I was told this by a parts guy and further backed by the parts manager . Company had a boom truck that had contacted a bridge while in motion , the head section caught a beam and pulled that end section out . It was an hour from the shop and the boss wanted a worst case idea what it would take to fix it . Well that was a total stab in the dark but the boss gets what he wants . I called the local dealer for that brand and gave him a parts list . he called back and told me that they ( the manufacturer ) would not give prices until they had the serial number for that machine . This guy asked if I really needed all this stuff . Told him probably not but I was asked to check it out . He proceeds to tell me that pricing this stuff could cause problems down the road , The outfit that made the machine records when you check a parts price . That go's on record for that machine and if a product liability claim comes up that price check will have to be defended if ever a court case comes up . They are assuming you repaired something instead of replacing it . Part's manager told the same story . This was with boom truck and crane parts , That's all I'm familiar with . Not sure if this translates to the entire construction industry but it was what I run into .
you are correct. product liability is so lawyered up that you almost can't touch anything without being blamed for the owner soiling his pants in the future. (I'm sure taco bell is a litigant). i was told at a users factory meeting a few years back that 25-30% of the cost of a crane is factored in to litigation related issues of one form or another.
Hmm that seems odd to us. We sell hundreds of thousands of dollars of crane parts every year and have never come across a manufacturer who does not want to sell parts. Its true that the serial number is usually needed because parts vary over the years and only with the serial number can you be certain you have the right part. But thousands of cranes are repaired in some way every year and as long as its done correctly they are perfectly safe to continue using. I would say get a second opinion from another dealer. Call us if you need to bounce more ideas off someone: http://www.bodetechnicalservices.com/crane-parts
I think that the issue is that the parts quote will be recorded somewhere for future use in defending the manufacturer against any possible liability claims. The problem comes in as Tiny says, if there's any parts on the original quote that somebody obviously felt might need replacing that you did not purchase, you may have provided evidence, or at least reasonable doubt, of negligence by failing to replace those parts. I am very sure the manufacturer will be happy to sell you the complete list, but if you price it, you better buy it, or at least that's my view of our current lawsuit industry. Civil cases I have heard are much easier to win than a criminal case as the rules of evidence and how the judge or jury decide things are much more relaxed. YMMV
I pretty much think that is a bunch of hocum invented to obtain information that some business major in a suit dreamed up to hassle parts people with. The records of customer sales would provide any info on purchase that anyone needed. At any rate there is no guarantee that the part was purchased for a repair or just inventory. It could become damaged with storage and might never be used. It could even be lost in transit from the dealer to the customer. I agree with BTS about needing a serial number to be sure the right part was supplied. There are lots of ways to monitor a customer's business. Most dealers already know what machinery their customers own without having to hassle a mechanic or supply clerk.