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Todays cars are not meant to last! - Warning

Some months ago, I met a bloke at an independent car dealer in North London. He who was looked the spitting image of Honest John (without the hat). He was very knowledgable about cars. He woudl tell me the Audi have this issue or that car has the engine mounted this way and it has that problem. He could pick each car, and tell me the pros and cons of every car!

He basically said today's cars not meant to last 5 years!

I spoke to a bloke at a big independent car dealership, who basically said the cars build 10 years ago are significantly better then the stuff they are building today. He was not a salesmen, but dealt with aftersales problems.

I am wondering what is the concensus. What are cars like that now not built to last? Is this is scam to force people to buy a car every 5 years?

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RT

It's not that simple - modern cars are much more complex than older ones, IMO modern cars are less likely to fail but the cost is in proportion to the complexity so getting very expensive.

Cars may not be economic to keep on the road if they fail out of warranty but I don't believe for a minute they're designed to do that.

People willingly replace perfectly good cars at 3 years old - so the suggestion of being forced at 5-years old cannot be.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - gordonbennet

I believe there was a sweet spot, with cars designed from 80s to the late 90's and built up until about 2005, these dates vary a bit from make to make, some like Renaults i'd be wary of touching anything made after mid 80's, Jaguar wouldn't go near anything after about 1970, some like Merc dropped the ball earlier and actually improved after 2007 but whether the latest will be as good as a 2008 C/E class only time will tell.

Makers had improved corrosion resistance, performance safety economy had reached high standards but we hadn't yet gone down the digital electronic route to any great degree nor started to fit things like electric parking brakes and other tat that no one asked for.

Lots of makers had superb designs from that 90s design era, VW with their PD Diesel a prime example, lots of others about, tough and durable they last years and years with a bit of sensible servicing and TLC, in fact they lasted too long IMO for most makers and we won't see their like again in the mainstream.

UK buyers play right into makers hands, besotted with buying that new car despite it having no spare wheel or an EPB they didn't want, massive wheels that give bone shaking ride and port hole windows they can't see out of they still buy the things and then feel compelled to change when the warranty is about to expire because they know if it goes wrong it will cost a fortune to fix if a permanent fix is even possible (DPF?), still a ridiculous 3 years for ironically the most popular UK sellers.

I expect most of the current new crop will be uneconomic to fix in about 8 or 10 years at best, and likely to be as attractive as Laguna 2 to those buyers of old stalwarts like me who usually buy cars at around 10 years or older...we'll be running 90's designs for a good few years yet, by the time there's none to be found i'll be pushing up daisies anyway.

Emissions regs have helped see the end of the era in no small way.

Edited by gordonbennet on 16/05/2016 at 19:34

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RobJP

I think the 'not meant to last 5 years' is a load of nonsense.

Of course, that assumes a reasonable level of maintenance and mechanical sympathy. So actually getting a car serviced, and doing something about it when you can hear that funny noise, or when a light is flashing up on your dashboard.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - alan1302



He basically said today's cars not meant to last 5 years!

Kia has a 7 year warranty on their cars...

Todays cars are not meant to last! - oldroverboy.

Kia has a 7 year warranty on their cars...

Many of you will remember a 12 month warranty as standard..

Many wil remember 3000 mile services.

Many will remember as I do that Customers were often the quality control team for some makes. When the XJ40 was launched I can remember almost all of those vehicles coming back in with warranty problems. They were "made to last a year" and then start earning money by way of spares sales and Hourly rates, nobody will convince me otherwise.

Cars now still have a lifespan which can be prolonged with sympathetic servicing and maintaining them properly.

The rub is when it is no longer economical to replace a wiring loom or 2 or 3 ecu's.

My kia has the 7 year warranty, but if something major goes at year 6 will kia spend £3000 on a 6 year old car?

I would not unless the car was worth it.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RT

My kia has the 7 year warranty, but if something major goes at year 6 will kia spend £3000 on a 6 year old car?.

Yes - my Hyundai Santa Fe got an engine rebuild and 5x refurbished wheels in the last year of its warranty

Todays cars are not meant to last! - slkfanboy



He basically said today's cars not meant to last 5 years!

