Keeping a car these days

[Phila]

Has anyone given any thought to buying a new car now and keeping it for at least 10 years? I've always wanted to buy a nice new car all spec'd out with a huge V8 and drive it every now and then to keep it in pristine condition for as long as I can. That would be great but, are we really able to do that any more?

Look at all the technology in cars these days. Almost every car sold has some sort of navigation/information center screen standard or as an option, which is great. All the electronics in cars these days to monitor the suspension, engine mapping, etc. are what make the cars what they are today.

The problem is, look at your cell phone now, and look the phone you had in 2001. The phone from 9 years ago looks like a dinosaur compared to what we all have now. Look at the rest of the electronics we've had in the past decade. How reliable were they all? Some very much, a lot not so much. So how will that huge navigation screen in your dashboard look 10 years from now? Will it look just as good as it did new, or will it look like you're running Windows 95 in your once top-of-the-line car? Unless you're leasing the car, which essentially makes the car and all included technology disposable, why not just purchase a small, portable navigation system that you can take anywhere with you instead of spending the $2,000 manufacturers want for the factory navigation fixed into the dashboard forever.

And if the manufacturers continue to simply say "if you don't like it don't buy it" then will they be there in 15 years when my screen dies out and I need it to be fixed? Will they be there when I need a software update? How many companies really support a product more than 2 years after its released? It becomes obsolete and no longer important to update, except its not obsolete, not when its stuck in your car forever.

I just don't see the point of overpaying for something that will look like crap in just a few years and can not be replaced easily. Consumers need to be able to buy the car they want the way they want, not the way the manufacturer wants you to buy it.

 

[public]

The other day, I was asked "What car would you buy new now?" and I couldn't really come up with a proper answer. I find most new cars soulless and unnecessary, and wouldn't really want to buy anything very expensive due to the inevitable huge depreciation.

I did, however, come up with one new car that 1) I like 2) Is well screwed-together 3) Isn't very expensive 4) Will look exciting for a couple years 5) Will be looked back and thought of as a good design 6) Has a good enough engine 7) Should be decent enough to drive and own.

The 5-door, european Honda Civic. Give me a newish one (to bite the depreciation even just a bit) with the 140PS 1.8 engine and manual gearbox, rust-proofed and with tasteful wheels, and I'd cherish it.

 

[prizrak]

Today? No. But I would want this

 

[Spectre]

.... and you've just pointed out one of the reasons people bought Jaguars new. Well, until Callum took the line into the 'stupidly over-gadgeted and over-teched' direction, anyway.

Smart people who wanted to do this sort of thing bought a Jaguar new and kept it at least 10 years; by then the depreciation curve was more or less done and the service record would be worth it.

 

[Phila]

Its a shame now I couldn't even look at a Jaguar. All I would have to see are motorized air vents and gear selector and I would walk away.

I guess I'll just have to get a Camaro 1SS. Pity..

 

[Spectre]

Its a shame now I couldn't even look at a Jaguar. All I would have to see are motorized air vents and gear selector and I would walk away.

That's pretty much what everyone else is saying.

Due to the crappiness of the current lineup, the local dealerships may be reduced from three to one.

 

[DanRoM]

Has anyone given any thought to buying a new car now and keeping it for at least 10 years?

Not 10, but I'm planning about 6 years, maybe more. I'm most worried about emission laws. And granted, five years from now the fuel economy of my car will probably look very bad.

So how will that huge navigation screen in your dashboard look 10 years from now?

I don't have one, because OEM SatNavs are hugely expensive, and especially because updating the navigation data is insultingly expensive. If I feel the need, I can replace my radio with an aftermarket unit. So, the "consumer electronics in the car" problem is not much of an issue for me.

 

[argatoga]

That's pretty much what everyone else is saying.

Due to the crappiness of the current lineup, the local dealerships may be reduced from three to one.

I think other factors are involved in those closing as well.

 

[prizrak]

I don't have one, because OEM SatNavs are hugely expensive, and especially because updating the navigation data is insultingly expensive. If I feel the need, I can replace my radio with an aftermarket unit. So, the "consumer electronics in the car" problem is not much of an issue for me.

