Yeah, seen plenty of peel too. That is true. Just noted that I saw more older cars down there than here still buzzing along. Does that mean rust worse? Don't know just an observation. Maybe someone can find the average vehicle age by state.
Why Do Vehicles "Wear Out"
- Thread starter Al
- Start date
I think in Arizona they take some paint from the back of the trunk and graft it on the front of the hood. Wait a minute.
The last engine failure I had was 23 years ago. I've had one transmission failure. I have never taken a car to its end and have sold everything in excellent condition aside from two cars. I would consider chassis failure to be the end of a vehicle if a repair cost didn't make it seem unfeasable. I've had two that I would consider mechanically totaled, as in the repair even if mundane was more than the car was worth. That was a 1996 Nissan 240SX and a 2004 Lincoln LS V8. The Nissan was only worth a couple of grand when I could not get it to pass emissions for an electrical issue I just couldn't get figured out. Seemed to be a wiring harness issue though. The Lincoln had a component with the idle air valve that was a known failure with no aftermarket option to fix and the OEM part was no longer available. A used part was fairly inexpensive, but the repair itself was pretty time consuming to get to. The labor was high and while working for the railroad I did not have time to deal with it, so I traded it. It was fixed(or ignored, I'm not sure) and I still see the car drive around town. It still looks brand new because that's how I take care of my cars and I'm happy to see the new owner has done the same years later.
Yep. That’s how I feel.
Another issue is losing confidence in a vehicle.
My '65 Comet more or less left us on the road - twice. It was fine on the level but it would lose power on hills. I nursed it home somehow (on quite a hilly highway) but that wasn't safe or comfortable.
I think the issue was a failing ignition coil. But I didn't want to take a chance on driving it on long trips anymore even with a new coil. And as I had only one vehicle at the time, it had to go.
My '65 Comet more or less left us on the road - twice. It was fine on the level but it would lose power on hills. I nursed it home somehow (on quite a hilly highway) but that wasn't safe or comfortable.
I think the issue was a failing ignition coil. But I didn't want to take a chance on driving it on long trips anymore even with a new coil. And as I had only one vehicle at the time, it had to go.
Let me think about my past vehicles.
Rav4 was the transmission broke catastrophically.
Corolla was a crash
My old jeep kept throwing oil leaks from various rubber seals and finally the RMS which was more expensive than I wanted to spend and out of my ability to DIY.
Had other old cars that went to the junkyard. The "rubber" seals only last so long before drying up and causing leaks.
Rav4 was the transmission broke catastrophically.
Corolla was a crash
My old jeep kept throwing oil leaks from various rubber seals and finally the RMS which was more expensive than I wanted to spend and out of my ability to DIY.
Had other old cars that went to the junkyard. The "rubber" seals only last so long before drying up and causing leaks.
And that's a good thing....Someone has to buy new vehicle's to keep this whole thing going!
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Everyone gets a piece of the pie whether you keep it or replace it. If you keep it, the auto parts stores benefit, if you buy new, the car factories benefit, etc It's a big pie
No time for DIY if you're working all the live-long day
Cars are way more than just an engine and transmission. Other things stop working because they wear out too. But because nobody pays any attentions to them, unless they stop working, we call it breaking.
When an AC compressor goes out it’s likely because something inside of it wore out.
When an alternator stops charging, it’s because something inside wore out.
The only thing that doesn’t really wear out is electronics. Everything mechanical does in fact wear out and doesn’t just break out of the blue. It just that nobody pays any attention to these components when they work properly.
Patman
Staff member
In my Honda Civic it has a touchscreen that controls a lot of different things including most of the controls for the climate control. If this screen dies it is not a cheap fix so I envision a lot of 2016+ Civics in the future that get scrapped simply because someone doesn’t want to spend thousands of dollars to fix it. I bet there are a lot of newer cars that end up being scrapped in the coming decades because of a failure of the touchscreen that controls so many things in the car.
Nah, the future is not so bleak. Electronics can also be repaired, there just needs to be demand for it.
I’ve been following some electronic repair guys on YouTube and the PCBA level diagnostic and repairs these guys do are nothing short of fantastic. Lots of them repair graphic cards which have been deemed unfixable by the manufacturers themselves.
Search for NorthridgeFix, this guy repairs anything from broken laptops to car key fobs.
Patman
Staff member
That’s good to know. My Civic has not cost me anything in repairs in the 4 years I’ve had it and it has 262,000 km on it and honestly doesn’t feel that old at all. My big concern with this car is the failure of the touchscreen as I have heard of a few people with tenth generation Civics that had it fail even when the cars were not that old.
That’s a concern for sure, since it controls more than just the radio. If you’re planning to keep it for several more years, perhaps getting another used and working unit is not a bad idea.
How expensive are they? That should be a good indication if they are in demand or not.
Rust.
I can replace a seat. I can replace an engine. I can replace a transmission.
I can not replace missing parts of the vehicle easily. I will be attempting to do a rocker and cab corner on my rusty old F-350 but that's only because I can't justify a newer one
I can replace a seat. I can replace an engine. I can replace a transmission.
I can not replace missing parts of the vehicle easily. I will be attempting to do a rocker and cab corner on my rusty old F-350 but that's only because I can't justify a newer one
I think these touch screens they put in vehicles now days are part of the built-in obsolescence of newer vehicles. When they go bad, in many cases it renders the vehicle useless...
Patman
Staff member
I haven’t fully investigated what they might cost in Canada but I was under the impression that it’s a part that costs at least $2000US
Please tell me it’s at least for a new unit. It’s pricey for sure.I haven’t fully investigated what they might cost in Canada but I was under the impression that it’s a part that costs at least $2000US
What would all the vehicle manufactures do, if they built cars that lasted forever? . The price of a car that would never wear out would cost a big fortune. Vehicle manufactures build vehicle they believe will be used in the manner in which they were intended. Not raced at tracks,or overloaded with bags of cement from Home depot. Or run without oil or coolant or trans fluid on a regular basis. Or off roaded, driven thru floods, or jumped off ramps. How many starts will you get out of anyones starter?. Even back in the days of horses and wagons, every so often the wheel fell off or the horse died.,,
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