Kia has a 7 year warranty on their cars...

Your confusing warranty with reliability. Basically a Kia is no more reliable than the average car and some parts are often very expensive too

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RT


He basically said today's cars not meant to last 5 years!

Kia has a 7 year warranty on their cars...

Your confusing warranty with reliability. Basically a Kia is no more reliable than the average car and some parts are often very expensive too

Manufacturers can't afford to give long warranty's on unreliable cars, it would cost them too much.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - gordonbennet

Manufacturers can't afford to give long warranty's on unreliable cars, it would cost them too much.

I delivered a goodly number of Ceeds when they first arrived, they put lots on some rental fleets to get them going.

Have a feeling i mentioned it here at the time, very very impressed with how well put together they were underneath, all pipes running front to rear in substantial plastic trunking, well painted suspension parts, signs of waxoyl-like applications in the prime salt invasive areas, build quality usually seen in the better German and Lexus cars of the time and unusual in the price range, they made them to last IMHO.

Haven't been under one for over 5 years mind so no idea what the newer models are like.

Edited by gordonbennet on 17/05/2016 at 11:39

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RT

Manufacturers can't afford to give long warranty's on unreliable cars, it would cost them too much.

I delivered a goodly number of Ceeds when they first arrived, they put lots on some rental fleets to get them going.

Have a feeling i mentioned it here at the time, very very impressed with how well put together they were underneath, all pipes running front to rear in substantial plastic trunking, well painted suspension parts, signs of waxoyl-like applications in the prime salt invasive areas, build quality usually seen in the better German and Lexus cars of the time and unusual in the price range, they made them to last IMHO.

Haven't been under one for over 5 years mind so no idea what the newer models are like.

Hyundai/Kia have been steadily upping their game for decades, having lost their budget build/price a good while ago and are ambitious to move out of mainstream into premium.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - galileo

Manufacturers can't afford to give long warranty's on unreliable cars, it would cost them too much.

I delivered a goodly number of Ceeds when they first arrived, they put lots on some rental fleets to get them going.

Have a feeling i mentioned it here at the time, very very impressed with how well put together they were underneath, all pipes running front to rear in substantial plastic trunking, well painted suspension parts, signs of waxoyl-like applications in the prime salt invasive areas, build quality usually seen in the better German and Lexus cars of the time and unusual in the price range, they made them to last IMHO.

Haven't been under one for over 5 years mind so no idea what the newer models are like.

I read article in last weekend's Telegraph where Hyundai/Kia's chief designer was interviewed - he joined them from Audi 10 years ago. Said that a new model is 3 years in development, then production for 4 years. 3 years development and de-bugging sounds good to me (having worked in new product development in automotive components) as it implies a proper job being done.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - alan1302



He basically said today's cars not meant to last 5 years!

Kia has a 7 year warranty on their cars...

Your confusing warranty with reliability. Basically a Kia is no more reliable than the average car and some parts are often very expensive too

If Kia can give a 7 year warranty then that must mean they are confident the car will get to 7 years old without significant parts needed or else they wouldn't give a 7 year warranty as they would not make any money.

I think cars are much more reliable than they have ever been - the cavet is that as they are more complicated now then when they do have a failure it's often not economical to make the repair.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Gibbo_Wirral

If Kia can give a 7 year warranty then that must mean they are confident the car will get to 7 years old without significant parts needed or else they wouldn't give a 7 year warranty as they would not make any money.

Check what the warranty actually covers. I've seen posts on other forums of owners complaining about poor quality trim and paintwork which isn't covered by the 7 year warranty.

For example:

Audio and navigation units The original audio and navigation units are covered for 36 months or 60,000 miles from the date of first registration, whichever comes first.

Paint The paint is covered for 60 months or 100,000 miles from the date of first registration, whichever comes first. You’ll find specific exclusions to this on the next page.

