Comments by "fialee8" (@fialee8) on "The Car Care Nut"
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While I understand some people have an emotional attachment to their cars... but if your car is 15-20years old, and you need to put in $5K or more, you really really need to seriously think about getting a new car (esp those 20yrs+). While expensive, new cars have greater safety, new gadgets such as pairing your phone to the infotainment system, better gas mileage, and of course, less likely need for major repairs. That said, cars today are not build at good as cars 20 years ago, so it's unlikely going to last as long. Say if a car/truck is worth $10K... but you need to put $5K to get it up to that value, it's not worth it. The chances of a $1K+ repair bill is just around the corner, and often, closer than you think or would like.
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It's not "difficult"... the answer is yes, quality is way way way down since the 80's, 90's and even early 00's. Quality today is likely trying to build to last about eight years of of not well taken care of car. Why? It's because the typical car loan is now (67.4mos) nearly six years (72mos). So the failure point is slightly longer than a car loan. We are fortunate that USA has very varied climates (wet, dry, snow, sun, humidity) and terrains (mountains, deserts, coastlines, mountains, etc) , so car mfgs have to build to the worst conditions (to avoid warranty work), and should last through the car loan. If one was to live in a a moderate climate state such as California, drive reasonably (no hard starts, heavy towing, not driving up hill all the time, etc), and do proper maintenance... the car should still last well over that eight year mark. That said, if someone drives hard, lives in the upper northeast with snow, road salt, sea salt, and towing loads up hill often, that car or truck prob won't last that long.
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There is a reason why car dealerships are called "stealerships". The car service dept is just like anything else in the car world... every dollar you pay them is money in their pocket, and they are insatiable in wanting money (profits, sales targets, etc). That said, the service advisor is prob your best advocate for you (providing discounts/honoring coupons, telling you of free or discounted services, etc). That said, it starts with you knowing what you want, and asking questions. If you don't ask, they will most likely not volunteer. Also, be sure to read the service techs notes on work that was done, or recommended. Often times, recommended = optional. I remember one time I was told my brakes needed to get changed, and thought it was early for brakes, but the service advisor recommended it... I agreed to get it done since I didn't want a second trip... what I should've done was ask how much brake was left (but I didn't). I did remember to ask for the old parts back... and when I saw how much brake pad was left (over 1/3), I knew I got ripped off... I never went back to that stealership again for service. There have been other dealerships where they said the brakes are getting worn, but I prob won't have to change them for another oil change or two based on how much it's been wearing down.
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