like a human being, the Reatta's lifetime will eventually cease to exist.  That is, just as a human being  will need  medical help during its lifetime, the Reatta needs repair.   Some people pass away, and others live another day.   Along the way there are ebbs and flows with respect to the frequency of events, but assuredly they increase with the passage of time.   So, in the case of the Reatta, at 30+ years of age it has rounded 3rd base heading home.   Along the way many Reattas have disappeared and were designated as donors so others may live on.   This is an inverse relationship........fewer Reattas on the road but more Reatta spare parts.   Coupled with part availability from other GM models, perhaps spare part purchases should be closely scrutinized as there will always be aging Reattas  entering junk yards or being parted out.  The future cost of these spare parts is another discussion as predatory pricing becomes an issue rather than supply vs demand.

[alchemist]

Agreed, Ronnie.  I have started to amass replacement parts that are hard to find.  Though I have not yet procured a front windshield, I have been thinking about having windshield film installed as a precaution.  I am good on struts (front and rear new spares) are on the shelf.  Caliper rebuild kits.

 

I am wondering if the various bushings could be 3D printed, or machined from a solid block of the appropriate material.  The sensitivity of the electronics also causes worry.

 

Regardless, the certainty is parts will be more scarce, and more expensive.

Edited March 24 by alchemist

[Ron Walker]

You guys may be right in your assessments, but sure is distressing.

[ship]

The good thing is that the 7th generation Rivieras had many mechanical parts that will fit on our Reattas.  They made a few more Rivieras than Reattas.

[sarookha]

On 3/24/2024 at 4:26 PM, alchemist said:

I am wondering if the various bushings could be 3D printed, or machined from a solid block of the appropriate material. 

Delrin is amazing stuff, and very easy to machine.  I don't know if it is suitable for suspension bushings, for example, as it may be too stiff, but I'd love to look into Delrin's physical properties as compared to urethane.  

 

As for 3D printing, there are quite a number of different print media.  I'll ask around about what might be suitable for suspension bushings.  Of course knowing OEM dimensions is difficult for a 30+ year old part that takes a beating.

[Anthony]

I had considered buying a second one to revive, but people are asking way too much for them for the amount of work that needs to be done. If I could get one for $500, that might be doable, but $2000 is a bit much. Then I also see a lot of finished ones up for sale for a really long time, like 8 months or more. When you can't buy and you can't sell, unfortunately that doesn't bode well for doing a profitable project ☹️

[2seater]

Like most things, it sometimes makes no sense. People are repairing, or at least trying to repair, Reatta's that should be parted out and others are just the opposite. Seemingly decent cars that deserve some TLC are being scavenged and discarded. Definitely well under $1k for a running parts car, much less than that for a lawn ornament, unless of course it has exactly the stuff you need. Mixing and matching colors, inside and out, or model years with incompatible content really limits the usefulness.