How long should a car last?

Rolandtheroadie

Quiet_Spark wrote: »

My neighbour has a 1972 registered RS1600 MK1 Escort that is immaculate and performs better than the day it rolled off the production line.


By contrast another neighbour has an 05 Focus that is just about f**ked and isn't worth two bob.




I'd say it all depends on how well the car is looked after as to how long it will last.

And (most likely) how much was spent on the restoration.

jase1

scotsman4th wrote: »

And (most likely) how much was spent on the restoration.

Indeed. If anyone could be bothered, that Focus could be made to look like it just rolled out of the factory also.

But no-one can be bothered with a mundane and common car. Fact is, in 40 years there will still be a few Hyundai Accents kicking around somewhere in Europe, and if someone mad enough is so inclined, they'll be able to make it look like the Escort above.

And that's why looking at models still on the road is not a reliable way of determining which cars are the best.

Rolandtheroadie

jase1 wrote: »

Indeed. If anyone could be bothered, that Focus could be made to look like it just rolled out of the factory also.

But no-one can be bothered with a mundane and common car. Fact is, in 40 years there will still be a few Hyundai Accents kicking around somewhere in Europe, and if someone mad enough is so inclined, they'll be able to make it look like the Escort above.

And that's why looking at models still on the road is not a reliable way of determining which cars are the best.

I've currently got an MOT'd 20 year old merc lying in the drive.

The reason it's still on the go is it was modified slightly (runs on veg oil) but had a lot of other work done at the same time.

Injectors were rebuilt, head was removed and work done to the internals, saddle tank modified to get rid of a basic merc fault and the rusting out wings/rear quarters were fixed.

If the guy hadn't decided to do all that in the latter part of 2008, it would have been scrapped years ago.

Netwizard

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

The simplest cars looked after and maintained the best will last the longest.

But people don't want simple, they want lots of toys and electronic goodies, and every one thats fitted is one more to go wrong.

Pretty much what I was going to say. My 17 year old, 160,000 mile motor just keeps going and going. It gets looked after, is all paid for and rarely costs me anything outside of normal servicing and tyres

jase1

No modern car is particularly simple any more though.

Even a Dacia Sandero is, by the standards of 1990 a massively complex and intricate beastie. Just because it lacks electric windows and central locking (neither of which are particularly complicated or difficult/expensive to fix/replace anyway) doesn't mean that the guts aren't every bit as complex as most other cars.

You need to look at which vehicles have engineering which is built to last, and has serviceability built-in. This does not, any longer, translate to which car appears to be simple.

jase1

scotsman4th wrote: »

If the guy hadn't decided to do all that in the latter part of 2008, it would have been scrapped years ago.

Quite. Although it must be said that Mercs of the period had a lot of over-engineering in key places so they lend themselves to being kept up in this way.

Actually, the cars that always impress me are the ones that manage to make it to 20 years old, despite not really being maintained very well. I am thinking here particularly of things like the Peugeot 405s or Toyota Corollas. Both of which are generally victims of neglect by multiple owners. And yet both of which still manage to drag themselves along the road long after their sell-by date. The engineers of cars like this clearly knew what they were doing.

wba31

1 million miles...

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2011/10/26/honda-accord-driver-in-maine-reaches-1-million-miles/

motorguy

drdog wrote: »

One reads/hears alsorts of figures about how long a car should last - and whether its age or miles.

So a well looked after car that has not been thrashed - how long will it last? What is the best cars for longevity in terms of age, and in terms of mileage?

It will last as long as someone is prepared to spend the money maintaining it.

The problem with modern cars is, its quite easy to hit a big bill - say for a turbo or dual mass flywheel, injectors, dpf, pump, etc, that it becomes uneconomical to repair. It makes little sense to most people to spend £1,000 on a car that is only worth £500. Thats what kills off most cars.

I sold a friend of mine who was stuck for a car a 1999 Peugeot 406, 350,000 miles, full maintenance history, going like a clock for £450. It would have went on for years, but instead of maintaining it, he neglected even the basics so come MOT time it needed 4 tyres and an exhaust, as well as a service and some suspension bushings, so he scrapped the car, and spent £1600 on another one. Had he been maintaining the car during the year it would have only cost ££'s to get it through MOT, but he didnt bother. So a perfectly good car was put off the road through lack of simple maintenance.

Hintza

It is reckoned that cars are built with a design life of about 7 years after which time you can expect to need to replace components.

I have a pal who thinks 6 year old cars offer the best value (assuming serviced) as they should many of the major things changed (eg cam belt etc).

If you want trouble free motoring then you buy a new car or one still within warranty. Of course some people either can't afford that or would rather keep the money in the bank and drive an older well maintained car and are happy taking the slightly higher risk.

Whilst some will advocate bangernomics but that really only works if you are quite handy and don't mind the risk of being stopped at the side of the road on the way to a black tie dinner.

ilikewatch

I know a few people (including myself) who are running 1st generation Volvo S/V 40's - as a very broad average the diesel variants seem to last until about 14 years/150K before they start to cost serious money for turbo's/clutches/DMF's. They can still be kept on the road relatively cheaply if you're handy with the spanners, but my days of changing clutches under cars parked on sloping streets in winter are far behind me!