Why some change cars early - Page 3

happy1 · 20-08-2018, 06:16 AM

Hi,
Some crazy examples have been mentioned above, such as expensive personal loans, parents telling kids to upgrade their car when they can't afford it, and young guys over-spending all their income on fancy cars.

When I was younger I spent a lot on car parts and trading cars. (bought wrecks, repaired them, sold them without too much profit) It would have been more economical to keep ONE newer car, and keep it for longer. Many of my Fords have needed constant repairs. (Fiesta Mk2, Escort Mk3, Sierra). I have saved on doing the work myself, and learnt mechanical skills from it, but for someone needing to call a mechanic it would have been a disaster.

While it is tempting to buy a brand new car from the showroom, it is always better economy to get a second hand car, where someone else have had the initial loss.
For example if you buy a 3 year old car for 15k - 20k, and keep it for approx. 4 years, then there shouldn't be any repairs needed, and there will still be some value left when trading it in or selling private when getting the next car.

Cheers,

car10002 · 11-09-2018, 08:18 PM

hi again everyone,

had another thought,

yous know how 20-30 years ago people use to keep their daily drivers going till the end or drive them till the engine gave up though some would get another engine put in and keep going,

would some of the many reasons why most these days change their daily drivers at the warning signs and not drive them till there run down even though its cheaper per month to keep throwing parts at them (even a engine swap) than to pay for a loan and full insurance,

is because it becomes a hassle and you can no longer go too far unless you're prepared to fix things as they pop up or throw parts at it, or because of the unexpected repair bills, or because you spend alot of time dealing with it all time when you'd rather be doing something else, or unexpectingly costs money you could have used for other projects wether its old cars or block or other things.

with the aunty and uncle that had the magna that blew the auto up and got another auto put in and then sold it straight away, what yous think would have made them start thinking about selling it, can thinkof following.

1. they probably found out after it was booked in and in pieces after the new auto was put in that it was going to need more major work a few months after.

2. they probably were thinking about it for a while and they got their old one fixed to buy them some more time to find another car and they therefore got lucky and found one straight away.

3. they probably needed more time to think about what they want to do.

4. same as (2) they probably were thinking about changing cars for a while and then had that happen and wanted to get it going as cheap as they can so they can sell it

stock1991 · 11-09-2018, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy1

Hi,
Some crazy examples have been mentioned above, such as expensive personal loans, parents telling kids to upgrade their car when they can't afford it, and young guys over-spending all their income on fancy cars.

When I was younger I spent a lot on car parts and trading cars. (bought wrecks, repaired them, sold them without too much profit) It would have been more economical to keep ONE newer car, and keep it for longer. Many of my Fords have needed constant repairs. (Fiesta Mk2, Escort Mk3, Sierra). I have saved on doing the work myself, and learnt mechanical skills from it, but for someone needing to call a mechanic it would have been a disaster.

While it is tempting to buy a brand new car from the showroom, it is always better economy to get a second hand car, where someone else have had the initial loss.
For example if you buy a 3 year old car for 15k - 20k, and keep it for approx. 4 years, then there shouldn't be any repairs needed, and there will still be some value left when trading it in or selling private when getting the next car.

Cheers,

this or you end up fixing things and then sell it

car10002 · 18-02-2021, 03:33 PM

hi

just have a question what would be the reason why the older generation as in people in their 70s/80s still drive old cars until they die completely and use appliances until they no longer work at all before upgrading and replacing and just accept that cars and appliances are old and things will go wrong at times or accept that their current car doesnt have enough room to take one thing and just get over it and wait till they stop working completely before replacing, whether its cars tvs computers appliances.

where as this generation of workers just go out and buy new stuff or atleast the best they can afford the minute that things start causing trouble and not just put up with out of date things and/or things going wrong and waiting until they no longer work at all.

would it be because people currently in their 70s/80s when they were younger were taught to be patient with things going wrong and possibly messing up their life every time a part went or with a old car turning their trip upside down and messing it up if a holiday trip is when the next thing goes and things werent as busy in their day and had more time and gotten use to that and lived in a time where you kept fixing things until they blew up and even replaced a big part to keep going longer before replacing.

with cars and appliances as alot of you know as they get older bits start wearing out and no one knows when the next thing will go.

just wondered if all the middle aged to older people on here can explain

Ben73 · 18-02-2021, 03:42 PM

Young people bad. Old people good.

