[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

If you think the safety stuff being mandatory has made safe cars affordable to all I think you should look at some of the cars made for other countries without it and how affordable they are. Those cars still are reasonably safe yet cost under $5000 brand new. I don't know any poor people that can afford any new car in America. They probably could if they cost $3000-$5000. As a plus those cars also get really good gas mileage compared to the 1/2 broken down 15 year old Ford they are priced into because of our great government saving them with tire pressure monitors, crumple zones, side impact bars, backup cameras, 6 airbags, etc. Etc. Etc.

I have got news for you my friend.
Go visit the 3rd world and see.

The 15 year old cars that have no value in the rich countries are being exported in large numbers to the lesser fortunated countries, where the low wages make fixing them again and again financially reasonable.

That is a good thing - that way they profit from the safety features made mandatory 15 years ago.
My '98 Nissan Almera had airbags, ABS, seat belt tensioners, you name it.
These cars are expensive, by their standards.

The Tata Nano is not a safe car, even compared to those 15 year old cars.
But the Nano is not aimed at people who buy old cars.
It was meant to get the families of 5 off their scooters.
As a bare bin on wheels, it is still a lot safer than an overloaded scooter.

In the US and Europe you see some 5 year old cars being sold for less than a third of their original value. Their safety equipment may be slightly outdated - but will still save lives.

If they did not have the safety stuff back then they would have been cheaper - but less than a third of that difference in cost will have persisted.
So now you can get a 5 year old car with all the safety stuff for 1/3 of what it did cost.
And the older the car gets, the less the safety stuff in it would have cost you.

Second hand cars with all the safety equipment are nearly just as affordable as they would have been without all that.
It is the new car buyers that pay most for the safety stuff.