For those interested in old cars.

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, alastairq said:

Question:

 

Following on from a discussion on another thread [that I refuse to contribute to]....exactly what do we {collectively or individually] mean by the idea that a 'repair' isn't ''economically viable?''

 

How do we establish 'economic viability' when it comes to the subjects of this particular thread?

 

Also, have we, as old motor enthusiasts, become victims of failing quality control of new, service items?

 

With "modern" cars (though where modern begins is a moving target) the line gets drawn where potential expenditure approaches resale or trade-in value.

 

Where something has a personal attachment, it gets trickier, for some the attachment might be to a particular model, for others the particular vehicle. In the former case pragmatism would kick in at the point at which it would be cheaper to go out and find a serviceable replacement, possibly keeping the old one as a spares donor. Where the attachment is sentimental, the limit is presumably limited only by the owner's available time, skill and money.

 

With "modern" repair and restoration techniques and unlimited resources, it's possible (at least theoretically) to keep anything going pretty much indefinitely, there are even specialists who can fix electronic stuff that was obsolete a decade ago, at a price.

 

However, whilst not intended to be quite as disposable as today's equivalents, none of these vehicles were expected to last beyond the point at which something better became available at reasonable cost and nobody wanted them any longer. In the mid-late thirties, would Ford, Austin or Morris have considered it likely (or even desirable) that more than a small fraction of their products would remain usable beyond about 15 years?

 

Of course, there eventually came a point; (I put that where most cars stopped having carburettors and real rustproofing became a thing). where the next round of advances and options began to take home maintenance out of the reach of the non-enthusiast and some people decided that "progress" had gone as far as they needed it to.

 

When I sold my 1991 Peugeot 205XS in 2004, as a "going concern" with 113k on the clock, a friend observed that, not so many years previously, most 13-year-old small cars would have struggled to pass their last seven MoT tests, and one that had done that mileage would be half way through its second engine. Mine still had its original clutch and had never had a welding set near it!      

Edited 7 hours ago by Dunsignalling

[alastairq]

What about 'fulfilment of intended function?'

 

By that, I mean, would repair & maintenance costs be irrelevant [within budgetary constraints, of course] if  it meant the vehicle could continue to perform its 'intended' function?  

Rather than, changing, for change's sake....[as we have been encouraged to do since the 1950's?]

[russ p]

Just rang Milton Keynes museum,  apparently the autumn BL rally is still on on Sunday.  I was wondering if flooding would have cancelled it

I'm hoping A421 has reopened by then . Going to take the maestro 

[Dunsignalling]

3 hours ago, alastairq said:

What about 'fulfilment of intended function?'

 

By that, I mean, would repair & maintenance costs be irrelevant [within budgetary constraints, of course] if  it meant the vehicle could continue to perform its 'intended' function?  

Rather than, changing, for change's sake....[as we have been encouraged to do since the 1950's?]

 

That depends on how important continuing to perform it's intended function is to you.

 

Surely it would become very relevant if you could obtain a replacement that did its job as well or better with less effort or expense than fixing it again.

 

(Speaking as someone who rarely keeps his cars for less than a decade, apart from a 1985 Ford Fiesta and a 2010 Peugeot 207SW that I just couldn't put up with for more than a couple of years.)  

 

The (very tidy, one owner) Fiesta was bought in haste to replace a 1979 Renault 18GTS that failed the MoT big time in 1992 (rust) and needed over a grand's worth of welding to make it worth half what I'd paid for it five years earlier. I equalled that at no cost by breaking it for spares which may have kept two or three more going for others. The Fiesta had half the power, zero comfort, and used more petrol! On reflection, I'm surprised I tolerated the hopeless thing for as long as I did!

Edited 2 hours ago by Dunsignalling