There was about a 10 year period starting in the late 1990s when those Japanese cars were in fact fairly indestructible. Exceptions like anything else but if you had a 2002 Lexus RX or whatever that they wouldn't die no matter what you did to them. Although I think the old Land Cruiser probably did a lot for that reputation given how overbuilt it was.
Anyway I'm not sure how my gear grinder of "damn, I had to replace my furnace motor, that sucks" turned into multiple pages of debate about planned obsolescence.
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Meh, my friend's late 1990s Honda Civic's transmission broke. Honda was going to charge her $4000 to fix it since it was out of warranty but she either used her hotness or she gouged someone's eyes out and they paid it.
Reliability back then was still not all that reliable.
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Meh, my friend's late 1990s Honda Civic's transmission broke. Honda was going to charge her $4000 to fix it since it was out of warranty but she either used her hotness or she gouged someone's eyes out and they paid it.
Reliability back then was still not all that reliable.
I've done a lot of work on vehicles in my time with my dad but one of the things I've never worked on was transmissions.
My dad always said to leave them to the professionals.
"Dont open the transmission...you'll let the magic out..."
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Still fixable by yourself. Washers are not magical machines.
As a homeowner, you're pretty well resigned to become handy, otherwise be prepared to spend $$$.
oh, I know. I've never had an appliance I didn't take a swing at fixing myself. That was me looking up the price all over, to do it myself. I had already replaced the springs and snubber ring twice. but spending $450 didn't make sense since it was 12 years old, and the previous parts replacement needs seemed to be more design issues that I'd have to keep fixing. The new one has been great for 8 years. I think i made the right call.
oh, I know. I've never had an appliance I didn't take a swing at fixing myself. That was me looking up the price all over, to do it myself. I had already replaced the springs and snubber ring twice. but spending $450 didn't make sense since it was 12 years old, and the previous parts replacement needs seemed to be more design issues that I'd have to keep fixing. The new one has been great for 8 years. I think i made the right call.
I have a policy in my house.
I am not, by nature, a particularly handy person, but I have to at least try first. If I fail, then I call a professional, but I have to at least try.
Its actually a pretty good policy, I've fixed washers, dryers, dishwashers, fridges, just minor stuff mind you (youtube is a gold mine!) but every so often a professional has to get involved. There are certain things I just cant do.
I did a particularly fantastically awful job replacing the blower motor on a 1990 Pontiac 6000...oof...I pity the mechanic that sees that spectacular botch job down the road.
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I did a particularly fantastically awful job replacing the blower motor on a 1990 Pontiac 6000...oof...I pity the mechanic that sees that spectacular botch job down the road.
I admire the confidence in thinking that a 1990 Pontiac 6000 is still in service.
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I admire the confidence in thinking that a 1990 Pontiac 6000 is still in service.
I...and I cant make this up, my son bought it from a little old lady who only drove it to church and back...he drove it for a number of years, it was even used as a prop-car in a local film production and then proceeded to sell it...I kid you not...to an elderly woman who just needed it to get to church and back.
It was a wild ride for a maroon 1990 Pontiac 6000.
oh, I know. I've never had an appliance I didn't take a swing at fixing myself. That was me looking up the price all over, to do it myself. I had already replaced the springs and snubber ring twice. but spending $450 didn't make sense since it was 12 years old, and the previous parts replacement needs seemed to be more design issues that I'd have to keep fixing. The new one has been great for 8 years. I think i made the right call.
But see this is exactly what people did "back in the day" to keep their washer going for "25 years!" They just kept replacing parts.
When I bought my first house, my wife's parents gave us their ancient washer and dryer. They said that they worked perfectly. Turned out the timer on the washer was broken - it only ever worked on the "quick" cycle, because that's the only cycle the mom used, and all the other mechanisms had broken, presumably because they were never used. The dryer actually didn't dry, because they tumble dried everything on low.
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I have a 2006 Toyota with 400k on it. That’s about as new of vehicle as you are going to get with that kind of milage outside of cabs. Do you have evidence that the new models today won’t last as long? You don’t have to replace the 2k windshield with an intelligent one. You can go back to a dumb one and your car will function just like the older vehicles you are promoting. Also way back in 2006 the 20 years ago version of you was making the same arguments that cars got way to electronic and you’d never be able to run them that long. Cars are far more reliable now than ever. There are so few bad models out there. And up until the pandemic we’re getting cheaper relative to inflation.
Of course he doesn't have any evidence because it's simply not true. 100,000 miles (160,000km) used to be the benchmark for longevity. (When odometers only had 5 digits because the 6th simply wasn't needed.) Now it's pretty common for engines to get to 200,000-300,000miles (500,000km) or more without a hiccup.
Here's a simple thought exercise to prove your point, when was the last time you knew someone, anyone, to have a break down and required a tow? There used to be a transmission shop on every corner. I can think of one transmission failure among all my friends in the last 20 years and it was in their '89 Ford Econoline when it was 30 years old with over 300,000 kms.
You nailed it, cars have never been this reliable. People don't replace cars because they break down, they replace them because they want a TV on the dashboard or some neon blue cabin lighting.
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I...and I cant make this up, my son bought it from a little old lady who only drove it to church and back...he drove it for a number of years, it was even used as a prop-car in a local film production and then proceeded to sell it...I kid you not...to an elderly woman who just needed it to get to church and back.
It was a wild ride for a maroon 1990 Pontiac 6000.
Honestly man, it was my son's first car and it was a beauty.
Oh...when you closed the doors they had that fantastically metallic *THUNK* noise. Closing the trunk sounded like you were sealing a vault.
Just steel and noise and those plush faux-velour seats!
It coasted over the road like a maroon cloud.
True story, I hit a cop car once in that car (wasn't my fault), and my car didn't even have a scratch on the very non-plastic bumper, while the whole side of the cop car was crushed in.
My friend had an Omega 88. We were sitting at the red light on Crowchild/50Ave SW (yes, before there was an interchange there). He looked in the rear view mirror, noticed that we were about to be rear ended. It was a Chevy Geo. She hit the car so hard she was pinned inside by the steering wheel. Front end was squished real good.
He got the 88 inspected, nothing happened to it.
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My friend had an Omega 88. We were sitting at the red light on Crowchild/50Ave SW (yes, before there was an interchange there). He looked in the rear view mirror, noticed that we were about to be rear ended. It was a Chevy Geo. She hit the car so hard she was pinned inside by the steering wheel. Front end was squished real good.
He got the 88 inspected, nothing happened to it.
Of course not...
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My friend had an Omega 88. We were sitting at the red light on Crowchild/50Ave SW (yes, before there was an interchange there). He looked in the rear view mirror, noticed that we were about to be rear ended. It was a Chevy Geo. She hit the car so hard she was pinned inside by the steering wheel. Front end was squished real good.
He got the 88 inspected, nothing happened to it.
I remember in University I was the guy in the crappy old 1978 F-150 and this girl in her Audi flew into the parking lot and parked right next to me.
She's in a rush and flings her door open smashing into my truck's passenger door.
She re-arranged some of the dirt on the side of my trusty but crappy old truck but she was in a hurry! But her door was completely mangled and wouldnt close.
"What do I do now??"
I dont care. You knocked some of the rust off of my passenger door. I cant be bothered, I've got a class to get to. You figure it out. Maybe call your daddy?
What about your truck repairs??
"You're kidding right? I've never even washed this thing. Repairs? Not gonna happen. The doors dont even lock."
This is an $80,000 Audi tho!!
"That doesnt sound like a 'me' problem. Figure it out."
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If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
