AMD's response to discontinuing some MoPar product

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Panic buying anyone?
I sense a business plan.

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if I don't know what to sell a part for or what to buy a part for I will call them and then offer or ask half of what they want.. good rule of thumb...
I would say in most cases it should be a third of their asking price!!!
 
And resale value of A-Bodies in general is not good versus the money and time spent to ''properly'' restore one unless it's a big block or Hemi

NOT true,I know of a '71 340 duster that just sold for $27k..and another that was sold for more then that..the trick is finding the right person..
 
I was thinking about this, and, if a grocery store chain had the same mentality as AMD, they could cut the store down to the size of an Oreillys.
 
Being a business owner myself I can understand why they want to manufacture products that will turn over quicker and not sit on the shelves, but being a previous B Body owner I can see the trends changing, most B Bodies are priced too high for the average car guy, but the A bodies are very much affordable for most care enthusiasts and are plentiful in supply,so that being said I would imagine that the next demand will be for A Body parts.
 
Thanks for posting this.
It answers a lot of questions that some of us were wondering about.

In a way, I don't blame them for discontinuing certain parts that they don't sell a lot of to warrant the space it takes up in a warehouse, labor to produce them, etc.
On the other hand, why not just do shorter runs of the product to keep up with the eventual demands?
Also, I don't buy the fact that discontinuing '70 and '71 Duster/Demon quarter panels is a great idea as well as totally discontinuing the '67 to '69 Barracuda quarters all together is wise.

However, they do have the statistics on what really sells and the volume of product going out the door, not us.
It is a business after all, and they have shareholders to answer to.

We aren't the only ones affected by the discontinuations, the '63 to '65 B-Body guys are hit hard and the '62 to '65 Chev Impala guys are hit hard as well.

I suppose we'll all have to endure, just like we did in the '90s, we had a good run with them making the AMD sheet metal parts available in the first place.
Just think of all the cars that have been saved because of them up to now.........

I bought the last pair of rear patch panels for a duster Dart demon today. They are now discontinued but in talking to them it was explained that those patch panels have to be cut from a full-size quarter panel they do not just make a patch panel. So the only way now to get a patch panel is to buy the full quarter, They will be continuing them.
 
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I was thinking about this, and, if a grocery store chain had the same mentality as AMD, they could cut the store down to the size of an Oreillys.
and just what foods would they be discontinuing?
 
You don't seem to understand what I'm saying. If you applied the AMD method to other business, you'd have one or two types of ketchup, one mustard, maybe 2 mayonnaise. In clothing, only the best selling colors of shirts would be available, etc.
 
Grocery stores do drop brands of things that don't sell.
Yes, they do. I spent 30 years in the industry. My point is if they didn't rape Mopar owners on price they would sell more. Making profits from volume. The 50 percent sale is telling to me. I would have bought 2 fenders from them if they weren't over$500 each.
 
Question: How many approximately known dusters are left in the U.S. that can be used for parts? There are zero in New York State. How many unrestored complete cars are there?
 
Yes, they do. I spent 30 years in the industry. My point is if they didn't rape Mopar owners on price they would sell more. Making profits from volume. The 50 percent sale is telling to me. I would have bought 2 fenders from them if they weren't over$500 each.
I guess MoPars are like Harleys. You want to talk about feeling raped. Having two tires mounted and balanced for a Harley is almost $1,000 out the door! An oil change with synthetic oil is almost $500 and that's 3 o rings, 1 gasket, 5 quarts of synthetic oil and a chrome oil filter. I don't know nor do I pretend to know the overhead that AMD is faced with so I can't say I feel raped by them. I'm sure with the larger investment in the new location and diverse product offerings it's substantial. As far as being ripped off, well if you've spent 30 years in the food industry you know the prices that we face food shopping and they have select sales. I could use that same analogy by saying I would've purchased 2 large steaks if they weren't $XX.XX and so they would've sold more. Others may see it differently.
 
I bought the last pair of rear patch panels for a duster Dart demon today. They are now discontinued but in talking to them it was explained that those patch panels have to be cut from a full-size quarter panel they do not just make a patch panel. So the only way now to get a patch panel is to buy the full quarter, They will be continuing them.

Well I bought a patch from them 2 years ago.
So they can't say they never sold a single one.
In fact I suspect they sold patches 10 to 1 against a full quarter.
See where this goes?
Yep.
Buy a full quarter.
Ka Ching.
(Side note. I think the patch was from Tie Wan not the Ci Coms. But was told that IIRC)
 
They are now discontinued but in talking to them it was explained that those patch panels have to be cut from a full-size quarter panel they do not just make a patch panel. So the only way now to get a patch panel is to buy the full quarter, They will be continuing them.
Wow!!! I have hand fabbed good lower quarter patch panels for years for these cars out of a cheap sheet of 18 ga. mild steel. Yes, and I am NO pro fabricator!!!!! wow again! I call such BS. I am sorry!
 
I bought the last pair of rear patch panels for a duster Dart demon today. They are now discontinued but in talking to them it was explained that those patch panels have to be cut from a full-size quarter panel they do not just make a patch panel. So the only way now to get a patch panel is to buy the full quarter, They will be continuing them.
You are correct.
They cut the skins off of a full quarter, i suppose it's easier for them than having a die for the skins only.
It actually says so on their site if you read closely.
So, other than the increased cost of buying a full quarter and having to modify it for a '70 or '71 marker light, we are not totally screwed.
I am not sure if the '72 or '73 and up quarter is actually the one they stamp and call it a '72 to '76, but they are different where the bumper is on them.
The '72 and '73 quarter has a bit of extra metal (about 2'') where the bumper sits against them and if you trim it off, then the '74 to '76 will fit as usual with the plastic/rubber extension only found on the '74 to '76 models.
I did this on my '74 Dart Sport and it was an easy fix.............
 
Question: How many approximately known dusters are left in the U.S. that can be used for parts? There are zero in New York State. How many unrestored complete cars are there?

Depends IF you are in the rust belt or not. Texas. Example, I advertised a 71 Duster slant 3 speed on floor. All rust had been repaired, epoxy primed, and 90% of filler work done, drive anywhere , new tires, and brakes, and rad. Listed at $3500 firm. (I bought it 2 years ago at $1200 Listed on CL and FB Marketplae FABO. 2-3 months go by and 2 lookers, first guy offers $3000 the second guy drove 5 hrs to get here, and it bought full price, and glad to get it.
20 guys, say: great price, wish you were closer, wish it had AC, wrong color, IF it was a 340 car, wish my wife would LET me, would you take $500? Now compared to the rest the listed Dusters, CL, FB Marketplace, it was a great deal and the other crap was priced twice as high as anyone would possibly give.
Usually in Tx, and yes it is big, there a dozen dusters listed here for sale, 95% on the populated East side of the state. 95% are overpriced, 95% are projects, and 5% are restored to some degree and priced way up there.
These cars are out there the decent ones just not maybe in someone's back yard.
I say, AMD is just putting their $ where it counts the most. Maybe 3-4 years they will run their tooling again!!????
 
In the end, any Corporations goal is profit. All the executives meet constantly to discuss how to make more profit. That's the #1 goal. That's the reason for the change. A independently owned company has more room to specialize and may cater to smaller groups.
 
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