Quote:
Originally Posted by XYZ
Now ask yourself, before you buy anything again - how does it benefit YOU?
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It doesn't. I don't buy new cars.
The big problem for car manufacturers is they have to build a car to last beyond the warranty. Because people are always going to abuse them, misuse them and ignore maintenance. If they build the cars to last exactly up to the end of the warranty, you'd have a huge percentage of failures before the end of the warranty.
So they have to overbuild them a bit... but they can't overbuild too much, otherwise the car would cost too much.
Still... they've overbuilt enough of them to a high enough degree that they're stuck competing with their own secondhands (the African problem comes to mind... where cheap secondhand Japanese imports hurt sales of economy cars). Those that don't overbuild them enough lose customers in the long run. (ref: Domestic manufacturers)
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Yeah, the manufacturers are screwing you over, but there's a limit to how much they can screw you over and still remain profitable... just as there's a limit to how much they can overdeliver on quality and still remain profitable.
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What I feel bad about is that enviornmental regulations are causing the price of brand new cars to go up and longevity to go down. Regulations on zinc in motor oil combined with ever thinner motor oils and tighter tolerances (with looser, lower friction piston rings) plus more environmentally friendly bearings mean that modern engines might not last anywhere near as long as older motors. Especially considering valve deposit issues with direct injection and fuel system problems that result from the high pressures.
And then you get to dual-mass flywheels, dual-clutch transmissions and other such unnecessary complications.
If I were to buy a car, nowadays, it would be something like the Mirage. Cheap, standard fuel injection system, but engine optimized perfectly for economy.
No turbo. No direct injection. No high compression. No dual mass flywheel or dual-clutch transmission. No active engine mounts. Just four wheels, a motor and a transmission.