Some common misconceptions about spare parts

Before concluding this article devoted to spare parts, we must mention - to put them into perspective, or preferably to kill them off - three preconceived ideas about spare parts.

The first is widespread: spare parts are too expensive. There's no denying that some manufacturers have certainly abused and still abuse monopoly situations for the supply of exclusive spare parts, but we mustn't overlook the specific charges that weigh on spare parts either:

• manufacturing costs, which can be higher than the initial manufacturing costs, particularly in the case - which is not always a textbook case - of having to restart a production line, sometimes for limited series;

• financial charges corresponding to interest on the capital invested by the manufacturer in the stock of spare parts he is...