In Russia, it has become impossible to buy spare parts for foreign cars: it is also impossible to order from other countries

The refusal of automakers from official deliveries of cars to Russia also affected spare parts for them. Dealers of many brands do not have a long list of the most popular parts. There are far from everything Chinese analogues, reports Fontanka.

Photo: IStock

About 1,7 million cars drive in St. Petersburg, 80% of which are foreign cars. Already last year, their service became a problem - due to failures in supply chains and a crisis in the semiconductor market, delivery times and prices increased markedly. However, the real difficulties began after February 2022.

At first it was difficult to sense them - large stocks had accumulated in the warehouses of car service centers. However, already in mid-summer it became clear that car repairs were becoming more than just expensive. For a number of brands, there are no parts, not only original ones and at three prices, but none at all, from the word “at all,” as car owners complain.

On the subject: US offers $10 million for information on 'Putin's chef' and his troll factory

The journalists ran an experiment trying to find some running and expensive rare parts for three cars: a six-year-old workhorse Volkswagen Polo, a brand new small city jeep Hyundai Creta, and a not-so-pretentious but quite worthy 2016 Mercedes GLC.

“In official and unofficial showrooms, we looked for running front bumpers and windshields for these cars, as well as a technically difficult starter and the most expensive and technologically advanced thing - a steering rack,” says Denis Lebedev.

The easiest way to find all this, quite predictably, turned out to be on the Hyundai Creta - the car is completely new, spare parts for it have not yet massively diverged, as journalists say.

According to legend, all their cars have always been serviced only by authorized dealers and received only original parts during repairs (which, by the way, is true). So they were looking for original spare parts, and only when it was completely impossible to find them, they agreed to replicas.

“In the end, we managed to find for the new Creta: an original bumper (consists of two parts, for only about $260), a windshield for $240, a starter for $740 and an expensive (as it seemed to us at first), but an original steering rack for $1300 . They promised to deliver the bumper elements and steering rack to us within a maximum of 5 days. But the original glass and starter are the problem. The waiting period is from three weeks to three months,” says Denis.

Even at official services, managers understand the severity of the problem and honestly advise suitable non-original parts. True, such a strange thing: they are not necessarily cheaper than the original. In the catalog of one of the largest sellers of spare parts in the city for the brand new Creta, there is not a single option suitable for the VIN number. And those that are, to previous versions, cost up to $ 800 per piece in the collection. And although they do not fit at all, one can sympathize with the owners of the previous generation Hyundai Creta. Even a used bumper from disassembly costs $780.

Steering racks in the form of Chinese replicas for completely new cars have not yet appeared on the market. So the experimenters did not have options to look for something cheaper. Another major player in the auto parts market picked up an original steering rack for $ 1400 by VIN number: paradoxically, it is cheaper from an authorized dealer.

Managers in salons say that, for example, the original starter can be replaced with a similar one from an understandable manufacturer like Bosch, but the situation is such that it can also be more expensive. There is also a wide range of prices for windshields. Originals are not always the best quality and cheapest options.

“In any case, spare parts for the new Hyundai Creta are still available, although they will have to wait,” says Denis.
Things are a little more complicated with the Volkswagen Polo, the journalists say, although its huge popularity and prevalence, it would seem, should form a wide supply and demand. So it is, if you turn a blind eye to the originality of spare parts.

The original bumper and windshield were found immediately - for $420 and $290, respectively. Delivery time - 3 days. “But with more complex parts it’s a problem. To find the original starter, I had to call three dealers. Only the latter has one piece left in his warehouse in Moscow for $940. It will take about a week to travel, but 100 percent prepayment is required,” says Denis.

Other options offered by dealers: a very cheap starter for $290 - it will be delivered in three days. And exactly the same as they put at the factory - the same company, but without the VW badge, will cost $ 640.

Original steering racks at different dealers cost $1885 and $2030.

“But don’t be alarmed, it’s impossible to buy them. As the managers put it, you can order it, but with an “infinite delivery time.” That is, no one knows when he will arrive,” says Denis.

