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This is a huge reason why I won't buy more modern vehicles. Safety features and fuel economy are night and day when comparing a 5 year old car and a 30 year ol

This is a huge reason why I won't buy more modern vehicles. Safety features and fuel economy are night and day when comparing a 5 year old car and a 30 year old one, but between the privacy issues and inability to diagnose or fix a new car I just can't do it. I bought an 80s model truck that sat in a garage for over a decade and has 50k original miles on it. I'm still chasing down a couple gremlins in the system, but its nice to be able to work on it myself. Bonus that it may not be driving perfectly right now but its happy keep on chugging, even if a sensor is bad or I get an occasional code for running lean.

alchemist1e9 2y ago
Isn’t the gas mileage really really bad though?
- uoaei 2y ago
  Everyone chooses their own balance of bills. Personally (I'm not who you're replying to) I'm happy to pay more in rent and utilities if it means I can ride my bicycle most places instead of, say, being a 10-minute drive from the nearest crosswalk. In the end, my emissions are probably much lower than someone who can't imagine leaving their house without their car keys even though I drive an ICE.
  - alchemist1e9 2y ago
    Makes sense. The other issue that is mentioned would be the safety features. Air bags and side impact systems are massive jumps forward in safety. Most people aren’t concerned enough with privacy to trade those for it.
    - _heimdall 2y ago
      Safety is definitely a tricky tradeoff for me. If I couldn't work on the vehicle myself either way I'd have something newer, the combo of privacy and maintenance tip the scales for me (definitely an outlier though).
      - uoaei 2y ago
        FWIW I'm the same, definitely sketched out by the thin pillars and lack of side airbags though. But I absolutely hate the GPS and presumably-always-on front- and rear-facing cameras.
        _heimdall 2y ago
        I'm always keeping an eye out for an old Volvo, they've been ahead of the game on safety for decades. I don't know when they first introduced side airbags, but in general I'd be very happy with a late 80s or 90s Volvo sedan or wagon, especially a diesel (mainly for reliability and ease of working on).
- _heimdall 2y ago
  We don't drive very much honestly, and the cost of maintenance has tended to even out. Our truck probably gets around 16 or 18 around town, up to 20 if the conditions are right. Not great compared to a modern truck with a 4 cylinder turbo, but I really don't think I go through more than a tank of gas in a month (albeit a larger 20 gallon tank)

alchemist1e9 2y ago

Isn’t the gas mileage really really bad though?

uoaei 2y ago
Everyone chooses their own balance of bills. Personally (I'm not who you're replying to) I'm happy to pay more in rent and utilities if it means I can ride my bicycle most places instead of, say, being a 10-minute drive from the nearest crosswalk. In the end, my emissions are probably much lower than someone who can't imagine leaving their house without their car keys even though I drive an ICE.
- alchemist1e9 2y ago
  Makes sense. The other issue that is mentioned would be the safety features. Air bags and side impact systems are massive jumps forward in safety. Most people aren’t concerned enough with privacy to trade those for it.
  - _heimdall 2y ago
    Safety is definitely a tricky tradeoff for me. If I couldn't work on the vehicle myself either way I'd have something newer, the combo of privacy and maintenance tip the scales for me (definitely an outlier though).
    - uoaei 2y ago
      FWIW I'm the same, definitely sketched out by the thin pillars and lack of side airbags though. But I absolutely hate the GPS and presumably-always-on front- and rear-facing cameras.
      - _heimdall 2y ago
        I'm always keeping an eye out for an old Volvo, they've been ahead of the game on safety for decades. I don't know when they first introduced side airbags, but in general I'd be very happy with a late 80s or 90s Volvo sedan or wagon, especially a diesel (mainly for reliability and ease of working on).
_heimdall 2y ago
We don't drive very much honestly, and the cost of maintenance has tended to even out. Our truck probably gets around 16 or 18 around town, up to 20 if the conditions are right. Not great compared to a modern truck with a 4 cylinder turbo, but I really don't think I go through more than a tank of gas in a month (albeit a larger 20 gallon tank)