Owners of Rover cars in need of repair face long waits for replacement body panels, it is claimed.
One owner said he recently had to wait three months to get a new door panel for his Rover 75. The Birmingham motorist, who asked not to be named, resorted to tracking down a replacement panel himself after XPart, the official MG Rover parts distributor, failed to supply one. "It seems to be virtually impossible to get replacement body parts within two or three months," he said.
"When XPart says it can supply parts for Rover and MGs without delay it is right - provided it is mechanical parts that are needed.
"It is a different story with body panels and I have heard of cases in which badly damaged cars have been off the road for months. I was lucky because my car was driveable and roadworthy, but I believe a lot of people are having problems."
XPart - part of the giant American-owned Caterpillar Logistics - says it has £40 million of parts in stock at its distribution centre at Desford, near Leicester.
The company said yesterday: "There were some supply issues with replacement body panels as the new tooling for panels was put in place, which has been resolved. XPart has taken a proactive approach to manage the backorder situation of replacement panels."
