Have you tried getting a set of 16" tyres for your Suzuki Grand Vitara lately?....I just tried for my wife's Suzuki Grand Vitara......I thought easy peasy, common 16" tyres ..phoned Bob Jane Bendigo..reply by Manager... "none in stock..gee they are a real difficult tyre to get hold of....I will ring warehouse in Melbourne and see if I can locate 4 for you...I told him any brand would do....waited a day and heard nothing whatsoever.....then rang Goodyear Bendigo...."none in stock...they are not a common size tyre for a Vitara...16" are hard to find".........I said the car is stock standard and I don't care what brand so long as they are new, and there are thousands of Suzuki Vitara's on the road as they have been around for years now so why a problem?...he managed to get 4 from Melbourne and I had them fitted 2 days later...if one can't easily get tyres for them I can see why you have had problems obtaining parts Yuglamron...carrying stock is dead money so very little is actually stocked by Dealers...same with GME, UHF parts/accessories etc etc all have to be ordered by Dealers these days........Hoo Roo

We put new tyres on our Suzuki just 3 weeks before it was wrecked. Sob Sob. Since we have bought the replacement Grand Vitari we have bought some parts - something for the clutch I think. We got the parts from Suzuki dealer in Nundah (Brisbane suburb). There is a guy in Lawnton (just north of Brisbane) who also did a job for us this week (replaced the seal on the crankshaft) & Keith was very happy with his workmanship & also with the price charged. he said he would recommend him for any jobs on a Suzuki. (They only work on Suzukis).

Whilst I feel sorry for the trouble you had with your initial post of stepping on a chainaman, this post is hardly realistic is it!! 

The vehicle is 9 years old and you expect people to stock spare parts!!
 
By law the manufacturer only has to stock them at the central warehouse for 7 years and after that it becomes a factory supply from the initial manufacturer of the part who again, is only legally obliged to stock for 7 years after the final production run, to my knowledge the Suzuki Vitara has had several different build types based upon several different vehicle chassis and components.  I don't know where you are located, but, I am currently in Broome and working as a mechanic in a non franchised workshop, we deal with everything as there are only three dealerships in town, so, we get to see all sorts and have somewhere in the region of 25 vehicles at any one time in the compound awaiting parts from over east, or even the far east if we have to.  We have some vehicles that are less then 5 years old but because there is not a dealership in town to support the poor sod that bought the vehicle in Perth and is now on his holidays, it has to be shipped, freight, charges, it's unreal.  We have customers with 1 year old Mercedes and BMW's that bought the car in Perth and didn't think about warranty, logbook service, spares, diagnostic facilities, or anything else that should be a consideration, but, they expect a workshop to hold all the parts under the sun, have the diagnostic equipment specific to that vehicle, the special tools, literature etc..etc...etc..., get real!!

Now the parts you say you need, a harmonic balancer (or to the untrained) a great big round thing that goes on the back of the bottom pulley on the crankshaft that smooths out any vibration, in reality, how often do these things fail??  Not very often.  A Dometic Air Temp Probe.............. MMMmmm well, how many different types of probles are there, I needed some parts for my own Dometic aircon (less than a year old) ordered direct from Dometic over East, at the caravan park reception three days later!!  Are you relying on your local Dometic agent to get them for you?? I'm sure he'll be trying to source those from an existing supplier because it easier for him!!  and best of all, steel wheels, go on the internet and look up steel wheels, 27,000 hits, now look at images, 13,500 different types!!

IF you owned a business of spare parts, what would you stock, the fast moving current items or the bits that somebody MIGHT want as they are passing.

And sorry, but does going to a 24/7 workshop mean they are gonna carry spares for a 9 year old vehicle, I've been to 24 hour supermarkets but they still run out of bread and milk (until the supplier supplies) 

I wonder if you have ever owned your own business that supplies spare parts?  I'm assuming not.  Isn't this all part of the big travelling adventure? 

I'm sorry to have a go, but please, don't blame people for running their businesses as efficiently as they can, overheads are huge without stocking charges and redundent stocks.  I know my boss would LOVE to be able to clear the backlog for the customers, and get paid for the work already done, but also so we didn't have to insure the vehicles (at his cost) whilst on the premises, keep the batteries charged (at his cost for the electricity and the chargers) and wash the bloody things when they eventually do move off site (at his cost as it doesn't look good handing back a vehicle covered in red dust)

And yes, what vehicle do you buy!!  They are all faced with the same problems of shipping, frieght, stocking charges, overheads, etc..etc..etc..

Mark