China Trade war?

Tanis143 · May 14, 2019

Dumpstick said:
You're kidding, right ?
I remember when cars with 100k miles were worn out rust buckets. Most cars lasted 6-8 years max.

Now, the average car on the road in the US is 11+ years old. And, these 11+ year old cars get 3 times the mileage of cars 40 years ago, and pump out a tiny fraction of the pollution.

I recently sold a car with 265k miles on it. It's still on the road. I replaced it with a car with 112k on the clock, and expect another 125k from it, at the minimum.

Don't you remember cars that needed points and plugs every 3-5k miles ?
When is the last time you even checked the oil between changes ?

Technology has changed automobiles in a drastic way.

11 years huh? When I graduated high school most cars in the parking lot were between 15 to 20 years old. And my little Horizon got 30ish MPG on the highway (it was just a 1.7L four banger with a 2 bbl webber carb with no engine management). The only reason that car was taken off the road was two accidents within a month. Now days you need scanners, scopes and a lot more training to work on cars and most people don't have the time or money to do that. They run them into the ground then toss them. The only thing I've seen improve is survivability in crashes. However the body work is so flimsy a shopping cart shifting sideways can put a pretty nasty dent into them (I learned that the hard way). My 84 olds cutlass took out a stop sign after sliding off the road (wet road plus nearly bald tires) and it put a tiny ding in the bumper and a small scratch on the hood. Do that with a car built now days and its totaled. And besides, cars aside, anything else that is "built to last" costs a small fortune compared to similar items made 20 years ago. Its one reason why I don't buy much, and the stuff I do buy I make sure it will last.

kirk1978 · May 14, 2019

Tanis143 said:
11 years huh? When I graduated high school most cars in the parking lot were between 15 to 20 years old. And my little Horizon got 30ish MPG on the highway (it was just a 1.7L four banger with a 2 bbl webber carb with no engine management). The only reason that car was taken off the road was two accidents within a month. Now days you need scanners, scopes and a lot more training to work on cars and most people don't have the time or money to do that. They run them into the ground then toss them. The only thing I've seen improve is survivability in crashes. However the body work is so flimsy a shopping cart shifting sideways can put a pretty nasty dent into them (I learned that the hard way). My 84 olds cutlass took out a stop sign after sliding off the road (wet road plus nearly bald tires) and it put a tiny ding in the bumper and a small scratch on the hood. Do that with a car built now days and its totaled. And besides, cars aside, anything else that is "built to last" costs a small fortune compared to similar items made 20 years ago. Its one reason why I don't buy much, and the stuff I do buy I make sure it will last.

If you would stop wrecking you wouldn't need the old "tanks".

Ethan N · May 14, 2019

In my experience, for most things that don’t have an electrical plug or a fuel tank you can find one that’s high-quality and only costs 50%-100% more as long as you ignore the crap put in front of you on store shelves and do enough research online. Two times the price might sound like a lot, but if it lasts three times as long, that’s a steal in my book.

This is how I shop, and so far it’s working out pretty well for me. One of the things that has saved me money over time is avoiding plastic stuff if there are ANY reasonably-priced alternatives. For certain items, I’ve been happy to pay five times as much for steel or aluminum rather than plastic because I know from experience I’m avoiding replacing the plastic crap at least 10 times by the time the metal one wears out.

Snattlerake · May 18, 2019

Dumpstick said:
You're kidding, right ?
I remember when cars with 100k miles were worn out rust buckets. Most cars lasted 6-8 years max.

Now, the average car on the road in the US is 11+ years old. And, these 11+ year old cars get 3 times the mileage of cars 40 years ago, and pump out a tiny fraction of the pollution.

I recently sold a car with 265k miles on it. It's still on the road. I replaced it with a car with 112k on the clock, and expect another 125k from it, at the minimum.

Don't you remember cars that needed points and plugs every 3-5k miles ?
When is the last time you even checked the oil between changes ?

Technology has changed automobiles in a drastic way.

Tire technology has changed drastically too. When was the last blowout you had? Some people have never seen or even heard of a blowout. Split rims on trucks are almost a thing of the past. I've not seen split rims for 10 years?

DavidMcmillan · May 18, 2019

I haven't had even a flat on the last five vehicles I've owned.

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