18-02-2021, 05:25 PM

I am now officially old 50+

But i replace things yearly.. cars / playstations

What are you actually asking ?

car10002 · 18-02-2021, 05:29 PM

Mainly asking why people currently in their 70s/80s did and still use things till they’re completely worn out or stop altogether And just put up with having to constantly fix them instead of constantly replacing wether it’s cars or appliances or it equipment

**Giant Cranium** · 18-02-2021, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by car10002

Mainly asking why people currently in their 70s/80s did and still use things till they’re completely worn out or stop altogether And just put up with having to constantly fix them instead of constantly replacing wether it’s cars or appliances or it equipment

because money is cheap to buy these days

18-02-2021, 05:49 PM

*koff* has financial security ever crossed your mind ?

Perhaps??

Never mind i will wait for the 70/80 + yr olds on this forum to comment

Ben73 · 18-02-2021, 06:16 PM

With how expensive some repairs are these days it’s almost cheaper to buy a new car than spend $8000 fixing an 8 year old car.

Also convenience. Having your old car randomly breaking down is annoying and can screw your plans. Having your new car booked in for scheduled ard servicing is better.

Plus new cars are better to drive and live with generally. More tech and safety.

rare ss · 18-02-2021, 06:19 PM

I'm struggling to find a new(er) car to get excited about owning these days, I can see myself and my wife driving our FPV's until we're old and grey(er)

RANGEREST · 18-02-2021, 06:22 PM

Car10002

Google THE GREAT DEPRESSION, that'll give you a clue.

minheim · 18-02-2021, 06:27 PM

I generally get 5 to 7 years from my cars then trade them in. Exception was the last car which we gave to daughter when it was 4 years old. We upgraded to a new Escape ecoboost titanium and took her 7 year old lancer as our shopping cart. Most likely the titanium will be kept until EVs are common fare as we are in our 60s and the escape only does 12K per year mainly highway duties. Main factor in changing previously was generally tech and safety upgrades. The escape upgrade was mainly because Mrs M wanted an SUV was ease of entry and exit.

car10002 · 18-02-2021, 07:34 PM

Would it be because old people grew up in a time where you didn’t replace things until they’re completely worn out or stops altogether and you just put up with inconveniences until then and they’ve gotten used to it

Would it be because they don’t mind not having latest and are happy to keep their old things going a bit longer before replacing

It doesn’t matter whether it’s cars tvs white goods or computer equipment

One example is if their car did a head gasket and it was going to cost $1500 and that’s all they had currently to spend on another car then they might get that done and live with it a bit longer while they save up. Sometimes it’s worth putting cars value into it if you’re planning to keep it long enough to make up for cost or if you can’t yet afford to upgrade without financing.

Thinking that also older generation are just happy to take whatever is available at time that’ll get them from a-b where as our generation want what we want and we will do what we have to do we can get it for example the exact car we want next with features we want

Another example is if a laptop is 4 years old and power supply went they would buy a new one and keep their laptop another year where as we usually throw them away and replace or buy a new one and a new power supply and keep old one as a spare then do same once new laptop need replacement and throw the old old one away (rotate them like schools and businesses do)

MercuryT · 18-02-2021, 07:43 PM

G'day Car10002.

I personally flicked cars very quickly until I found a keeper - my XR Turbo. (10 years)

Each to their own but I get bored quickly so unless my car keeps fulfilling I flick it. (2 years max)

Some hold and are happy enough with that. I'm in that position now but rather than flick I'll keep for practicality and buy something to add instead.

It's very much a personal thing imo.

