Hi folks. This is a bit of a moan, really, so anyone who doesn't want to hear it should stop reading now... :-)

I live in the UK and recently bought a 2000 model right-hand drive Blazer at a good price (turns out that the good price was because the back brakes need a total rebuild, but that's by the by). That was six weeks ago and the car still isn't on the road. Why? Because I can't get any bloody spares for it, that's why !

I've had a few American cars in the past and have never had particular problems getting spares, even for older cars, but now I find myself with a modern, nine-year old car that was sold new in the UK and for which there seems to be no adequate spares support network. Of course we have some Chevy dealerships over here but parts, if they stock them, are VERY pricey. I might as well have bought an old Rolls-Royce !

There are some specialist American dealers over here, but they don't seem to carry a stock of parts for this car and have to order in from the States. (e.g. I ordered two rear brake calipers over two and a half weeks ago and they still haven't turned up. I'm now reduced to a push-bike!) I know everything is available in the States a lot cheaper, but postage direct to the UK is often very expensive.

I love the look of the car and the way it drives (when it drives), but I must confess that it's becoming more of a headache than it's worth. Plus, one of the down sides of all this delay has given me time to look through the tech help forums and it worries me just how many things seem to go wrong with this car. I'm hoping that when (if?) it's running it redeems itself and proves itself to be worthy of the time and money I've spent on it.

Anyway, moan over. Are there any UK owners out there who've had better experiences and, if so, could they give me any tips?

Cheers. Lee

 

hey ronk, just to give you a heads up. i don't know if it will help much but i surf ebay a bit. i see TONS of stock parts for blazers. i've pretty much found everything on there as well. i've recently bought a set of pads and rotors for mine off ebay! i've also bought stock replacements from people who have stores for selling automotive parts. check it out it mgiht help you in your situation since your already purchasing over the internet?

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Ca...06Q2ec0Q2em282

dunno if that link will work but if not just look up chevy blazer in the search options.

 

I sympathize with you. If you own a European car here in the US you get raped for repairs, also. I second the notion of trying to locate your parts via the 'net.

 

Lee, welcome to the RHD club. I would have thought you'd have better access to spares than us in Kiwi land. Given that you have Chevy dealers there.
Here in New Zealand there is no Chevy dealer representaion, we get our Blazers from Japan (used) & if it wasn't for the local Chevy specialist who spotted a gap in the market for parts, we'd be screwed! Having said that, he imports used Blazers & strips them for the parts market. He does keep new stock of the more common parts but is still pricey. Anything else it gets very expensive.
e-bay is a good source provided you're not looking for RHD specific parts.

I've got problems with my truck but at least it goes. I would not change it for all the tea in China!

By the way, I recall a lot of UK Blazer owners registering on the forum so I hope they make contact.

 

I've not long had my 99 Blazer, the dealer(not chevy) I got mine from sourced an alternator from the uk and got it delivered within 24 hours, don't know price but I guess he wouldn't have paid over the odds. I can't say I've needed to look for parts yet, but you can find most anything on t'internet if you look hard enough. I got lots of Jeep parts cheap from ebay including a refurb aircon compressor from Texas for about £180 including shipping (about 4 years back) local quote was over £600 ! I do notice a distinct lack of Blazers here in the UK though, I've just been up the lakes for a week and saw none there or on the journey ! By the way engine light lit up for a while, it was still running ok, then it went out, any ideas ?

 

mfd70, I don't know what the situation there in GB is for reading the engine codes, but here several auto supply chain stores do it free. You might want to check around with stores there, or a dealer, or buy a OBDII code reader. We can't tell you much about that engine light without knowing the code that tripped it.

 

Thanks for your replies, folks. And you're right about there being lots of parts for Blazers on Ebay - well on US Ebay anyway. A search for "Chevy Blazer" returns about 10,000+ matches, whereas the same search on UK Ebay only returns about 150. But I'm still pretty new to this and I'm sure I'll get a reliable source of spares sorted. In fact my new rear rotors and calipers have just arrived this morning, so I'm a couple of steps nearer to getting the truck back on the road.

Maybe us UK owners should form a mini-collective and swap parts and information..? Happy to administer this if anyone's interested.

In future if any cheap non-runners come up for sale I'm going to consider buying them. A RHD non-running Blazer sold on UK Ebay for £380 the other day. I'm gutted that I didn't bid for it and then strip it for spares. If I knew then what I know now, etc...

Cheers
Lee

 

Hi Lee,
Try Douglas Valley Breakers for your rear brake parts, they are breaking a 1998 year car. Can you help me in my search for any Blazer glass (Left Rear Door 1/4 Glass) Cheers Steve

 

LOOKING for Blazer Glass: Left Rear Door Small Quarter Glass 1998 year ?
Any ideas ?
Cheers
Steve

 

Thanks for the tip Steve. Unfortunately I've just ordered all the parts new. As for the glass, I'm afraid I don't know (presume you've tried the American specialists like US Automotive..?) but if I hear of anywhere I'll be in touch. Cheers. Lee