Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

I rarely have cause to visit vehicle dismantlers but last week a friend of mine asked if I would take him in my daily drive pick up to collect some parts.
He needed parts for his 55 registered Vauxhall Combo van including a gearbox and two solid (non glazed) rear doors.

All the vehicles were stacked like supermarket goods and I was astonished to note the registration numbers. There were no prefix registered (pre 2001) and many were 55 or 56 plated and most of the vehicles were undamaged.
I asked one of the counter staff about the relative youth of stock and he explained that most were "beyond the expense of mechanical repair". Many had suffered electronic failure including a 57 plate Ford Mondeo which had just arrived. Others were category C and D damaged repairable which could not find customers.

Forty years ago when I and friends were a frequent visitors to scrap yards (as they were called then) to seek spare parts to keep our old cars on the road most cars in stock were at least 10 years old. Many much older.

I have no doubt that cars are better made now and rarely do you see the "rust bucket" on the road. Better made yes, rustproofed from new but it occurs to me that they are so fragile that it takes little to render them beyond economical repair'
Or is it our disposable society? If something breaks it's cheaper to buy new.

What do you think?
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Phil - Nottingham]

I do not think they are actually made or designed "better" just different. The fact that simple faults cannot be be repaired cost effectively because an expensive complex sub-assembly cannot be plugged in in a reasonably quick time is not good. The fact that parts cannot be had to repair the sub-assembly too make this worse.

It might be said that good used parts can be recycled but there are too many cars now being scrapped so these parts will never all be used. Its no different to fixing your automatic digital washing machine or frost free fridge freezer its just not economically viable. In some cases though it could be.

This policy is not as so called green as keeping classic cars going either even allowing for poor fuel consumption but the masses want the newest & latest stuff as the rich did in the 1920's - 30's and they do not have the skills to DIY
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Rover P2
Rover P4
Rover P5 & P5B
Land Rover S2 & S3
Morris Mini Traveller Mk2

[ukdave2002]

Yes they are much better made these days:

Panels fit perfectly, engines will cover 250k without major work,they don't rust, maintenance and repair costs per mile are a fraction of what they were even 25 years ago. Manufactures offer a minimum of 3 years warranty,often with unlimited mileage, some offer up to 7 years.

The difference is that new cars are cheaper than they were 40 years ago and we live in a throwaway age, most owners these days only open the bonnet to fill the windscreen wash. so the point at when it's more economical to scrap comes around sooner than it used to.

Dave

[Minxy]

I think these days cars are not made to go the distance, they are made with a 'shelf life' built in.

I have just swapped my 55 plate Honda CRV (120,000 miles) in for a year old one at a dealer. I got £2.500 for it. I decided to trade up because it needed a complete new driveshaft - Honda only £900 plus fitting, a pair of dampers on the rear and a clutch was imminent owing to years spent towing a caravan the estimate for the clutch was circa £1000. All this and a service was due in October along with a pair of tyres by then.

I realise in the greater sceme of things that it isn't quite as strait forward as this but effectively cost of repairs outwayed the value of the car.

With some makes ( Honda is one) parts are ludicrously expensive which doesn't help.

[Bitumen Boy]

Another thing that might be a factor is labour charges - have they crept up over time compared to other things? Back in the day when you could do your own repairs, garages would need to be more competitive to get the work at all, but now DIY isn't really an option for many jobs they can pretty well charge what they like, so long as they don't go way over the average and lose the work to other firms. I remember when I was a boy hearing my dad weighing up the time taken to do a car job at home versus the cost to have it done by a garage, and indeed doing the same myself when my cars were more likely to be called bangers than classics. With moderns you're much more likely to be deciding whether it's a better bet to have the car fixed or replace it - and both options are a gamble to some degree

[colwyn500]

Yes, they are better made in many ways but some fairly simple individual compnents and systems seem to have develped the potential to appear worse. I am thinking of light bulbs with a very short lifespan and lenses that cost the earth and take ages to remove. I also have a bugbear with short-lived brake pads and discs and impossible wheel bearings.
Cars are better made but beware when they do go wrong.

[Rick]

[badhuis]

[baconsdozen]

If I had to make a choice of vehicle to make a very long and important journey from my 'fleet' I'd be tempted to take one of the older vehicles. Not because it would be more reliable or economical than the newer ones (it probably wouldn't be) but because baring a massive failure I would probably be able to fix most breakdowns by the side of the road with a reasonable tool kit and a box of fuses,nuts,bolts and clips etc like we all used to carry years ago.
The modern things I'm just not so confident. A long time ago I had a misfire on my old ford,after a lot of head scratching it was traced to a fault in the electronic ignition system I'd fitted some years ago.Luckily I'd kept all the original bits in the van,I replaced the original points and changed the wiring back by the side of the road,the ignition module was a sealed unit and ended up in the bin.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[alanb]

My modern 2001 merc has done 120,000 ml needs servicing every 2 years or 18,000 miles averages 48 mpg, has never broken down or needed a major repair, can be driven 500 miles with ease and comfort. My morris 8 on the other hand needs constant felting you are never sure wether you will complete your journey or not, and an hours drive is quite tiring. The merc is much better but the morris is more fun.
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old tourer


Morris 8 two seater

[colwyn500]

[kevin2306]

Totally what alanb says for me..yes, the modern is a great car for everyday use..boringly so actually but i go in the Singer whenever possible and always return with a broad grin.

Kev

[Bengt Axel]

I bought my Mx5 8 years ago, and have put it through 90,000 "enthusiastically driven" miles so far. It looks like new and not the slightest thing has gone wrong with it. Last year I was embarrassed to have to admit to a customs officer at Portsmouth Ferry Port, when asked to lift the bonnet, that I didn't know where the bonnet release catch was ......

... My 79 Land Rover Series 3 on the other hand I will not venture out the village in without my mobile phone and RAC card!

[Rick]

[ukdave2002]