Quote:
Originally Posted by Christ
I don't think I agree with the idea of planned obsolescence either, honestly. I've seen far too many vehicles last for 10 years or more with very little to nearly no maintenance to really believe in it, and then you've got the "lifetime" powertrain warranties...
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I think planned obsolescence is very real, but I think the manufacturers are considerably more stylish and nonchalant about it. They don't want their engines to fail or other mechanical parts to necessarily fall apart on a schedule, but they do want the car to start showing its age after a couple years, to encourage you to buy a new one - not because your old one failed you (then you might not buy another of THEIRS) but because it's just getting old and we're all dumb enough (at minimum until our 30's or so) to treat vehicles as fashion accessories instead of a utility. An example of this would be the disappearance of bumpers from cars, an '81 Escort could take a pretty good hit on its shock-mounted bumpers without showing any real signs of damage. A 2001 Escort would take the same hit but the front "bumper cover" would flake off some of its paint, maybe a couple clips would break and it would sag a bit, making the car look just a little less cool to its owner.
Along those lines I also think that ease of repair is intentionally de-prioritized to increase the labor cost of fixing your old junk, decrease the ease of aftermarket suppliers in supplying parts, and reduce your likelyhood of fixing your own old car rather than buying a new one.
I don't think any of this is a strong push or high priority engineering goal of the automotive manufacturers.... but I do think it still is an inherent and intentional part of the automobile industry.
That being said, I believe OEM/dealer-supplied oil filters are of good quality in general, as are the OEM-supplied lubricants and other various parts. I don't think they are trying to make your car stop working as part of some elaborate scheme to steal your wallet.
