Are new cars worth owning anymore?

I was listening to these guys:



I tend to agree… the new stuff is outdated within a few years, and expensive to maintain out of warranty. I enjoy classic cars, and bought my ‘93 911, but the complexity of the latest vehicles feels like a time bomb. Who wants to cover the cost of a failed DCT, e-diff, active suspension, etc.?

Still, I can’t have an old rolling restoration as the daily driver. I’m inclined to lease.

Thoughts?


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Modern cars out of warranty scare the hell out of me. And electric vehicles are worse, as the technology is changing so fast. I know leases are for fools, but who would actually want to -own- a new car?

I say this as someone whose newest car is a 2013, and even it is almost un-fixable for the home mechanic.

(all this aside, I still want a California -- but I'm scared it will hurt me financially)


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Some of their advice (both Motoman and savagegeese) is just impractical.

For example, not having a credit card. In today's world, that's essentially living off the grid. Aside from many merchants no longer accepting cash, how do you shop online? Even for essentials like clothes and motor oil.

 

I bought a new Jeep Wrangler 392 last year (my first new car since 1997). Tough, and still relatively simple. Will have no issues finding parts, and that V8 rumble is an E ticket ride for sure.

I will have an opportunity to buy another high end used car in the next 18-24 months ($250-450k, so nothing special) and judging by the cars I have, I am a little reluctant to buy another low volume exotic.

 

A California/Portofino is exactly the kind of car that I would lease but not own. I like the concept, because I'm at the point physically where I can't just jump into a Lotus Elise or Ferrari 458/488, so a grand tourer suits me. But with a DCT, electro-mechanical folding hardtop, electronic instrumentation and other tech, there are a lot of bits to go wrong. Part of my admiration for the 328, TR, and prior Ferraris is their relative simplicity.

As a Porsche fan, I look at the 911/992 Targa the same way. I wouldn't want one past the lease/warranty term. A 1970 911 Targa, on the other hand, has little to go wrong, and spares are readily available -- Porsche even offers a new magnesium engine block. It's a forever car, because whatever needs doing is financially justifiable. Plus it's fun to drive and timelessly cool.

We considered a Taycan or Macan EV, but as they note in the video the depreciation is catastrophic. I expect we'll see vastly lighter and more efficient batteries in the next decade, and no one will want the 2024 version.

 

Sounds special, actually...

 

New cars are worth owning when you need a DD. I need a car that works everytime it is supposed to, and if it doesn't work, there are no issues waiting on parts, or finding a specialist. Just take it to the dealer get a loaner and come back when it is done.

When it comes to toys I would agree. Very few newer cars interest me. Way too much electronics and not enough clutch pedals.

 

Aside from what could go wrong, and the costs, I just find all the new technology extremely aggravating.

Can I just drive without the car constantly annoying the hell out of me?

I really just enjoy driving older vehicles. I don't even want a single screen.

 

I find all the technology meant to make you safer is so distracting I actually feel less safe while driving.

 

^ I agree

 

The problem with most modern cars is they are only designed to last a certain amount of time before they are scrapped. I used to have a friend that worked in the design department of JLR and he told me that most new cars are designed to only last about 7 - 10 years before major costly parts need changing and the cars become financially unviable to keep on the road. Keeps people buying new cars. Plus manufacturers lock you in with warranties, my neighbor just bought a new electric BMW got a puncture BMW told her they would have to repair the puncture or it would invalidate her warranty, she was without a car for 4 days. Absolute joke really.

 

But it isn't....you're talking about an F8, 720S, or a Huracan (want something 4-5 years old). Nice cars, but it isn't like they are a Carrera GT, or F50.

 

That’s the whole lease rationale. Make the first buyer deliriously happy and then after that … who cares. Porsche is proud of the fact that 70 percent of the cars it has made are still on the road. Having owned a 356A and two air-cooled 911s, I can see why. These are relatively simple cars built to last. They weren’t built to a 7-10 year life expectancy.

Even my lower quality cars, like the MGB, can be kept forever if you have a basic tool set…


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Just got back from a month in Hawaii. Had three different rental cars. All were super annoying. Was glad to get home and drive my older cars. At one time I was thinking of selling my 1984 Delta 88 but not so sure I’m going to do that now. I do see parts availability to be an issue. I have an 05 CTSV that I really like. While I haven’t had any issues yet some parts are nla and that can be very problematic.

 

Agreed, but then again, new cars tend to be larger with a lot of mass and crash protection, so I feel less exposed in a newer car - at least compared to driving an older, analog car while surrounded by distracted people driving their giant, newer, full-of-distraction cars.

Sometimes driving a small, classic car in any traffic these days feels like riding a motorcycle, for all intents and purposes.

To the original question, I wouldn't buy a new BMW today, I'd lease something like that, but if I was in the market for a truck, I likely would buy a Tundra with the goal of keeping it a long time.

 

That's another problem with new vehicles. Overcomplication = vastly increased cost of repair. New Tundras are burping out their engines from spun bearings at the cost of $20-32k depending on what the engine takes with it when it goes. Not a very fun cost to handle out of warranty. Close to some kind of world record: one guy lost an engine 26 minutes after picking up his truck from repair after it lost the first engine. Far too many vehicles are becoming disposable after 5 years. The problem is their prices are too high to justify their lack of reliability.

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might be a little overly “rose-colored glasses” biased towards the past, as early cars might have been simpler but that doesn’t mean they overcame wear and the elements without extraordinary care. Cars were kept for shorter times long ago and we’ve gotten progressively better at keeping cars on the road:
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computerization and electrification are new phases, which is scary and going to be resource intensive in ways we do not plan for.

 

There are far too many $65k+ vehicles out there that are completely disposable after 5 years or before. I'm not talking about all the cheap little Hondas/Toyotas/Subarus that are cheap to buy/maintain and scarcely need more than fresh oil in the engine and air in the tires after 5 years. An engine replacement that costs half the purchase price of the entire truck is pretty damned absurd. Likewise, an F-150 that needs half the cost of the vehicle's MSRP in assorted repairs after 4 years is similarly absurd.

Further, US vehicles used to be cheap to both purchase and repair. This was the justification for purchasing them. Now, they are neither, but the reliability has reverted to K-Car era carbage.

 

No kidding; I hadn't heard of that bearing issue. I currently have a 2017 Tundra with the 5.7 and 120k miles that I'm hoping to keep as long as I can (and probably longer than makes sense to) in order to avoid scenarios like that.

 

This. We had dinner recently with a couple who had bought a 1971 911 in 1974, and had over 200K miles on it, with one engine rebuild. My 964 was bought and kept 28 years by the same guy.

Newer 911s seem to change hands more frequently. Not sure I’d want one out of warranty. And don’t get me started on Mercedes, BMW, et al.


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