Hi my car is awaiting body parts from Renault, no eta, garage is trying to source ‘green parts ‘ what’s the timline for actions if they are unavailable
I do not think there is a hard and fast rule for a manufacturer to provide parts beyond the warranty period, but there is a general code of understanding that ten years after the end of warranty of the last car produced is accepted.
Ditto @Adam1 - whether parts are available is at the whim of the manufacturer, or if third party makers think there is enough of a market to produce pattern parts.
With my 2009 Honda Accord Estate I have needed various bits - a rear exhaust system had to be ordered from Honda in Belgium (with consequent import duty to the UK).
Front suspension arms were the most recent fix and Honda UK could not supply them until July; my garage fortunately found some aftermarket alternatives.
The power steering went on our old Renault Scenic. Renault dealer couldn’t get spares (no longer made, it was a case of ‘computer says no’ ) and suggested we scrap it, and presumably buy a new car from them 
They even said we couldn’t fit a used part, something to do with codes or something.
So we had the car towed to a mechanic who sourced a 2nd hand spare from a scrap yard and sorted it.
Point is, don’t fret, there’s often alternatives. It’s just a matter of knowing that, and where to go/look.
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Especially as many manufacturers rely on 3rd party parts, so not actually making the parts themselves. Its a case of sourciing and main stealers often cannot be bothered. Finding a forum for your car is often a great resource. I frequent the one for my car and folk are surprised with things like exhausts which are common across several vehicles built on the same platform as are suspension parts.
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Due to the age of my car 2005, the proper part is no longer available, so the MB garage gave me the part-description so OH could source its “lookalike” on the web and they (MB) agreed to fit it.
Job done!
and their invoice detailed that the owner had provided the part… fair enough.
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Mine is in the garage under an insurance claim, doubt I have any choice in what happens
Have a quick car parts horror story…
Many years ago I had a BMW Z4 that I absolutely loved but which I eventually got rid of because it fell ill with “sticky steering”… basically electric steering that suddenly becomes difficult and occasionally dangerous to operate and the fix at the time was a brand new steering column and parts at a cost of several thousand quid, so away she went.
Fast forward to last year and our 2017 Hyundai Tucson came down with the same problem. When you turned to the steering wheel, particularly on the autoroute, it was as if something was holding it back and then suddenly it would go with a whoosh and you would find yourself over correcting - and on a long shallow bend it was possible to set the steering wheel and literally let go of it and it would refuse to self-center and continue merrily around the bend, even overcoming the lane assist function which would normally stop you crossing white lines.
So I did some research on the interwebs and it transpired that the Tucson is not infrequently prone to this problem and in a number of cases it seemed that the solution was a simple lubrication of the steering joints. Armed with this information and my previous experience I went to the local Hyundai dealer which had previously serviced the vehicle.
They charged me €150 for a diagnostic and advised that there were what they described as “steering anomalies” and that the only solution was a replacement steering rack which would cost me a mere €6,600 installed…. They claimed to never have heard of the phenomenon of sticky steering and poo-pood me when I pointed out that with such a phenomenon present of course one would spot anomalies in the diagnostics because of increased steering resistance which would cause unexpected electrical signals.
So I got in touch with a Hyundai dealer close to my mother-in-law in the UK who reassuringly said yes, they had heard of the phenomenon and even in the worst event, if the rack needed replacing, it would cost the equivalent of €3,300. Long story short, my wife took it in on her next trip home and they charged 120 quid for a diagnostic and absolutely nothing for the grease they applied to the steering rack which completely fixed the problem…. But given that they wanted to charge me twice what it would cost in the UK to have a steering rack replaced, needless to say a new Hyundai will never be on my shopping list.
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That’s true, at that point its a contract between the insurers and the garage
The law in France changed last year(?) so that they’re now obliged to offer you the options of generic or s/h parts.
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But now you know why not? Pressume you say the same about BMW?
why not check with your Insurers???
I’ve always said that about BMW, but clearly it’s not just about the price of parts, it’s about the apparent inability - perhaps unwillingness - of many french garages to properly diagnose problems. I’ve seen the exact same thing with Suzuki.
Same with so many, an engineer would know and diagnose but its an over used term when most are just fitters, one part out one part in kerching €€€
Same in IT. The number of techs that can actually repair a board are far fewer than can change one. Panel jockies we called them. Negligible diagnosis, simply swap in a new board. And that’s not a criticism either, I get the financial ‘why’ of it and the efficacy of it. Computer is up and running asap.
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Also modern circuit boards use a lot of integrated circuits and tiny surface-mount components originally soldered in by robots, so are less easy to work on.
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Green parts, in the absence of new parts, could be another word for secondhand parts. My son had a problem with a Citroen repair and lack of parts availability. It was an internal stiffening panel, so not bolt on. In the end, the insurance company authorised the body shop to remove the damaged panel, re-shape it and weld it back on otherwise the 5 year old car was to be written off due to the length of time it had sat in the workshop with my son running around in a loan car.