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People used to buy a car for life. These cars from the past were built differently and made a good name for German cars. Golf 4 is a legend. Now it’s crap made

by lnsru 2y ago

People used to buy a car for life. These cars from the past were built differently and made a good name for German cars. Golf 4 is a legend. Now it’s crap made for 150000 miles and then time to buy a new one. All brands the same! Source: buddy from Bosch from ECU department sharing the requirements for modern car. And recent sad personal experience.

f1shy 2y ago
The requirements from all auto makers, not only for ECU, but every single part is 10 Years/ 100k km for low end, 15 Years 150k km for high end. I think that is no secret. And that is 100% the experience if you buy a car, there is a point where the maintenance per year is more than the value of the car itself. At that point the car is effectively 0 EUR value. I hear in USA the Toyotas hold much longer... I'm not sure why, if it is true, and what are the conditions.
- bobim 2y ago
  The maintenance must be seen as per the service value, not the car value. If it's in good condition then maintain it and drive until pistons goes through the head. Keep this gray energy off the scrapeyard.
- wil421 2y ago
  I’ve take a mid 2000s Corolla and a 4Runner to 250k. The Corolla was still running with a slight radiator leak. The 4Runner had a transmission banging noise I didn’t want to fix. No salt on my roads and little to no rust on either.
- itsoktocry 2y ago
  >but every single part is 10 Years/ 100k km for low end, 15 Years 150k km for high end Every car I've owned has gone well over 150,000 km without anything but regular maintenance. It's really hard to kill a modern engine. Yes, things wear out and need to be replaced.
itsoktocry 2y ago
>People used to buy a car for life. When? The 1940s? We know this isn't true, based on the existence of older cars, today. I'd put money on a barebones car of today outlasting nearly anything of the past.
- adrian_b 2y ago
  My father has used a car bought in 1973 for about 35 years, most of which it has been used daily for going to his office, while in vacations it has also been used on many mountain roads of very bad quality. When he has stopped using the car, that has been more because the driver was worn off, not the car. Obviously, during all those years the car has been repaired many times, but in almost all cases by himself and only a few times at a car workshop. Similar lifetimes have been typical for many other things bought during the seventies, like washing machines, TV sets and other such household appliances. The products designed for short lifetimes have become widespread mostly after 1990 and especially after 2000.
  - technothrasher 2y ago
    I can't speak for Germany, but in the US the average age of personal vehicles has been consistently increasing from 5.6 years in 1977 to 12.6 years in 2024. (Data from Summary of Travel Trends: 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, and 2024 IHS Markit Co., Average Age of Light Cars and Trucks in U.S)
  - vanviegen 2y ago
    If over the course of a hundred years, you gradually replace all of the wood that makes up a ship at least once, is it still the same ship? That was easier to do with 70s cars than with modern cars of course. I agree that consumer products in most categories have become throwaway crap in recent decades. But quite a few cars, at least in my experience, are still built to last.
- taneq 2y ago
  Agreed. When I was a kid (80s/90s), a 15-year-old car was barely worth keeping running and a 20-year-old car was a rusted-out piece of junk. Today a 15-year-old car can be quite nice and there are plenty of unremarkable 20-year-old cars still getting around just fine.

by lnsru 2y ago

f1shy 2y ago

The requirements from all auto makers, not only for ECU, but every single part is 10 Years/ 100k km for low end, 15 Years 150k km for high end. I think that is no secret. And that is 100% the experience if you buy a car, there is a point where the maintenance per year is more than the value of the car itself. At that point the car is effectively 0 EUR value. I hear in USA the Toyotas hold much longer... I'm not sure why, if it is true, and what are the conditions.

bobim 2y ago
The maintenance must be seen as per the service value, not the car value. If it's in good condition then maintain it and drive until pistons goes through the head. Keep this gray energy off the scrapeyard.
wil421 2y ago
I’ve take a mid 2000s Corolla and a 4Runner to 250k. The Corolla was still running with a slight radiator leak. The 4Runner had a transmission banging noise I didn’t want to fix. No salt on my roads and little to no rust on either.
itsoktocry 2y ago
>but every single part is 10 Years/ 100k km for low end, 15 Years 150k km for high end Every car I've owned has gone well over 150,000 km without anything but regular maintenance. It's really hard to kill a modern engine. Yes, things wear out and need to be replaced.

itsoktocry 2y ago

>People used to buy a car for life. When? The 1940s? We know this isn't true, based on the existence of older cars, today. I'd put money on a barebones car of today outlasting nearly anything of the past.

adrian_b 2y ago
My father has used a car bought in 1973 for about 35 years, most of which it has been used daily for going to his office, while in vacations it has also been used on many mountain roads of very bad quality. When he has stopped using the car, that has been more because the driver was worn off, not the car. Obviously, during all those years the car has been repaired many times, but in almost all cases by himself and only a few times at a car workshop. Similar lifetimes have been typical for many other things bought during the seventies, like washing machines, TV sets and other such household appliances. The products designed for short lifetimes have become widespread mostly after 1990 and especially after 2000.
- technothrasher 2y ago
  I can't speak for Germany, but in the US the average age of personal vehicles has been consistently increasing from 5.6 years in 1977 to 12.6 years in 2024. (Data from Summary of Travel Trends: 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, and 2024 IHS Markit Co., Average Age of Light Cars and Trucks in U.S)
- vanviegen 2y ago
  If over the course of a hundred years, you gradually replace all of the wood that makes up a ship at least once, is it still the same ship? That was easier to do with 70s cars than with modern cars of course. I agree that consumer products in most categories have become throwaway crap in recent decades. But quite a few cars, at least in my experience, are still built to last.
taneq 2y ago
Agreed. When I was a kid (80s/90s), a 15-year-old car was barely worth keeping running and a 20-year-old car was a rusted-out piece of junk. Today a 15-year-old car can be quite nice and there are plenty of unremarkable 20-year-old cars still getting around just fine.