4 ms·

> Modern cars are much, much more reliable and durable than ones built at any time in the past. I continue to buy older cars because this has been false for me

by ghusto 3y ago

> Modern cars are much, much more reliable and durable than ones built at any time in the past. I continue to buy older cars because this has been false for me everywhere I've experienced new cars (borrowed, friends, my own). Pointing out lack of data to support an argument that relies on anecdotal evidence is good practice. However: - The anecdotal evidence is strong amongst older people - Data not existing doesn't mean it _can't_ exist I suspect that younger people are just used to things not working, so they don't complain. Then there's the fact that there is no incentive for anyone else to show things could be better (except the old codgers like myself, but we're not a profitable demographic). I scour online auctions for old gear, because I know it'll work. Hi-Fi systems built in the 90s for example, were the panicle of hi-fi. Heck, I even have a CRT from _thirty years ago_ that still works like new (now think of your smart T.V. in thirty years). Forget that, is there anything you've bought new in the last _ten_ years that you still have?

bouk 3y ago
Of course the old cars you can still buy now are the reliable ones, because the unreliable ones have long been scrapped
- ghusto 3y ago
  That, is an excellent point. However, the very reason I buy in them in the first place is that they proved themselves to me _at the time_. Believe it or not, what I'm saying is I never had a bad experience with cars from the 90s, in the 90s.
  - mikrotikker 3y ago
    The prices for 80s-90s 4wds like the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrols are climbing like crazy... Nissan even still make the 1990 model Patrol (GQ/Y60 frame) for the UN and Saudi Arabia.
  - mlrtime 3y ago
    You never owned a 90s Chrysler product I'm taking it? Absolute complete garbage.
  - empyrrhicist 3y ago
    The difference in body rust in winter climates with road salt is incredible, IME. Many cars from the 90s and early 2000s just absolutely fell apart.
    - neoromantique 3y ago
      I live in a place with real winters and road salt and I can assure you that modern cars are plenty corroded by 5 year mark if they weren't treated additionally post manufacturing for it.
jeffreygoesto 3y ago
I fitted a RasPi with mpd and a USB sound stick into a tube radio from 1958 that happily plays in our kitchen day by day, can stream live or NAS (important feature having children) and I just love the tube sound. http://imgur.com/a/r834D http://imgur.com/a/r834D
vladvasiliu 3y ago
For the cars, I think it depends, possibly even on your luck. My car is old enough to vote, and aside from one simple repair I could do in 15 minutes in my parents' garage with a part that was sold by the dealership for 60 €, it only ever needed changes of consumables. Hell, even the scheduled maintenance at the stealership costs a song, cheaper than my motorcycle. My dad's cars from the same era didn't fare so well and all required heavier repairs; none still work. Also, since we're talking anecdotes, my parents have thrown out all their CRT TVs and monitors because they've all failed in some way (I've personally never had any). And I'm typing this on a Dell LCD monitor from 2015 or so that still kicks ass and has great picture, even by today's standards. My 2013 MBP still has a working, good-looking screen, and it's been on the road a lot. > Forget that, is there anything you've bought new in the last _ten_ years that you still have? Yup, almost everything [0] still works like new, even my 2013 MBP which I've carted around a lot. It's not powerful enough anymore, so I have a new daily driver, but it still works. Hell, my gaming PC was bought circa 2013, and only had a new GPU 3 years ago (was bought for server work initially, so only had the cheapest GPU I could find). Still rocking the original SSDs, PSU, everything. Ditto for my wireless headphones I bought around 2018. The battery life is still good, the sound hasn't changed. I've mostly lived in rental apartments, so I don't have any anecdotes about household appliances. So not really sure what can be concluded from our anecdotes. --- [0] The only thing that broke was an MS Sculpt keyboard, which broke down after 4 years of daily use.
magicalhippo 3y ago
> Forget that, is there anything you've bought new in the last _ten_ years that you still have? My flatscreen TV and the sound bar that came with it. My daily-driver computer. My Samsung Galaxy S3 which I still use daily for some tasks, works fine. My washing machine. My Kenwood stand mixer. All around 10 years, all working fine still without repairs. That's just the things I could think of on the spot. There's very few things I've had to replace that were broken. Most things I've replaced because I wanted newer features, and have sold or given away the old item. I'll concede that my previous lawn mower falls in your category. It had a plastic bushing on the main shaft, which got torn up over time, and destroyed some other parts when it held a retirement party.
makingstuffs 3y ago
I think there is some truth and reasoning to your point and there is a missed point also: peoples’ desire/ability to repair broken modern appliances. An example of this is my mother’s cooker. She has had it for 15 years now and it is still going strong/only cost £300 when bought new. The main reason for this is the simple fact I’ve gone and repaired it when something on other failed. One repair was a power box — cost me £15 and 30 minutes. Two other repairs were heating filaments (one for the main oven, one for a job). If I remember correctly the total cost of the filaments was roughly £75. This is one example but I can think of many others where I have repaired appliances for friends and family when their initial reaction was “it’s broke, nothing lasts now, I need to buy a new X”.
tester756 3y ago
>Forget that, is there anything you've bought new in the last _ten_ years that you still have? GPU
verall 3y ago
My $20 Mr. Coffee my dad got me before I went to uni is about 9 years old, went through daily use for about 5 of those, stored outside for 2 years, has no problems. I think people buy cheap weird shit and are surprised when it breaks but if you buy simple cheap shit it tends to work until you physically break it - I expect my enameled lime hand-squeezer to last basically forever also since I don't dishwasher it.

