Average car lifespan

[Tamworthbay]

I think the change has been rustproofing and electronics. You just don’t see rusty cars like you used to and that was what killed the majority of motors up the early 90s at least if not a bit longer. Now you go to a scrappy and the tartier ones look like a slightly down at heel 2nd hand car lot. The cost of repair outweighing the value. A perfect example being a guy at work who scrapped a perfectly good (well as good as they ever were, coz shite) Ford Cougar because of ABS issue that could not be fixed for sensible money. Apart from a lack of ABS the car was spot on. He had already bought a scrap one for spares a couple of years earlier to keep it going. It’s madness.

[tooSavvy]

Junkman:

 

"..The idiotic house prices are a psychological problem. People in Britain are oblivious to any form of scam, so they can call a pile of substandard rubble home, that in reality is owned by the organised crime they bailed out with the taxes they paid for the last eleven years and ongoing, which is crystal clear proof that the entire financial system is merely based on the assumption that everyone is a complete fuckwit.."

 

Ahh... You seen Wolf of Wallstreet?

 

Yes... You are so rite :/

[Junkman]

Although is this not a double edged sword for them?

 

Not in the quarterly shareholders' reports.

The entrepreneurial risk is completely stemmed by the workers anyway, as the recent layoffs and plant closures prove, which happen despite the promise not to do that when the employees were forced to bail out their employers in 2008. Do not forget the fact that you, too, paid for a brand new car that isn't parked on your driveway to save some jobs that are now axed. No worries, you'll pick up that bill, too, while the ones who cause these problems enjoy ever more generous tax breaks, so they can transfer a lot more of your and my money into their offshore accounts.

[gtd2000]

A much smaller one than in any other comparable country in the world I would say, why would anyone buy a cheap rhd car if they can get them from Japan? The rest wants lhd cars they find in Europe pretty much everywhere. Hence the extreme oversupply of used cars and their low value here.

 

Ever looked at the price of used RHD cars in South Africa, Zimbabwe etc.? Look at the prices in Cyprus, Malta or Ireland...you'll get a shock!

[bangernomics]

Sadly cars would last longer were it not for the cost of certain parts and labour.I remember paying £50 for a clutch kit for my mk2 cav - it was fitted in an hour. You cannot do that on an insignia.

Quite the point, RWD was and is much easier for the home mechanic. Less obscured driveshafts, easier access usually to service and sideways.

[fordperv]

I was having the same conversation with the maintenance man at work, he has a modus but he would rather have my car as he can't really do anything on the modus where as he used to do all his own work when he had cortinas and Anglia due to the simplicity and accessability of the rwd layout

[mk2_craig]

Average motorcycle lifespan?

[gtd2000]

I was having the same conversation with the maintenance man at work, he has a modus but he would rather have my car as he can't really do anything on the modus where as he used to do all his own work when he had cortinas and Anglia due to the simplicity and accessability of the rwd layout

 

I'm not really on the same page here.

 

Granted, French cars may well have more electrical gremlins than say, an Asian offering but on the whole, I'd say it's even easier to fix a car these days.

 

1. They are far more reliable and efficient than the old simple tech machines.

2. There's a 99.9% chance somebody else has the same problem and the solution is posted on the internet or viewable on Youtube etc.

[gtd2000]

Average motorcycle lifespan?

 

Back in the day I'd say 10,000 miles but now it seems that they simply go on forever and cost more than a car!

[The_Equalizer]

Ever looked at the price of used RHD cars in South Africa, Zimbabwe etc.? Look at the prices in Cyprus, Malta or Ireland...you'll get a shock!

 

I looked at getting cars from Ireland - big engined autoshite stuff - on the basis the road tax is nuts in RoI and I presumed that this would make them silly money. It is not the case. Despite the road tax being more than the car's value it would appear that people still buy them.

[ProgRocker]

The idiotic house prices are a psychological problem. People in Britain are oblivious to any form of scam, so they can call a pile of substandard rubble home, that in reality is owned by the organised crime they bailed out with the taxes they paid for the last eleven years and ongoing, which is crystal clear proof that the entire financial system is merely based on.

