Why I don't like new cars

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

I work for a multi-brand service. The bulk of the arriving cars belongs to the two most common car manufacturers:

1.approximately 40% of our customers drive VAG cars (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Porsche, Bentley)

2. another 30% is the Ford / Mazda / Volvo group. Although the Volvos stand a little apart, by and large, it's still the same Ford.

I have the most statistics on them, there are other brands as well.

Every year I am more and more convinced that there is something like a conspiracy among these corporations. No, I'm not paranoid, and not a supporter of conspiracy theories. Yes, it may have already been written about. I just want to express my opinion on this matter.

I have an observation: old cars, made before about the mid-nineties, come to us mainly for maintenance. This applies in general to any cars of any brands, especially the Japanese, especially right-handed ones. From time to time they change worn out suspension and brake elements, but this is normal and does not cause any surprise or outrage. It should be so.

Surprise and indignation begins to ripen deep in my soul when I look at what is happening with the new cars. Owners of most cars designed after the mid-nineties pay a lot more for maintenance and repairs than owners of older cars. And this happens not because we charge more money for the work, but for the following reasons:

1. modern cars have to be repaired much more often, and the replacement of many parts is more difficult. For example, you need to remove the subframe to replace the stabilizer bushings. From the point of view of ease of service - enchanting nonsense. But this was done on purpose.

2. Spare parts are much more expensive, because many are not sold in parts, but only in assembled units. On the Jetta, for example, in the original catalog, the front stabilizer bushings are not detailed at all and are not sold separately from the stub. Again, enchanting delirium, especially to cut down more attendants. No, of course, Russian ingenuity did not disappoint here either, and a substitute was found long ago, but the fat is a fact.

As a result, the price tag for servicing most machines is skyrocketing.

Most of the parts and assemblies of modern machines are manufactured taking into account programmed early wear and tear. Moreover, from a structural point of view, the machine is designed in such a way as to make it difficult for mechanics to replace these parts, and, consequently, increase the cost of work.

Here are examples for you not to be unfounded:

- LED turn signal repeaters, dimensions, license plate and interior light bulbs. You say, beautiful? Nice, but the detail changes only as a whole, there are no separate bulbs.

- replacement of bulbs on many modern cars (Citroen / Peugeot, Ssang Yong from whatever comes to mind first) with removal of the bumper (if in front) or with interior disassembly (if in the back)

- Steering rod not detailed separately on many Nissan. Sold in original only complete with rail. Thank God, although it does not change in collection

- mass air flow sensors sold ONLY together with a branch pipe (the amount is three times more)

- drive shafts, which cannot be disassembled, and which are sold only as an assembly.

- ICE blocks, which are sold only together with a piston and a bunch of small change

- liners sold only with the crankshaft

- Ford engines for which there are no repair parts at all, such as liners, piston rings, and so on

- front lower levers, which are originally assembled only, and to which there are no original ball and silent blocks

- wheel bearings assembled with a hub or even a brake disc (Peugeot / Citroen, rear disc)

- non-removable (destructible when removed) ABS sensors

- fuel filters assembled with a non-separable fuel pump, and when replacing it, you need to disassemble the interior

I will separately say about Skoda, which recently just froze me out. The throttle valve has a gear that adjusts how much the throttle is open or closed. And she's there, bitch, plastic! The part is in the engine, it is hot there, it must constantly move, and it is PLASTIC!

Further more. All this disgrace changes only together with the throttle body, which in turn changes along with the intake manifold.

I don't want to drive Skoda anymore, do you?

Now a whole generation of people has grown up who consider it NORMAL to change the fuel pump assembly or front levers assembly. Many smart people make a ton of arguments to defend this familiar position:

“Well, why, why press a non-original silent rubber into the lever, it will not be a factory assembly, it will be worse!”, They say.

The lever is a piece of iron. If one silent block has worn out in this piece of iron, why change the piece of iron itself, if both the ball and the second silent block are alive and well?

“Why change the fine filter separately from the pump? They have approximately the same service life!”, They echo what they heard from the dealer's employees. Well, of course, they have the same lifespan, that's how it is programmed. And he, this term, by the way, is less than you think. So it is my hands itching to completely redo the fuel systems on many cars, by God, to return to the old, separate reliable pump with a mesh filter in the tank and a suspended filter outside the tank …

There are a lot of examples, the essence is the same. All modern cars are disposable, made of shit and sticks, and wrapped in pretty foil with LEDs. They are programmed to fall apart as planned at the end of the warranty period. They may start to fall apart earlier, but this will be decided under warranty.

You tell me what to do?

An old car is also difficult to maintain, especially those that have long since rolled off the assembly line. As simple and reliable as they are, time takes its toll.

I drew attention to simple statistics: the entire VAG, the entire Ford, all the French come to us often, lay out decent sums for repairs and spare parts. Let me, I think, I'll see who rarely comes to us.

From premium brands - Mercedes. BMW and Audi have long turned into feeders, sucking money out of wallets at a breakneck speed. Moers is not what it turns out. Firstly, there are practically no non-original spare parts for it, with the exception of consumables. This already says something to me. Secondly, they are really rarely repaired. Many drive through 250-300 thousand without major replacements, doing only what is required by the regulations and what wears out (pads, suspension).

Recently we changed the pump for 360,000 km for the S-Classe, it started leaking. On a fresh C-Classe, a couple of sensors were recently changed. For the next six months, this is EVERYTHING. They did nothing more global.

It is clear that Mears is far from affordable for everyone. I was looking for something simpler, and drew attention to Hyundai / KIA. Surprisingly, everything is the same as with the Merc, especially on SUVs and large cars. Yes, there are shoals on Solaris and Rio, but what I like about these Koreans is the old principles in spare parts. Well, there is no such nonsense there to change the drive assembly, or the throttle valve block with a manifold instead of one gear.

Hyundai's trick is clear and readable. They want to grab the part of the market they need, after which they will begin to behave like the rest. Perhaps they have already begun, because they have already had two updates to their model lines in the past few years. Perhaps, new cars are already being made according to new rules, they just have not yet reached us, since they are still under warranty.

See also:

Planned obsolescence

Planned obsolescence is based on the consumer's desire to purchase a slightly newer product earlier than necessary.

This film will tell you how planned obsolescence has shaped the course of our lives since the 1920s. When manufacturers began to reduce the durability of their products in order to increase consumer demand.