-: Mecanix Facts :-

What Lang said is no doubt true but in the motor trade, small, cheap cars, such as the small ones from Hyundai, Daewoo, etc. are known as disposable cars.

I hears a week or two ago (or was it on this forum) that a six year old car was worthless because to repair the power steering would cost more than the car was worth.

I think the term "disposable cars" comes from a consumer mindset rather than the cars being worse off. The industry wants to sell more new cars and some of the new technology cars like the Tesla are claiming you will get a million km out of the bearings and brake pads so they don't require servicing - only a safety check every 3 years (not something I think is smart - imagine people driving on tyres over 100,000km old)

Part of the problem is most people won't buy a car that's more than 5 or 6 years old considering them unsafe. When I went to trade in my 2005 BA Ute with 200,000 on the clock I was offered $1500 trade in. My mechanic purchased it from me for that and without the trade in I went back to the dealer and I got a further $600 off the changeover price and a reversing camera fitted so I was about $3,000 better off than trading it in.
The "How safe is your car?" campaign has put a lot of people off buying older cars and with credit available most people can afford a small new one.
When I was in Melbourne last weekend I noticed a lack of the EF-AU falcons and equivalent commodores compared to what we see back home in Echuca. I wonder if it's to do with the open road and dirt roads outside town that these handle a lot better than the imported cars. My XP ute handles the dirt a lot better than the wife's 2013 Hyundai I30 and the BA ute was better again.

I know a lot of the 'lower socio economic' groups are picking the falcons, commodores and statesmen cars up dirt cheap as they chew no more fuel than the new SUV you need to buy to carry a family instead if buying new. Also the money they save on parts and being able to do more of it themselves puts them better off financially than having a more modern vehicle

I think if you look at the resale prices the little cars hold their value amazingly for more than 10 years. A 20 year old Corolla is around $5-6,000 which is the same ball-park as a 20 year old run-of-the-mill model Mercedes. Same era Commodore is $3-3,500. Everybody wants those little blokes particularly P-Platers who know they can rely on another 10 years of cheap, safe motoring.

The comments about the babies losing their value after 6 years is certainly far from the case. 5 minutes on Carsales or Gumtree will reveal the facts.

Lang

The "average" age of Australian cars is 9.9 years. This means half of all cars bought and sold are older than 9.9 years - somebody must want them?

Lang wrote: The "average" age of Australian cars is 9.9 years. This means half of all cars bought and sold are older than 9.9 years - somebody must want them?

Yep me, I reckon at least 40 years old these days is what Im aiming for

Pretty soon it will be 50 years old the way the years are flying by

Paul

Sister in law has got a Toyota Rav 4 she seems to have had forever ,Robert says its got 450,000 on the clock,and had nothing but tyres and brakes...he s got a Landcruiser Stationwagon,had nothing but tyres,but its leaking oil from both tranny and motor,and needs 20/50 oil ,or it smokes.Just the valve seals tho,in the Toy 6 ,the valves are submerged in oil....anyway ,he was talking a new one,now he says maybe a new motor and trans ,then he s leaving it like it is......cause her indoors wants a -gasp-F450 duallie...to tow around her collection of draft horses.....Funny ,but people keep giving her draft horses........hay at $350 a bale,wonder why?

WotCanEyeSay














WotSezU?

cya

Zaclee

LOL

cya

Interchangeable ??

The chick with her melon under the red Camaro will "get it" if she kicks the jack handle!