There seems to be big news from the big three just about everyday. But General Motors' announcement this week that they are going to phase out production of the Pontiac line raised a lot of concern for some of our viewers. With that announcement, owners of Pontiacs started emailing me, asking what the end of the production line for Pontiacs meant for the parts they need to keep theirs rolling.
So I took their concerns directly to Pontiac Dealer Bill Marsh Jr. He says "there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about with the regard to the availability of parts or availability of any warranty available service. None!"
There aren't many things in the auto industry these days that you can say are sure things. But Bill Marsh Jr. is pretty close to sure when it comes to the availability of Pontiac parts. Marsh says "I would tell them they have absolutely nothing to worry about. In fact we have customers picking up new Pontiacs today in this showroom right now. It's just not a concern."
Now it's important to note that Bill Marsh Jr. sells Pontiacs. He has a reason to be optimistic, but I needed a little more convincing, a little proof. He gave me three reasons to believe.
First, Marsh explains "in the event that any manufacturer liquidated the parts for those products they make would be available for years especially for a product with so many vehicles on the road like Pontiac. There will be a market for those parts for years and years."
It kind of comes down to economics 101. Parts for Pontiacs will still be made, because there are still so many Pontiacs out there that will need them someday. Ultimately there is a dollar to be made even if the cars aren't being made.
The second reason to believe parts will be available: Marsh says "All of the parts manufactured for Pontiac products are interchangeable with other General Motors vehicles." GM is still making cars, and making an awful lot of parts. Since a door latch for a GMC might be identical to the Pontiacs, you should be able to find them.
And third: Marsh says just look at history: "Oldsmobile would be a great example. General Motors stopped producing products under the Oldsmobile nameplate years ago. There are still Oldsmobile parts, plenty of them. Ask anyone who bought an Oldsmobile after that announcement and they had parts, they had service and still do. That's the best example."
So according to Marsh, parts and warranty work shouldn't be a problem for Pontiac owners. It's some what ironic. Pontiac's popularity maybe the one thing that insures that parts available once the cars are no longer made. Marsh says "Pontiac is not some niche manufacturer that only made a few cars. Pontiac has hundreds of thousands of cars on the road. As long as there are cars on the road there is going to be a huge market for parts.
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