Nailed it!

[The_Equalizer]

Not in the quarterly shareholders' reports.

The entrepreneurial risk is completely stemmed by the workers anyway, as the recent layoffs and plant closures prove, which happen despite the promise not to do that when the employees were forced to bail out their employers in 2008. Do not forget the fact that you, too, paid for a brand new car that isn't parked on your driveway to save some jobs that are now axed. No worries, you'll pick up that bill, too, while the ones who cause these problems enjoy ever more generous tax breaks, so they can transfer a lot more of your and my money into their offshore accounts.

 

What did you say the name of this publicly underwritten, cannot fail company was? I am off to buy some shares.

[fordperv]

I'm not really on the same page here.

 

Granted, French cars may well have more electrical gremlins than say, an Asian offering but on the whole, I'd say it's even easier to fix a car these days.

 

1. They are far more reliable and efficient than the old simple tech machines.

2. There's a 99.9% chance somebody else has the same problem and the solution is posted on the internet or viewable on Youtube etc.

Its more the argument of time taken to do the job, needing specialist tools like good diagnostics rather than using your ears and eyes

 

More modern vehicles require the front of the car to be removed to do the simplest of jobs whereas a basic rwd car you can have major jobs like taking the gearbox off or taking the engine out in super quick time with minimal fuss

 

in my opinion the 90s were the best compromise with cars they were reliable and still easy to work on for even the most bumbling of home mechanic

[Tamworthbay]

Its more the argument of time taken to do the job, needing specialist tools like good diagnostics rather than using your ears and eyes

More modern vehicles require the front of the car to be removed to do the simplest of jobs whereas a basic rwd car you can have major jobs like taking the gearbox off or taking the engine out in super quick time with minimal fuss

in my opinion the 90s were the best compromise with cars they were reliable and still easy to work on for even the most bumbling of home mechanic

This^^^^^ Take something like a pinto as an example, I have changed cambelts in a couple of hours tops with nothing more complex than a socket set on my drive, on my 2001 v70 it took two of us about eight hours with a lift and a load of specialist spacers and tools and that was without trying to time the pump in. I was quoted £900 to do it, had It not been for the offers from Jez and others on here then it probably would have been scrapped. Then there is the availability of parts, just look at the hassle one of our own had sorting an abs sensor on a Celica. I can buy any part for a 60s mini or minor off the shelf but can’t get basic parts for 15 year old jap cars.

[gtd2000]

Its more the argument of time taken to do the job, needing specialist tools like good diagnostics rather than using your ears and eyes

 

More modern vehicles require the front of the car to be removed to do the simplest of jobs whereas a basic rwd car you can have major jobs like taking the gearbox off or taking the engine out in super quick time with minimal fuss

 

in my opinion the 90s were the best compromise with cars they were reliable and still easy to work on for even the most bumbling of home mechanic

 

What I've found over the years is that if you previously bought a Japanese car (ate 80's/90's), rarely anything went wrong and they were as cheap as chips to replace when you got bored. This has changed unfortunately....

 

I then moved onto Malaysian and Korean Cars.

 

Malaysian were very reliable (Mitsubishi) designs but a pretty rough and unsophisticated driving experience, based on a sample of 2 x 1998 Proton Persona cars.

 

Korean cars, have improved drastically but what I'm finding with them (KIA & Hyundai) is that if there's a, "known fault", it's almost 100%, that I'll experience it! Thankfully the internet has provided the solutions in every case so far, in one case, with zero cost involved.

 

Things like a cheap Chinese ELM327 Bluetooth code reader for US$5 will likely provide the answers for the majority of minor issues.

[tooSavvy]

^^ Hiyya m8... Wocha dooinn

[JeeExEll]

Interesting Volvo advert from 1984.

 

 

 

It also brought to mind ShiteKnightFOAD's 1977 Anniversary Special which laughs in the face of time.