“We don’t have to wait for any certainty until the end of the special operation, so we have to get out of it,” complain the experts. “And then began the saddest part of our search for parts - for Mercedes,” says Denis. “It seems not very rare and not the most expensive, the GLC turned out to be completely unrepairable in St. Petersburg in July 2022.”

The first dealer the guys approached didn't even bother asking for the VIN, only finding out what they needed.

“Bumpers and glasses have long ended,” he snapped. It’s also pointless to look for more technological details from the officials. When asked what to do, the manager thoughtfully remarked: “Well, the starter can be sorted out ...”

“For a moment it seemed that we were talking not with a languid expert from a luxury car dealership worth tens of millions of rubles apiece, but with a neighboring mechanic. About the steering rack, he directly said that the only option is to look for a used one at a disassembly site. Well, definitely Uncle Vova from the nearest garages. Apparently, such times are coming,” says Denis.

In another official Mercedes showroom, they decided, if not to find the necessary parts for customers, then at least to maintain the reputation of an expensive and respectable place. “The windshield costs $1400 - original. It is not possible to orientate in terms of delivery time - we are not accepting orders yet. The bumper for our car costs $1840. Yes, you can’t order it either, ”the manager struck with numbers. Further more. The starter can theoretically be ordered from a factory in Germany. If they accept the order, you will have to wait up to 8 weeks. If not, “well, what can you do”… It costs $2000. The manager did not offer to sort it out.

And finally, the steering rack.

“It now costs $7300 to order. There are no typos in this phrase. But, as you might guess, it’s not there either, orders are not accepted, it’s unknown when it will be available,” says Denis.

With Mercedes, the situation is aggravated by the fact that after December the official importer in Moscow simply closed its warehouse with a key and disconnected its bases from communication with dealers. It can be assumed that there are spare parts for German cars in Russia, but not only can you not get them, but you can’t even see if they are available.

Unofficial suppliers of spare parts for Mercedes also have no options in warehouses. The windshield for almost the same car costs - and this is used - $ 1950. But it doesn't seem to fit.

“There is an option to try on one piece of glass from China for a ridiculous $130. It will do - hurray! No... well, no. Steering racks and starters according to our VIN number are not found either from gray suppliers or at disassembly sites. Bumper - you need to look. It seems like there is a used pair, but it’s not clear whether it will fit,” he says.

Bottom line: everything is generally bad, and we must look for other options. Remembering Finland at hand, the journalists decided to try their luck there. It is unlikely that at the announced prices for spare parts there will be much more expensive. And the very first option that fell out on the request “Car repair in Finland” gave hope. Website of the Finnish network of services, the official dealer of five brands, with points in Lappeenranta and Imatra. A promising offer of service in Russian and a phone number.

“The nice manager really speaks Russian,” says Denis. “But when I learned that we were talking about a car with Russian license plates, I sank.” “We are prohibited from selling parts or even providing service to any vehicle that is somehow connected with Russia. The distributor will check where the parts will go. And we ourselves must check the sanctions,” she said.

So even a crazy option to come without any numbers at all is unrealistic: by the VIN number it will be immediately clear in which country this car was sold. These rules, the Finnish manager said, were introduced recently - about a month ago. Prior to that, she says, Russian cars were serviced without problems.

“Already desperate, we found a group on VK with a Russian parts supplier from Helsinki. They called and ... Oh joy! “Yes, we can pick up everything you need. We can change it ourselves in Helsinki, we can arrange delivery to Russia,” Denis said about the manager’s response.

He is aware that official Finnish dealers do not serve or sell anything to Russians. “But that’s why we’re not official,” he explains.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

There are a number of difficulties. For example, the fact that he does not have the status of a dealer means that he does not have access to the official catalog. And the search for some specific details is difficult. That is, “just a bumper” is impossible. It is necessary to indicate a specific part with an article number. For this, Alexander suggested contacting St. Petersburg dealers - they are unlikely to refuse. With everything else there are no problems.

“The prices there are very impressive, especially with delivery,” summed up Denis.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Trump buried his ex-wife on a golf course: some suggest that this is an attempt to evade taxes

Seven Weird Rules All Costco Employees Must Follow

Putin's 'doomsday plane' robbed: the culprit has already been sent to prison, although there was no evidence against him

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.