Do We expect Too much from new cars

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Fiftydriver

Well, back in the day you could buy a new muscle car for $3500 brand new. My dad bought a 69 SS Chevelle right off the lot new for this price. Now, we pay 10 times that for cars that are technologically amazing but made from ALOT of pastic!!!

And will still hold up way better than that 69 Chevelle.

[Frank in MD]

Right, but we also can't fix them ourselves anymore with a screwdriver, wrench and a bottle of Coke.

[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by sycraft

This is about new cars in general, Do we expect too much for them. In the past brakes wore out at 15k miles and were noisey, convertable tops were wrinkled and leaked all the time, squeaks rattles and noises were common. i know we have made technological advancements that take care of many of these issues, but performance brakes make noise, tops are folded and atriculating, they have to fold somewhere, engines are still mechanical and stumble at times. I feel these things we have demanded to have in our cars are all acceptable and why get your blood pressure up over such trivial things. The cost of cars has gone up yes, but that cost has also been driven by the consumer and the expectation that it must be perfect. Buy backs and repairs of trivial items that in reality may be a normal characteristic and just a bandaid on the issue drive costs skyward. I say enjoy our cars and lets repair the owners. Gm and other manufacturers have made these cars so that you are now not spending 300-500 dollars every 15k miles for service, so in my book they are giving you a pretty good value. Enjoy your rides, they all drive different and have their own personality. Flame me if you wish, I will be enjoying my ride, not wasting time at a dealership for trivial issues.

Great post bro. This is why I bought this car instead of an Audi, BMW , or my favorite Porsche. 31000 hard is heck driven miles and the car is still freaking reliable. The aftermarket crap like the Eibach R1 coilovers are crapping out but the stock stuff is still strong. Also where else can you get Brembo OEM replacement rotors from the dealership for $112 each like I did. Also my front Brembo stock rotors didn't warp on my 2012 like they did on my 2011 SS, I also realized that GM does a great job improving on what issues these cars had in the past in a good way .

[sycraft]

Originally Posted by Frank in MD

Right, but we also can't fix them ourselves anymore with a screwdriver, wrench and a bottle of Coke.

Nope takes fifth of Whiskey now

[Avenging Orange]

Originally Posted by sycraft

This is about new cars in general, Do we expect too much for them. In the past brakes wore out at 15k miles and were noisey, convertable tops were wrinkled and leaked all the time, squeaks rattles and noises were common. i know we have made technological advancements that take care of many of these issues, but performance brakes make noise, tops are folded and atriculating, they have to fold somewhere, engines are still mechanical and stumble at times. I feel these things we have demanded to have in our cars are all acceptable and why get your blood pressure up over such trivial things. The cost of cars has gone up yes, but that cost has also been driven by the consumer and the expectation that it must be perfect. Buy backs and repairs of trivial items that in reality may be a normal characteristic and just a bandaid on the issue drive costs skyward. I say enjoy our cars and lets repair the owners. Gm and other manufacturers have made these cars so that you are now not spending 300-500 dollars every 15k miles for service, so in my book they are giving you a pretty good value. Enjoy your rides, they all drive different and have their own personality. Flame me if you wish, I will be enjoying my ride, not wasting time at a dealership for trivial issues.

No flame here. I could not agree more.

[oldfriend]

Originally Posted by upflying

I was making $1.65 an hour in 1969.

Okay , that would have taken 2.121 hours for you to get the $3500 car

I think that the person with exactly the same job you had at the time , can get a $30k car far easier now than back then !

[oldfriend]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

That's just inflation.

Let's look at the Chevelle back then.

Power Steering - Optional

Power Brakes - Optional

Air conditioning - Optional

Power Windows - Optional

power Door locks - Optional

Tilt Wheel, Stereo, posi-traction, cruise control, and 300 hp -- optional --

that list goes on forever.......

Stabilitrak and anti-lock brakes -- airbags - radial tires - fuel economy in the 20s and countless other features: weren't even available or even thought of back then.

Today's automobiles and trucks are so far superior to anything in the past - not to mention quality, safety, economy, corrosion protection, warranty......

It's apples to oranges.

Cant find the TPMS on the options listened above !
Rear view camera
Bluetooth
My link
Steering wheel controls
Warm seats
Remote start
Hill assist ****** good thing
On star

[cadyshac]

As soon as we bought our SS I knew it was time to sell our '79 Z28, that car could never hold a candle to the 5th gen and I lost all interest in it. I love the classic camaro's 1st and 2nd gen but driving one of those compared to the 5th gen, not even close, hands down 5th gen blows them away.

[Dan1028]

Originally Posted by oldfriend

Okay , that would have taken 2.121 hours for you to get the $3500 car

I think that the person with exactly the same job you had at the time , can get a $30k car far easier now than back then !

How do you figure? Federal minimum wage in 1969 was $1.60/hr, whereas today it is $7.25/hr. If a new car costs $30,000, that means a person would have to work 4,138 hrs to buy the car outright. It's pretty much a given that new car prices have increased by a considerable rate as compared to personal income, disproportionately so.

Now if you're talking about the ability to finance today versus back then, that's another story. But who would give $30,000 as a car loan for someone making minimum wage?

[Russo]

Originally Posted by Dan1028

new car prices have increased by a considerable rate as compared to personal income, disproportionately so.

because now manufacturers have to pay people considerably more and that cost gets passed down to the customer.. not to mention the devaluation of our currency by the Federal Reserve...

if we had a solid, non-fiat based currency and no minimum wage laws, you could buy a new Camaro for not much more than it would cost in 1969..

[Russo]

Originally Posted by Comrando

I don't think so.

Now we have engineering to create crumple zones and air bags and crash testing. That has to be a lot of cost.

In your '69 Camaro you were probably killed in a serious wreck. It wasn't uncommon for drivers to go through the windshield or torpedo under the dash or be speared on the steering column. Today you climb out and kick the fender.

Years ago my cousin was broadsided and now has the mentality of a 4 year old. The best thing to happen to automobiles are the air bags (and I don't mean my wife, though she does yell "Watch out" sometimes). You only need them once.

As fbodfather mentioned there is also ABS, StabilTrack, Traction Control, etc.

actually, technology makes things cheaper.. sure there is an initial cost, but you don't see anyone spending $1,500-$2,000 for a cell phone anymore, do you?

[RollaMo]

Originally Posted by Fiftydriver

Well, back in the day you could buy a new muscle car for $3500 brand new. My dad bought a 69 SS Chevelle right off the lot new for this price.

Don't forget the vast difference in income to go along with that.

In 1969 the minimum wage was $1.30 per hr.

$3500 was not cheap for a car back then.

My first car was a 1970 Maverick Graber (new off showroom floor).
I wanted a Camaro, but dad was helping me and said they were too expensive.
The Maverick was $1,975 and a Camaro was closer to $3,000

[Carls2SS]

Originally Posted by cadyshac

As soon as we bought our SS I knew it was time to sell our '79 Z28, that car could never hold a candle to the 5th gen and I lost all interest in it. I love the classic camaro's 1st and 2nd gen but driving one of those compared to the 5th gen, not even close, hands down 5th gen blows them away.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the above quote, But i still miss my 1st Gen Camaro

[OrangeVert]

Great post! The only thing I wish we had today is the uniqueness of options. Packages make cars so boring - what do you have, an A, B, or a C? You know what it's going to have even before you look inside. Bleh.

Due to economies of scale, it's impossible unfortunately to let people pick the options that would make their car more unique.