Old Cars more Reliable ?

[canthai55]

 

[Kwasaki]

My old Fireblade is reliable because if something goes wrong I can fix it myself without having to use computers.

Same with a Volvo I had for 24 years before passing it on to my son.  ????????

Edited June 10, 2021 by Kwasaki

[Jitar]

Depends on how old.  The 40+ year old cars certainly rusted a lot more reliably than newer cars. 

[alacrity]

With newer vehicles, the days of needing to have a can of WD 40 in the glovebox or under the seat are gone. There's been a sea-change in manufacturing technologies which have made it, so.

 

However, new issues have arisen due to the 'new' mass production 'ethos'. Control of JIT and OEM is a nightmare, whereby quality is consistently compromised, driven by a need to not attenuate flow. This leads to sub-standard items being incorporated in the build and software amendments made to obfuscate the manufacturing errors.

 

That's okay if the software isn't compiled by idiots that don't do a thorough test of their encoding. My sons first BMW was an M5 which frequently 'limped home' and the only reset was available at the dealership. His latest one is much better in that respect. Yet now, it will take over control if he doesn't spend 30 minutes 'telling' it what  he wants it to do before leaving the car lot.

 

Older vehicles are much easier to maintain by the owner and you get to drive it.

[Tuvoc]

Old cars when they were < 10 years old back in the day  I do believe were far more reliable than a new car bought 10 years ago now. Much less complicated and far less to go wrong.

 

However, a 30-40 year old car today ? Assuming you can still get parts for it the answer I think is no - you can't escape mileage and age. And it will be annoying but important small things like windscreen wiper linkages, motors etc, interior controls too that will fail that would not be happening on newer stuff. And rust of course, although with no salt on Thai roads that perhaps isn't as big an issue as in UK for example.

[Lacessit]

IMO it depends on who the manufacturer was.

I have a 2006 Toyota Vios, bought it with 83K on the odometer, now on 170K. Has never missed a beat, still going strong. The 1.5 litre motor is bulletproof.

OTOH, I also owned a 1989 Mercedes Benz with the "legendary" W180 straight six motor. Bought that with 81K on the odometer. Damn thing was a money pit nightmare, stranded me in traffic twice, had to be towed. Could not wait to get rid of it.

Even if I could afford one brand new, I still would not touch it with a barge pole.

The Mitsubishi Magna AWD I gave my son in Australia is still going at 300K, and I've seen Nissan Sunny's here with 350K. Draw your own conclusions.

[millymoopoo]

On 6/10/2021 at 2:39 PM, Kwasaki said:

My old Fireblade is reliable because if something goes wrong I can fix it myself without having to use computers

Totally agree, way easier to fix something you can see is worn or broken.!

How do you see a broken sub program within the ECUs main program without thousands of dollars of specialist equipment.?

Which I've just experienced, at the dealers workshop, at a cost of hundreds of dollars, for what, reprogramming a computer..!

Whereas my old Datsun super six (1970) which I still have, still runs fine, starts every time, drives smoothly, not rusted (garaged), has nothing computerised, and uses about the same amount of fuel as the Ford.!

[The Fugitive]

Echo the above. We have Honda City and Toyota Vios saloons both from early years of the Century. Plus a 1995 Toyota Hilux Mighty X. All reliable, economical to run and spares are cheap. About to have a complete respray on the Mighty X. Thai guys love to customise them. Certain they'll become classics.

[Kwasaki]

14 minutes ago, millymoopoo said:

Totally agree, way easier to fix something you can see is worn or broken.!

How do you see a broken sub program within the ECUs main program without thousands of dollars of specialist equipment.?

Which I've just experienced, at the dealers workshop, at a cost of hundreds of dollars, for what, reprogramming a computer..!

Whereas my old Datsun super six (1970) which I still have, still runs fine, starts every time, drives smoothly, not rusted (garaged), has nothing computerised, and uses about the same amount of fuel as the Ford.!

Good to hear the same sentiments as me, I know I'm old school but my bike doesn't have anything on it that it doesn't need. 

My bike is a bike not a load of unnecessary claptrap that's on bike these days and turned them into laptop. ????????????

[JAS21]

Our Everest is coming up for six years old. Basically it has been fine.

 

Guy down the road got his new Mercedes only a week or so ago … saw the mothership come and collect it yesterday…

[Tug]

Imo new cars are far more reliable (from a reliable brand)with the caveat of the much more complex electronic systems the obd2 tester is a great help in fixing most electrical issues though a typical example is my fj cruiser almost 300,000 miles on the original clutch I do lots of off-road and tow trailers with it I do normal maintenance and don’t abuse it but it does work it’s not a (mall crawler)if you catch my drift

[BritManToo]

My pals 4 year old Ford EcoSport (or summit like that) has been in the workshop for 4 months ....... computer failed, 45,000bht repair but they can't get the part.

My 25 year old Nissan BigM has had big repairs this year for the first time ever, including the seat covers replaced, new alternator, lots of brake parts, air-con pump, new injectors, new front tires, 12,000bht.

 

Please don't tell me new cars are more reliable.

[RobMuir]

This is Thailand.

 

It isn't so much as the cars, it is the attitude of the mechanics.

 

A lot of them would rather do a "modify" than actually bother to find the correct part. Which is often cheaper, often a failure, usually doesn't last and can also lead to other modifications.

 

I had a Chev sold in Thailand, but it was made abroad. 

The local Pattaya dealership told me I had to get it services in BKk which was a major hassle.

I arrived one day to pick it up and the oil change light was still coming on dispite that they changed the oil. I watched them stuff around with the buttons for ages and told them to get the mechanics manual. They were shocked that I would ask for something like it, and they couldn't find one, so obviously never referred to it despite not having a clue. 

While I was waiting stressing thinking I was going to get stuck in Bangkok peak hour I searched it on the internet, found a YouTube video showing how to do it myself. It was as simple as pushing two buttons together at the same time for 4 seconds. 

 

<deleted> useless.

 

Chev have since left the country. 

 

Most cars will  so 500,00kms plus a if they are services by a good mechanic who actually knows what he is doing. 

[elgenon]

I would never buy a "new" car. One whose innards haven't been road tested. When I bought my Acura I was told by a friend who's a MB mechanic that the engine was "bullet proof". Had been used for years. No problems.

[1FinickyOne]

On 6/13/2021 at 10:08 PM, BritManToo said:

they can't get the part.

a friend of mine had a similar issue with his liver - took 2 years to get a used one and even that is not expected to last more than a few years... [wrong forum?] 

[PFMills]

On 6/10/2021 at 1:39 PM, Kwasaki said:

My old Fireblade is reliable because if something goes wrong I can fix it myself without having to use computers.

Same with a Volvo I had for 24 years before passing it on to my son.  ????????

I think there could be an oxymoron hiding within

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, PFMills said:

I think there could be an oxymoron hiding within

Not really just age and liking simple so I can fix it myself. 

[utalkin2me]

If you treat a Japanese car well I don’t think we have anything to complain about on the lifespan. 

[canthai55]

I do not mind the modern cars, but they have gone way way overboard.

Lane departure warning, auto braking, ...

What ever happened to actually driving the car ? Paying attention to what is going on around you ?

And needless complexity - having a noisy cooling fan trigger a check engine light and needing a trip to the dealer, not even counting the price for the POS fans and the mechanics time. For a cooling fan for the battery bank ? Because the signal is degraded - 'cause it is a cheap trash part ?

Insanity