See the problem is that Navi is just one aspect of it. Many times the navi is tied into many other things, like the entire infotainment system (hate that term), especially in the higher end cars it also controls the suspension/throttle control settings. Yes putting a Pioneer navi into a car is easy enough but it won't have the same ability to control/provide information as the stock unit.

 

[DanRoM]

Yes putting a Pioneer navi into a car is easy enough but it won't have the same ability to control/provide information as the stock unit.

Having a headunit that isn't able to do much is a solution to that. But you're right, in more expensive cars the problem is far bigger than in mine.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

The other day, I was asked "What car would you buy new now?" and I couldn't really come up with a proper answer. I find most new cars soulless and unnecessary, and wouldn't really want to buy anything very expensive due to the inevitable huge depreciation.

I did, however, come up with one new car that 1) I like 2) Is well screwed-together 3) Isn't very expensive 4) Will look exciting for a couple years 5) Will be looked back and thought of as a good design 6) Has a good enough engine 7) Should be decent enough to drive and own.

The 5-door, european Honda Civic. Give me a newish one (to bite the depreciation even just a bit) with the 140PS 1.8 engine and manual gearbox, rust-proofed and with tasteful wheels, and I'd cherish it.

ive just bought one, 5 door ES with the 1.8 ivtec.... brilliant car. i also got an ES diesel from works pool of cars on friday as im up in durham for the week... the diesels a little gruff, bit noisier in general driving but both are as quiet as each other on the M-way. they are completey different animals though. even though 0-60 wise they are well matched, the diesel feels faster because its very in your face with the power thanks to the diesels low down torque. it feels properly rapid and you cant do anything but note its progress. the petrol is much more subtle, its a really smooth, free revving unit and below 4k you kinda dont even notice it.....you dont notice the quite decent increase in speed....then by the time you get to 4-5k its kinda too late as you realise your going too fast. its very sneaky with its speed, it creeps up on you. its a flexible engine too as it will potter around at 30mph in 6th!!! and over the last 5000miles (previous owner) it averaged 45mpg! which is ace for a petrol. but then you can floor it in 2nd, take it the red line at 7500rpm ish and you'll be doing motorway speeds nearly! diesel is all boost and out of puff at 4500rpm

you gotta stoke that lovely 6 speeder to get the best out of the petrol where as the diesel you can just hammer the gas in any gear.... it makes the petrol much more rewarding to drive, its lighter at the front too and sounds really throaty at high rev's. so while its not as in your face obviously fast as the diesel... it is infact just as quick and much more enjoyable to drive.

ill take some pics and do a mini review soon, in the post your car bit if anyones interested in 1.8 vs 2.2 in the civic.

 

[Phila]

See the problem is that Navi is just one aspect of it. Many times the navi is tied into many other things, like the entire infotainment system (hate that term), especially in the higher end cars it also controls the suspension/throttle control settings. Yes putting a Pioneer navi into a car is easy enough but it won't have the same ability to control/provide information as the stock unit.

Exactly my point. With some cars there's just no getting around it.

 

[Spectre]

I think other factors are involved in those closing as well.

When the Mercedes dealer on one side and the Ford dealer on the other is going gangbusters and have huge amounts of traffic and the Jag dealer, despite awards for service, can't get anyone to even walk in the door, yeah, I'd say the product is the problem.

 

[Phila]

You're right. Despite what so many auto publications say about how strikingly beautiful this is, I can't imagine anything uglier. The old XJ was a thousand times better looking in my opinion.

gross

 

[Davetouch]

This is exactly what my parents have done for the past 20 years or so. They started a family and about the same time bought a brand new Renault 5 in 1988 or something. Part ex'ed it in 1999 when it was really that close to dying (During this time my dad changed jobs and got a company car as well, so they did have 2 cars). The Part ex was for a brand new Renault Kangoo which, as you can tell from my profile, we still have, and it is still going strong. They got it when I was 7, and I have recently learned to drive in it. They haven't looked after it massively specially, just being careful drivers and knowing what needs maintaining (fluids, tyre pressures etc) and keeping track of even the milage on an excel document (and until the mileometer broke a few years ago, it was doing a steady average of 35mpg).