The expected 16 years + another 16 years + a further 9 years, so far . . .

[Dirk Diggler]

I looked at getting cars from Ireland - big engined autoshite stuff - on the basis the road tax is nuts in RoI and I presumed that this would make them silly money. It is not the case. Despite the road tax being more than the car's value it would appear that people still buy them.

Very little pre 2007 has a value here; until they get to 20 and cute hoors can nearly smell the €56 tax; then it's a classic yessir....

 

Lots of stuff advertised here, very few sales of anything older, insurance has it all killed.

 

Case in point, my 2002 daily insurance renewal last week, €758. The only other quote was €2800 and everybody else declined. I'm nearly 40, no accidents, claims or convictions in a low risk occupation and postcode and it ain't a Ferrari.

[The_Equalizer]

Very little pre 2007 has a value here; until they get to 20 and cute hoors can nearly smell the €56 tax; then it's a classic yessir....

 

Lots of stuff advertised here, very few sales of anything older, insurance has it all killed.

 

Case in point, my 2002 daily insurance renewal last week, €758. The only other quote was €2800 and everybody else declined. I'm nearly 40, no accidents, claims or convictions in a low risk occupation and postcode and it ain't a Ferrari.

 

Perhaps we can have a get together and shuffle some stuff over the border for a tidy profit! Did not realise that 20 years made it the 56 Euro tax band - I thought it was older. I was looking at big engined Jags and Mercs, but they seemd all to be similar money to what they are in Northern Ireland. That said, NI seems to carry a premium over GB. The price of 'classics' on Done Deal make my eyes water.

 

Speaking of insurance. I did laugh that it was possible for me to get insured on a Bentley Continental R, fully comp, parked on the drive very close to what used to be Europe's largest housing estate for £400.

[bangernomics]

Average motorcycle lifespan?

My old cbf600 did 158k before i sold it on and my pals brother in law is still using it daily in all weathers. Modern jap stuff is mega reliable if they’re not full on crotchrockets.

[Dirk Diggler]

Perhaps we can have a get together and shuffle some stuff over the border for a tidy profit! Did not realise that 20 years made it the 56 Euro tax band - I thought it was older. I was looking at big engined Jags and Mercs, but they seemd all to be similar money to what they are in Northern Ireland. That said, NI seems to carry a premium over GB. The price of 'classics' on Done Deal make my eyes water.

 

Speaking of insurance. I did laugh that it was possible for me to get insured on a Bentley Continental R, fully comp, parked on the drive very close to what used to be Europe's largest housing estate for £400.

It's 30 for the tax but they can smell it; classic stuff here is overpriced stuff that has been imported, old type logbooks are sold openly often with blank vins on Donedeal so there's very little I'd trust.

 

I'd say there's good money to be made in certain premium stuff 2000- bought here and sold in the UK; there's actually a scheme to get a vrt (the tax people pay to re-register an English car in Ireland) rebate if the car has been previously imported. I posted a good 2003 4.4 X5 the other day on the eBay thread that you could have had sitting in the UK for €1500; how much is one worth there and would it sell (selling one would be impossible here)

[danthecapriman]

Interesting Volvo advert from 1984.

It also brought to mind ShiteKnightFOAD's 1977 Anniversary Special which laughs in the face of time.

The expected 16 years + another 16 years + a further 9 years, so far . . .

They did a similar advert for the 700 series, but the designed life expectancy was 21 years.

 

If that sort of thing is good business sense or not? If you make something last a long time then people won’t be buying new ones off you. Cars or any other products, the whole purpose of making them is to sell as many as you can for max profit. 21 years, most people would have had two or three other cars in that time.

[Tamworthbay]

They did a similar advert for the 700 series, but the designed life expectancy was 21 years.

If that sort of thing is good business sense or not? If you make something last a long time then people won’t be buying new ones off you. Cars or any other products, the whole purpose of making them is to sell as many as you can for max profit. 21 years, most people would have had two or three other cars in that time.