Merc

ESPJG32 · 18-02-2021, 07:59 PM

hi Car 10002.

well I kind of fit into that age category
we came up thru the era that you could actually fix things...i was originally trained in the electronics industry and we used to fix stuff all the way down to the actual faulty component - resistor, capacitor or whatever
Now the best that you can do is buy a replacement board etc....I recently fixed a split system air con for my son.....the service company only had full replacement boards at nearly $200, the fault was 4 x thermistors which cost 0.50cents each, yep $2 bucks worth of parts or $200 for a complete board...not a hard decision what to do....but most people are not trained to that level anymore....same goes for car fixes, they are only trained to change whole bits.

I have both old and new cars.....the old ones I do total rebuilds myself...the modern ones go to the dealer to fix....but I hate to throw stuff away just because something small buggers up

lra · 18-02-2021, 08:09 PM

OK, I qualify as midrange 70 > 80.
Why do I drive cars that are 10 >20 years old ?
Because I like the danger and challenge of driving a car where you have to put a key in it to start, look in the rear vision mirror to check if there are cars approaching from behind, straightening a bend by crossing a white line without the steering wheel and chimes telling me I am about to die, mentally calculating speed and distance without the aid of radar (or whatever), looking for dopey pedestrians wandering aimlessly onto the road, and best of all ......... be able to reverse park a ute with no sensors or camera.
Nearly forgot, 3 pedals under the dash, and a gear lever that you have to move yourself, now that's living on the edge.

Swordie · 18-02-2021, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by car10002

hi

just have a question what would be the reason why the older generation as in people in their 70s/80s still drive old cars until they die completely and use appliances until they no longer work at all before upgrading and replacing and just accept that cars and appliances are old and things will go wrong at times or accept that their current car doesnt have enough room to take one thing and just get over it and wait till they stop working completely before replacing, whether its cars tvs computers appliances.

where as this generation of workers just go out and buy new stuff or atleast the best they can afford the minute that things start causing trouble and not just put up with out of date things and/or things going wrong and waiting until they no longer work at all.

would it be because people currently in their 70s/80s when they were younger were taught to be patient with things going wrong and possibly messing up their life every time a part went or with a old car turning their trip upside down and messing it up if a holiday trip is when the next thing goes and things werent as busy in their day and had more time and gotten use to that and lived in a time where you kept fixing things until they blew up and even replaced a big part to keep going longer before replacing.

with cars and appliances as alot of you know as they get older bits start wearing out and no one knows when the next thing will go.

just wondered if all the middle aged to older people on here can explain

Maybe some of them can't afford to update.

Sprintey · 18-02-2021, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by car10002

Would it be because old people grew up in a time where you didn’t replace things until they’re completely worn out or stops altogether and you just put up with inconveniences until then and they’ve gotten used to it

Would it be because they don’t mind not having latest and are happy to keep their old things going a bit longer before replacing

It doesn’t matter whether it’s cars tvs white goods or computer equipment

One example is if their car did a head gasket and it was going to cost $1500 and that’s all they had currently to spend on another car then they might get that done and live with it a bit longer while they save up. Sometimes it’s worth putting cars value into it if you’re planning to keep it long enough to make up for cost or if you can’t yet afford to upgrade without financing.

Thinking that also older generation are just happy to take whatever is available at time that’ll get them from a-b where as our generation want what we want and we will do what we have to do we can get it for example the exact car we want next with features we want

Another example is if a laptop is 4 years old and power supply went they would buy a new one and keep their laptop another year where as we usually throw them away and replace or buy a new one and a new power supply and keep old one as a spare then do same once new laptop need replacement and throw the old old one away (rotate them like schools and businesses do)

70's-80's are children of the Great Depression. Their parents lived through it, a time of bank failures, foreclosures, extreme frugality, burying cash in the backyard. Credit was shunned as it could be called in. By the way, it can still all be called in.

We're at 5000 year-low interest rates. Ponder that for a moment. A reversion to the mean would be heavy.

Postwar generations (except: if you were raised by these 'children of the Depression', ie born before 1946) have never not known inflationary times - buy it, upgrade it, roll on the debt. Houses only go up. So buy the best now, pay later. If we were to go through a banking solvency crisis, the old ways of doing things would come back in a flash and a lot of people would be destitute. The only change might be bitcoin/ethereum/(dogecoin lol) also being buried in the backyard on flash drives...

