New Old Stock

[lrlforfun]

OK Buick People: I'm thinking that the buzz phrase "New Old Stock" really doesn't make sense. How can old stock be new, especially if it is several years old? This term gives an artificial slant implying that the part would be brand new with no flaws or defects from use. This very well may not be the case and I believe that a buyer needs to be told honestly. After all, if it were new it would have been recently manufactured, wouldn't it? I propose that we change the "New Old Stock" buzz term to a more accurate term...."Unused Old Stock". How about it? Mitch

[Bhigdog]

A more cumbersome but more descriptive term would be. "Stuff that sounds new but is beat up from being kicked around for 50 years"................Bob

[Caballero2]

How about "Never in service, but must be restored before appearing new".

Dan
NOS '57 Roadmaster

[MrEarl]

Or "Install and find out why it was put back on the shelf 58 years ago"

[buick5563]

I hated when they stopped saying "Used Cars" and went to "Previously-Owned".
Technically, if it was leased it was NEVER owned...just USED.

Back to "Expensive Old Box" thread.

[NTX5467]

A car can be new, even if the production model year was "prior", if it still has an open MSO (manufacturer's statement of origin) and has never been registered for "on road" use. Vehicles which are leased are sold to a leasing entity who then registers the vehicle for "on road use", getting appropriate license plates and such in the process. The leasing company holds the title to the vehicle just as a finance entity would hold the title and lien of the vehicle after the "buyer" has taken possession of the vehicle.

Back to NOS Parts . . . The part is "new" as it's not been installed, typically. "Old Stock" as it didn't sell as the vendor/dealer/supplier thought it might and didn't get it returned to their supplier soon enough to take advantage of their "return policy" or swap it for a part that would sell.

Sometimes, mechanics (dealership or otherwise) would "purchase" a part to fix a problem, install it, and when it didn't fix the problem, tney'd take it off the customer's car and take it back to the parts department for credit. This might take it out of the "new" category, but the part was usually sold as new to the next customer, if they could, or mark it "shop use only", for sale to dealership service customers (after all, it'd already been "quality checked" by the dealership tech, not damaged in the process, so the service dept techs should have no issues in using such a part).

An observed issue with "NOS" Parts is "part number changes". During the life of the part, the part number can change on it, as some applications are combined or supplier-vendors are changed, or updated to address particular performance issues of/on the vehicle. IF the part number change was done accurately, then everything's fine, but if it wasn't done accurately, then there could be issues which the ultimate purchaser of this "expensive old box" might discover.

The other thing is normal age-related deterioration . . . just thought human bodies were prone to this, did you? Electrical contacts can become "coated" over time, which can affect the electrical parts performance, at least initially. Internal carburetor passages can become corroded due to slight condensation from normal temperature swings in unheated warehouse areas, although the cardboard in the packaging can somewhat counteract that.

Just like NOS upholstery fabric, these things are pretty much "as old as the vehicle", so they might be new, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll last "as new" as "new" was many years prior. As these parts usually command a much higher price than other similar replacement parts, there can be particular items and times when an NOS part is better than a later-production or aftermarket part, but there can also be other times when "shelf life" has not been kind to the part . . . especially considering that plastic can shrink as the oils in it evaporate and the formerly-pliable plastic part is now physically just a shade smaller in size and less forgiving in its flexibility area. NOT to forget that some items were originally packaged in thin paper/plastic packages which, in time, will become brittle and fall away from the particular part (i.e., body molding). When that happens, the only real identification of the part goes away with the wrapper.

This might be a more complicated answer than you might have desired, but the whole NOS situation can be a variable one, depending upon which part you might be desiring. In some cases, a higher price is valid, but in others, you can bet the original seller of the "old part" to an old parts vendor sold it for pennies on the dollar just to get rid of it. IF you do your own legwork, you can find these things yourself! In looking at a local older auto parts store for a muffler and tailpipe for my '70 Skylark Custom, New Old Replacement Parts (Maremont brand, pre-bent OEM items), I not only found those two items, but a pair of "Street Hemi" replacement mufflers. As this particular auto parts store sold lots of stuff to the Lincoln-Mercury dealer in the earlier 1960s, he also noted that he had a complete system for a '62 Lincoln Continental too. About 5 years after I got those parts, the owner retired and closed the business . . . with all of the inventory going to another place in town.

Just some thoughts,
NTX5467