But it gives the impression of a quality product that will last and therefore not cost the owner much to maintain and be worth more when you come to sell. I don’t think they expect many owners to keep them that long.

[willswitchengage]

Remember that cars sold within the EU market are all pretty much the same. A Polish or Spanish or British person has the same choices at the forecourt. We'll assume prices are all roughly equivalent, but affordability of new cars obviously varies as some countries are wealthier than others. Britain isn't that wealthy really - our GDP/head is roughly the median of the EU. Scandinavians, Germans, Austrians and those from the Benelux on average earn more than we do. Yet they typically change their cars less frequently than we do based on the data presented in a few posts here. I'm therefore assuming that wealth and affordability isn't the only factor at play.

 

Yes we have a maritime climate that's wetter than most - but how many cars are killed by rust nowadays? Fewer than in the past.

 

I'll assume too that MOTs and foreign equivalents like the CT and TUV are largely harmonised these days - so in the more modern countries there shouldn't be much difference there.

 

Personally I reckon it's an attitude of aversion to second hand cars and potentially more intense or frequent use - can't find any data on this but judging by increased congestion, we're using cars a lot more than ever before.

 

For a similar topic Google how the world appears to have reached 'peak smartphone'.

[SiC]

The wealthiest people I've come across tend to run 15+ year old cars whereas people who you would expect not to have 2 halfpennies to rub together put themselves in hock for a new Juke.

 

You don't get rich by spending money!

[sierraman]

I’m not sure where I fit in with that statement, I’ve got fuck all money and an old banger.

[Tamworthbay]

You don't get rich by spending money!

The Earl of March still uses a Bentley blower bought by his great great grandfather, I often wonder how much it has cost to run per mile over that time compared to a corsa with plastic accessories on a PCP deal and chopped in at three years. Of course it helps to be a multi millionaire to start with.........

[mk2_craig]

Remember that cars sold within the EU market are all pretty much the same. A Polish or Spanish or British person has the same choices at the forecourt. We'll assume prices are all roughly equivalent, but affordability of new cars obviously varies as some countries are wealthier than others. Britain isn't that wealthy really - our GDP/head is roughly the median of the EU. Scandinavians, Germans, Austrians and those from the Benelux on average earn more than we do. Yet they typically change their cars less frequently than we do based on the data presented in a few posts here. I'm therefore assuming that wealth and affordability isn't the only factor at play.

 

Yes we have a maritime climate that's wetter than most - but how many cars are killed by rust nowadays? Fewer than in the past.

 

I'll assume too that MOTs and foreign equivalents like the CT and TUV are largely harmonised these days - so in the more modern countries there shouldn't be much difference there.

 

Personally I reckon it's an attitude of aversion to second hand cars and potentially more intense or frequent use - can't find any data on this but judging by increased congestion, we're using cars a lot more than ever before.

 

For a similar topic Google how the world appears to have reached 'peak smartphone'.

Makes a certain amount of sense, be interesting to see what happens if the world moves more towards "mobility as a service" rather than individual vehicle ownership.

 

Some other thoughts: British car retail prices used to be a chunk higher than Continental (prompting personal import explosion late 1990s), also U.K. spec levels generally higher than our European neighbours?

[brandersnatch]

Average motorcycle lifespan?

My work Yamaha FJR1300 has just passed 141000 and it’s as sweet as.

I took a BMW K100 up to 250000 miles plus about a year without a speedo so add 30-40000 to that.

Regular servicing is the key as we all know.

 

 

 

 

One’s too many, ten’s not enough!

[Jewel25]

My 45 is 18 years old and has covered 124,000 miles . If I spent 800 quid getting it back on the road perhaps it could give me another 50,000 miles . It has already been welded though and needs more - thus puts me off slightly. Is it worth spending the money?

 

My Mazda 6 is 12 years old , covered 140,000 and feels like it would do 200,000 easily. It will also need welding soon. I'm quite happy to spend a few hundred a year to keep it going rather than spend 5000-8000 on somethung newer .