by ghusto 3y ago

bouk 3y ago

Of course the old cars you can still buy now are the reliable ones, because the unreliable ones have long been scrapped

ghusto 3y ago
That, is an excellent point. However, the very reason I buy in them in the first place is that they proved themselves to me _at the time_. Believe it or not, what I'm saying is I never had a bad experience with cars from the 90s, in the 90s.
- mikrotikker 3y ago
  The prices for 80s-90s 4wds like the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrols are climbing like crazy... Nissan even still make the 1990 model Patrol (GQ/Y60 frame) for the UN and Saudi Arabia.
- mlrtime 3y ago
  You never owned a 90s Chrysler product I'm taking it? Absolute complete garbage.
- empyrrhicist 3y ago
  The difference in body rust in winter climates with road salt is incredible, IME. Many cars from the 90s and early 2000s just absolutely fell apart.
  - neoromantique 3y ago
    I live in a place with real winters and road salt and I can assure you that modern cars are plenty corroded by 5 year mark if they weren't treated additionally post manufacturing for it.

jeffreygoesto 3y ago

I fitted a RasPi with mpd and a USB sound stick into a tube radio from 1958 that happily plays in our kitchen day by day, can stream live or NAS (important feature having children) and I just love the tube sound. http://imgur.com/a/r834D http://imgur.com/a/r834D

vladvasiliu 3y ago

For the cars, I think it depends, possibly even on your luck. My car is old enough to vote, and aside from one simple repair I could do in 15 minutes in my parents' garage with a part that was sold by the dealership for 60 €, it only ever needed changes of consumables. Hell, even the scheduled maintenance at the stealership costs a song, cheaper than my motorcycle. My dad's cars from the same era didn't fare so well and all required heavier repairs; none still work. Also, since we're talking anecdotes, my parents have thrown out all their CRT TVs and monitors because they've all failed in some way (I've personally never had any). And I'm typing this on a Dell LCD monitor from 2015 or so that still kicks ass and has great picture, even by today's standards. My 2013 MBP still has a working, good-looking screen, and it's been on the road a lot. > Forget that, is there anything you've bought new in the last _ten_ years that you still have? Yup, almost everything [0] still works like new, even my 2013 MBP which I've carted around a lot. It's not powerful enough anymore, so I have a new daily driver, but it still works. Hell, my gaming PC was bought circa 2013, and only had a new GPU 3 years ago (was bought for server work initially, so only had the cheapest GPU I could find). Still rocking the original SSDs, PSU, everything. Ditto for my wireless headphones I bought around 2018. The battery life is still good, the sound hasn't changed. I've mostly lived in rental apartments, so I don't have any anecdotes about household appliances. So not really sure what can be concluded from our anecdotes. --- [0] The only thing that broke was an MS Sculpt keyboard, which broke down after 4 years of daily use.

magicalhippo 3y ago

> Forget that, is there anything you've bought new in the last _ten_ years that you still have? My flatscreen TV and the sound bar that came with it. My daily-driver computer. My Samsung Galaxy S3 which I still use daily for some tasks, works fine. My washing machine. My Kenwood stand mixer. All around 10 years, all working fine still without repairs. That's just the things I could think of on the spot. There's very few things I've had to replace that were broken. Most things I've replaced because I wanted newer features, and have sold or given away the old item. I'll concede that my previous lawn mower falls in your category. It had a plastic bushing on the main shaft, which got torn up over time, and destroyed some other parts when it held a retirement party.

makingstuffs 3y ago

I think there is some truth and reasoning to your point and there is a missed point also: peoples’ desire/ability to repair broken modern appliances. An example of this is my mother’s cooker. She has had it for 15 years now and it is still going strong/only cost £300 when bought new. The main reason for this is the simple fact I’ve gone and repaired it when something on other failed. One repair was a power box — cost me £15 and 30 minutes. Two other repairs were heating filaments (one for the main oven, one for a job). If I remember correctly the total cost of the filaments was roughly £75. This is one example but I can think of many others where I have repaired appliances for friends and family when their initial reaction was “it’s broke, nothing lasts now, I need to buy a new X”.

tester756 3y ago

>Forget that, is there anything you've bought new in the last _ten_ years that you still have? GPU

verall 3y ago

My $20 Mr. Coffee my dad got me before I went to uni is about 9 years old, went through daily use for about 5 of those, stored outside for 2 years, has no problems. I think people buy cheap weird shit and are surprised when it breaks but if you buy simple cheap shit it tends to work until you physically break it - I expect my enameled lime hand-squeezer to last basically forever also since I don't dishwasher it.