The only advantage of this is that it isn't full of tech. It doesn't even have ABS or any form of stability control, just power steering. They bought it as a second car, so it wasn't needing to go on long journeys, only short trips to and from (mum's) workplace. As a result we have a car that ten years on is still very useful for its practical space. When this dies I doubt they will replace it, as their youngest (me) will be leaving home very soon. Transport for jobs is unknown as my dad is unemployed atm.

My parents had their large family car for holidays etc, so only needed the basic transport mobile. And it has worked out very well - ten years of useage from one car with only one or two fairly large bills (for example the Kangoo is still on its original engine, gearbox and clutch) is pretty damn good, and certainly worth it. So frankly if you are careful with what you do it can work out well. But that was ten years ago, and I don't know if it could work that well today.

 

[rickhamilton620]

If I find a decent job after I graduate, I plan to buy a new (or most likely a 1-2 year old CPO...) car. My car runs fine, is fairly enjoyable to drive, and hopefully will 2-3 years from now but I'd probably want something a bit different. Plus, I suspect that finding parts for a older, non "badge-engineered" car from a now dissolved brand that GM couldn't really give two shits about will just get tougher and tougher.

One thing I'll definitely miss is the great visibility my SL1 has. Why is every new car now, it seems, coming out with relatively small windows? For me the LX cars appears to have restarted this trend and made it popular but it sucks. I know it's for a styling/side impact safety purpose, and that people like the "cocooned" feeling of safety but wouldn't it be safer to actually be able to see out of the thing? I also like to rest my arm on the window sill...something that cannot be done in an increasing amount of cars. Another would have to be the dent resistant body panels. Sure they resulted in gaping shutlines esp. in winter, but the car still looks great 20 years later w/out being babied.

 

[flydiscovery]

Well I definitely agree with the navigation argument. I refuse to pay $2k+ for a built in GPS when I already have a portable unit. I won't even update the maps on my unit because at $70 a year I can buy a new unit every 3-5 years with vastly updated technology and new maps. The roads don't change nearly that fast.

I bought my car new in December of 2001.

It's not all that dated looking but that's partially because it was low spec to begin with and also that VW has yet to fully overhaul the car.

Or is it dated? Maybe.

 

[GM_IV]

There's no telling these days how things will look 10 years from now. I never expected my now 24 year old Toyota Cressida to still be better equipped than some of the cars of today. Even more confusing is why my Cressida's digital dash looks far more advanced than even Toyota's current dashboards. The previous generation Prius has a digi dash that looks derived from my dash, I was disappointed to see it wasn't much different from mine and positioned worse. I also never thought I'd be happy to have a cassette unit since when my car was 10 years old CDs were the big thing, the next decade however with MP3 players and iPod-like units the cassette player ended up being more useful than a CD player.

 

[That American Girl]

Well I definitely agree with the navigation argument. I refuse to pay $2k+ for a built in GPS when I already have a portable unit. I won't even update the maps on my unit because at $70 a year I can buy a new unit every 3-5 years with vastly updated technology and new maps. The roads don't change nearly that fast.

I bought my car new in December of 2001.

It's not all that dated looking but that's partially because it was low spec to begin with and also that VW has yet to fully overhaul the car.

Or is it dated? Maybe.

Dated? Not to me, but then my car is over 10 years old already.

As far as buying it "low spec"...maybe that's a good plan. You can always buy new gadgets to go in a car, but updating it's guts in general isn't generally viable.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Dated? Not to me, but then my car is over 10 years old already.

As far as buying it "low spec"...maybe that's a good plan. You can always buy new gadgets to go in a car, but updating it's guts in general isn't generally viable.

Seconded! That looks downright luxurious compared to my car. One of my favorite things about VW's are the interiors.