Edited by Gibbo_Wirral on 17/05/2016 at 14:38

Todays cars are not meant to last! - alan1302

If Kia can give a 7 year warranty then that must mean they are confident the car will get to 7 years old without significant parts needed or else they wouldn't give a 7 year warranty as they would not make any money.

Check what the warranty actually covers. I've seen posts on other forums of owners complaining about poor quality trim and paintwork which isn't covered by the 7 year warranty.

For example:

Audio and navigation units The original audio and navigation units are covered for 36 months or 60,000 miles from the date of first registration, whichever comes first.

Paint The paint is covered for 60 months or 100,000 miles from the date of first registration, whichever comes first. You’ll find specific exclusions to this on the next page.

It covers all the important mechanical parts though which I'd find most important. And if you keep the paint in good condition and generally look after it then you are unlkley to have preoblems outside of the warranty.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - FoxyJukebox

Bah humbug!

An airliner--which I have said before on this site--is basically a very complex vehicle which goes in the sky at 500mph-will last for 20 years plus. The reason--because it is forensically maintained.

This of course is not the case with cars where dealerships have a "new vehicle every 3 years sales agenda", owners who have difficulty understanding the difference between basic servicing and ongoing vigilant maintenance and unscrupulous "garages" and "fitters" who's main aim to harvest as much money from anyone they can--all the time.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RT

Bah humbug!

An airliner--which I have said before on this site--is basically a very complex vehicle which goes in the sky at 500mph-will last for 20 years plus. The reason--because it is forensically maintained.

This of course is not the case with cars where dealerships have a "new vehicle every 3 years sales agenda", owners who have difficulty understanding the difference between basic servicing and ongoing vigilant maintenance and unscrupulous "garages" and "fitters" who's main aim to harvest as much money from anyone they can--all the time.

Airliners, and military aircraft, are designed for continuous maintence - made possible by the low volume production - that can't happen with high volume, low production cost items like cars.

London buses like the RT (38-79) and RM (56-05) were built like that, and could be refurbished on a production line at 50/week.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Galaxy

I don't believe that anything is built to last in this day-and-age.

A prime example of this are electronic items. There's no point in building a TV which will last 25 years because, in just a couple of years, it will be obsolete and superseded, anyway. If it goes wrong once the warranty has expired it will probably just be thrown away.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - bazza

I think we're being unduly pessimistic. It wasn't so long ago that a brand new car rusted through in just 4 or 5 years, that's a thing of the past in the main. Our son's 12 year old Corolla looks good for that again to be honest. Complexity and electronics are our enemy now, not rust. But if one steers clear of particularly hi tech (notably German) and known trouble makes (VAG and their engine problems, Mazda and their diesel woes) a car should still last at least 10 to 15 years with proper maintenance. Proper maintenance being a lot more involved and thorough than the dealer checklists every 10 to 20K, de-salting and oiling the undeneath, more frequent oil changes, cleaning the brakes, oiling the hinges and locks, cleaning and checking earthing points and electrical connectors etc. None of this is ever done properly unless one does it oneself. But then most people are buying on the never- never on a 3 year deal, so much like the smartphone, they are abused and then dumped with minimal care. . That's an expensive way of getting around though, when extrapolated over the actual serviceable life of a car.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Engineer Andy

Indeed - with care, lots of modern items can last. My 'home' mobile phone is a 14yo Nokia 3410, still in A1 condition and going strong - I paid (if I recall correctly) about £10-15 for a leather case for it and its kept the phone safe from damage (I've only dropped it a couple of times) and dust/sticky fingers. The battery still seems fine, just a shame the phone isn't exactly user-friendly at adding information/people's details that modern smart phones are.

My Mazda3 mk1 1.6 petrol is now 10.5 years old and going very nicely (admitedly its only done 53k miles) - a porper annual service plus (as yet) the occasional wear & tear suspension parts, batteries and tyres replaced (approx. every 4-5 years). Little depreciation, predictable costs. What's not to like? I'd still go for a new one if I had lots of £££ to spare, but that's a treat that can wait a while (I've just started a new job) and I'd make that last probably 10 years+ as well.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - barney100

Volvos are expected to last 19 years.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - madf

I have a deppfreeze (free) which is at least 25 years old and works perfectly.