Fix it up and make do

Sprintey · 18-02-2021, 09:29 PM

On that note, the best movie quote ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAC5J2qgS90

mick taylor · 19-02-2021, 10:40 AM

I know a lot of skinflints with short arms with long pockets, one mate bought a new DT175 Yamaha and then Keating dropped the sales tax on such things a month or 2 after, boy he never got over that, if I bring that up nowadays you can still see that the pain of that stinging him is still their and he is worth millions.

Others I know drive around is totally crapped out cars and have millions of dollars.

My mums best friend was a stolen generation from WW2 Danish and was sent to Australia and did not know she had a family till years later, she has a budget that even toilet paper if it runs out, she uses leaves that's a fact but she is worth millions.

Some people just like the ability to be able to fix there old crappy cars problems etc as it makes them feel good, they love the problems because it gives them something to do. had a good day today yep spent 12 hours of troubles and made it back home the scrounging around and haggling prices makes there day.

car10002 · 19-02-2021, 12:26 PM

Would the other reason that the older generation are happy to hang on a bit longer when things start wearing out and drive cars till they die completely or use appliances until they stop altogether And put up with inconveniences be because of following

1. They were taught to use things up completely and not waste and/or save and not finance more than you really can afford

2. They grew up in a time where you fixed things and got use to that

3. They were more patient to deal with inconveniences.

4. They were and are happy to take what’s available at time even if it’s not what they want when cars and appliances stop altogether and don’t need as much time to look around

5. Things might not have been as busy in their day and they had more time and now most are retired and still have time

naddis01 · 19-02-2021, 12:33 PM

Yes..

bb_zetec · 20-02-2021, 09:00 AM

My Wife's Car is a 2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara.

This is the only car we ever bought new for 30K back then, and we traded our 2009 LV Focus on it for 16K...the Focus was unfortunately built on a Public Holiday Weekend during Octoberfest if you get what i mean

She still has this car and it has just ticked over 105,000Klms.

She wont part with it whatsoever...it ticks all her boxes and she likes the size and ride height. I think if i sold it without her knowing id be sent to the nearest street corner quick smart.

For some people what they currently have is good enough and they will make do as others have said.

We also have a FG XR ute and a VE V8 Wagon....i plan not to sell either of these and keep them running for as long as i can. Why? Well they are Australian made and I try and support local...that and there really is nothing else that ticks the boxes for me either...the local cars were great value for money and you did get a lot of bang for your buck.

Quality on certain things are less than desired compared to their Japanese sibling...but drivetrain wise our locally built cars have never really let me down and always got me from A to B.

Tech wise they may be dinosaurs now but looking at some of the issues newer cars face with reliability and recalls it might be best to stick with the devil you know as the old saying goes.

I think for some its about keeping up with the Jones' next door and the current ute craze seems to be driven by ABN holders or leaseholders that update every few years.

mick taylor · 20-02-2021, 11:39 AM

What I seen of from the 1960 Most people did not service there cars well and just ran them into the ground.

Car 10002 From the 1960's on New model cars were evolving so much better cars that overall most did not bother looking after there cars to much as their was no real value in doing such.

There is a general mentality that suffices as the norm regardless, so if one was to go get car serviced that's what you got the norm, but if I were to ask for beyond that they would start barking on against me, so I say listen boy I want you to change the diff oil in my LSD diff at 10.000km and they would bark on that it does not need such and I would say listen boy I know better than you do on this point as I drive 50.000km a year and I know that the LSD is easy shagged by 40.000km if you don't for a fact and I need the LSD too work or the car is useless to me to get around in some places I drive and I want the car for 2 years.
But most people only drive 7000km a year and that's the norm that service people are locked into the norm and they can not think past that mentality.

3 they were not patient anymore than they are nowadays.

4 nonsense.

5 many people worked much harder them days by far than anyone nowadays.