[Hitch]

Originally Posted by wodin

Oh, but they smell SO good.

You know, here's the thing. I'm NOT immune to the allure of a new car. Something with nice lines, sweet leather...I'm not. I'm just NOT willing to finance a depreciating asset. Ixnay on that. I did it once--in 1985, and never again since. Every vehicle we've bought since then, new or used--we pay all cash. If I can't afford it, I can't have it. Period.

After all: I mean, really, what is the actual difference between, say, a Mustang and a Jag? Other than, what, $30K? They are both CARS. They both depreciate. They are vehicles that take you from A to B in relative comfort. After that, you're paying for snob factor. (And...I confess, even more: I like expensive cars. I do. I'd take an R8 in a heartbeat.) But my left-brain just won't let that right brain splurge on a silly thing like a bloody CAR.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

There are Volvos on the road that are part of the Million Mile club. It's a point of pride with Volvo that they build to last, and some really do.

Yes. And even everyday cars can last a remarkably long time, IF you take care of them.

Most cars won't achieve that, but in general, reliability has increased over the decades as manufacturers have learned that customers will pay for quality. Detroit's "planned obsolescence" of the 50's is a thing of the past.

Every car I've had has lasted not a day less than 25 years. Some have gone on to other family members, or whatever, but, bygod, they last.

And service on current cars is a much different matter than it once was. The car has a raft of sensors and microprocessors communicating over a local network, and when a service call is required, the mechanic can plug a computer into a diagnostic port, and the car will say what it's problem is.

Well, yes, but that also means that Gus can't fix his own car, either.

It's a far cry from the days of the "Gus Wilson's Model Garage" feature in Popular Mechanics magazine, where crafty old mechanic Gus used experience and cute tricks to determine just what the car's problem was before he went in to make a fix.

Yeah, I kinda miss that.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Technically, the smell is out gassing, and the volatiles that comprise it are toxic. It might smell nice coming off the lot, but there's a limit to how much of that smell you want to inhale.
______
Dennis

GREAT. You've convinced me not to inhale. LOL.

(It figures, you would be the one to know that.)


Hitch