Our Yaris diesel is 13 and works perfectly.

Our Sony TV is 10 years old and works perfectly.

Our Miele tumbledrier is 9 years old and works perfectly.

There is NO need for "OTT maintenance on a cra to make it last a decade or more. Just regulkar servcing and some mechnical sympathy..Whcih rules out 75% of all cars over 7 years old...

Just look on any car sales website (Autotrader etc) and see the cars with over 100k miles, no rust and still servcieable. 20 years ago, that number would be far smaller.

5 years life only applies to its life as a marketable product, not as a usable one.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - brum

Euro regs are revised every couple of years to keep the committees with their noses in the trough and euro industry/economy pumped up.

Get ready for euro 7, but keep an eye on euro 8, 9 and 10, by which time we will not own a car but have to buy an annual euro licence to have access to one, which will be recycled on a bi-annual basis for eco (cough cough) reasons, a little bit like the apple model but with legal clout and a shorter cycle.

Don't be surprised when euro 8 prohibits use of any vehicles less than euro 6 and so on.

Unless of course we ........

Todays cars are not meant to last! - gordonbennet
Unless of course we ........

continue to run our (haven't a clue what euro number) 90's designed proper cars and don't buy into their apple annual obsolescence scene, sounds like a plan for me..:-)

Todays cars are not meant to last! - alan1302
Unless of course we ........

continue to run our (haven't a clue what euro number) 90's designed proper cars and don't buy into their apple annual obsolescence scene, sounds like a plan for me..:-)

Apple don't have annual obsolescence though....they are pretty good at supporting older devices and older devices still working well.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - FoxyJukebox

apple devices last forever-but BEWARE they remain unsupported by new software and thus apps tend to become incompatible.....

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Wackyracer

apple devices last forever-but BEWARE they remain unsupported by new software and thus apps tend to become incompatible.....

They don't work forever though, I'm sure the only reason owners of Apple products bleat on about how fantastic they are is to try and convince themselves that it was worth spending the huge sum of cash on them rather than a cheaper (just as well if not better made) offering.

I recently needed to buy a new washing machine. The old Miele was built like a brick dunny and came with a 10year warranty, their new version of the same only comes with a 2 year warranty and costs £649. If they are not confident enough to give it a longer warranty why should I buy it? So I bought a Samsung with a 5 year warranty for £399 instead.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RT

Euro regs are revised every couple of years to keep the committees with their noses in the trough and euro industry/economy pumped up.

Get ready for euro 7, but keep an eye on euro 8, 9 and 10, by which time we will not own a car but have to buy an annual euro licence to have access to one, which will be recycled on a bi-annual basis for eco (cough cough) reasons, a little bit like the apple model but with legal clout and a shorter cycle.

Don't be surprised when euro 8 prohibits use of any vehicles less than euro 6 and so on.

Unless of course we ........

They can't implement Euro 6 as it is.

And if we leave the EU, we'll voluntarily adopt Euro emissions just as Australia does.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Falkirk Bairn

Friend f a firend has a Hyundai i40 - 3 years old - it failed it's MoT on brakes - specifically the electric handbrake mechanism had issues - the front calipers were also replaced at teh same time - part of job warranty / part expensive for what was just pads & discs.

However in the last few weeks since the electric gremlins abound - parking sensors intermittent, reverse camera died. ABS light + odd warning lights flashing.....OK it is still under warranty BUT come another 2 years if the toys keep acting up it will be sold however the next owner will inherit the trauma.

It is probably not just Hyundai but it seems that cars could be off to the scappie - not because of the engine/gearbox blowing up but all the toys paying up & warning lights failing MoT tests.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - FoxyJukebox

"The next owner will inherit the trauma"--love it. Everything that Falkirk Bairn has just described should--repeat should- reveal itself to the next owner with a proper test drive. Then what happens? --the "Hyundai" salesman promises to "sort it", says it's "sorted" when you pick it up on delivery day and low and behold, nothings been done other than a full vac/wash/new car scented aerosol-we've all been there!

Moral of this tale-go for a second pre-delivery test drive when you come and pick up and see if what you asked to be put right has ACTUALLY been done -if it hasn't --walk well away.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - hillman

ORB "Many will remember as I do that Customers were often the quality control team for some makes. When the XJ40 was launched I can remember almost all of those vehicles coming back in with warranty problems. They were "made to last a year" and then start earning money by way of spares sales and Hourly rates, nobody will convince me otherwise."

Was that the Friday night / Monday morning car in the USA ? For those of us who don't know what that means, the customer picked the car up on Friday evening, it broke down over the weekend and they called the dealer on Monday morning to pick it up, giving details of where to find it.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - FoxyJukebox

The 1970's friday OR monday cars were the ones to avoid-the factory wasn't concentrating.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - madf

I am amazed how little research people do when buying expensive items. In the internet age, findiong out other users' opinions is a doddle. And of course you can always test drive a car..

There is someone on this forum complaining his Civic requires lots of revs.. Obviously never test drove one.. or did it inadequately..

As for Iphones. they can be repaired - quite easily if you are careful.. Of course, if you have no machnical aptitude, it's unlikely you will be able to.. (and good eyesight/glasses).

It's rather like PCs.. anu fool can follow instructions and build their own. Guess what? Most people don't follow instructions. |See car manuals..

Edited by madf on 18/05/2016 at 19:41

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Bolt

The 1970's friday OR monday cars were the ones to avoid-the factory wasn't concentrating.

Very often called friday afternoon cars, due to the operaters/assemblers having one too many at the boozer

I remember when the Prius come out, everyone was saying it wont last long due to its complexity, how wrong they were, but then some people do not like change in technology I think it scares some people

Edited by bolt on 18/05/2016 at 22:34

Todays cars are not meant to last! - RT

The 1970's friday OR monday cars were the ones to avoid-the factory wasn't concentrating.

Very often called friday afternoon cars, due to the operaters/assemblers having one too many at the boozer

I remember when the Prius come out, everyone was saying it wont last long due to its complexity, how wrong they were, but then some people do not like change in technology I think it scares some people

I was recently taken for a short trip in a new Prius - I was just underwhelmed about how tinny it seemed, I guess that's the penalty of excessive weight reduction of the structure to accomodate the heavy batteries.

Will the body even outlast the battery?

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Bolt

The 1970's friday OR monday cars were the ones to avoid-the factory wasn't concentrating.

Very often called friday afternoon cars, due to the operaters/assemblers having one too many at the boozer

I remember when the Prius come out, everyone was saying it wont last long due to its complexity, how wrong they were, but then some people do not like change in technology I think it scares some people

I was recently taken for a short trip in a new Prius - I was just underwhelmed about how tinny it seemed, I guess that's the penalty of excessive weight reduction of the structure to accomodate the heavy batteries.

Will the body even outlast the battery?

I have my doubts steel will be used in car production in the next few years, I gather 1 or 2 companies, Honda for one, are working on mass production of carbon fibre chassis and possible plastic panels,

in which case the car could last a lifetime apart from accidents, where even the slightest one could write a car off due to none repairable panels(defeats the object imo)

Todays cars are not meant to last! - NARU

in which case the car could last a lifetime apart from accidents, where even the slightest one could write a car off due to none repairable panels(defeats the object imo)

A bit like driving a Lotus ELise/Vauxhall 220.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - Ethan Edwards

Most New York taxis are now Prius'. A harder working environment I cannot think of. They are tough cars.

Todays cars are not meant to last! - NARU

Our three family cars have just had their MOTs over the last month.

3 year old yaris: Passed, no advisories

5 year old mx-5: Passed. Advisory on a tyre (starting to split)

9 year old landcruiser: Passed. Advisory on a grumbling wheel bearing.

I think there's every chance of them all making 15-20 years.

The landcruiser has been dinitrolled, and the mx-5 has been waxoyled though.

Edit: fixed typo

Edited by Marlot on 19/05/2016 at 07:00