Disposable brake rotors and wipers that you have to buy the whole blade, instead of just the refill, which is a heck of a lot cheaper!

 

I prefer the complete blade change instead of the refills because when you change the complete blade,you get good tight blades. With the refills,the blade has wear and slop. I love my old cars but for everyday use,the new cars are much better to drive. I forget how bad the old cars were till I get in mine,then it comes back.

 

I haven't seen wiper refills for about ten years.

 

Your problem is your trying to replace parts. Any more you don't replace parts,you replace the whole vehicle. They are all disposable now days.

 

Rotors have come way down, since the chinese began re-doing them with our 'recycled' steel and used tooling!
Cheaper than cutting them @ $10 - 15. New for $18!
When I sold them, had A guy tell me 'he cut them all' until I threw one on his lathe and it was .0004 true!
Made a believer out of him!

 

Most of the newer GM cars are not using a replaceable fuel filter, and also some have that so called tilt steering wheel.

Pat

 

I was able to get wiper refills up to about 1 1/2 years ago, I always used Anco, and replaced them in the spring and again in late fall with winter blades. The refills were from $4.99 $7.99 a set, today I bought the replacement blades..could not find Anco, for $14.99 & 13.49 (two different sizes), so it cost me twenty eight bucks, and that was with ten bucks off in store savings! The Anco refills always worked very well, which is why I used them for 30 years. I believe that most replacements today are for the whole blade, refills are getting rare, and I think they are made that way. Rotors, well, i don't like that they are so cheap that they either rust through before 40,000 miles, but the lower price does offset it. Of course my current dd has 4 wheel disc brakes, so I'll pay one way or another. And yes, current cars for the most point are much easier to live with.

 

Yes, i am PO'ed about the lack of wiper refills, too. That's not even a new vs old issue. Too many idiots out there who cannot not change refills and the companies decided it would bring more profit if we had to replace the whole blades!
I used to be able to buy two refills for 3 bucks. How I have to get the whole blades, 2 for about 15.

I have never had to buy discs or rotors cause i never had them turn unless they had an evident defect or were too close to the wear limit. I found some places cannot even turn them true!

Worst thing about new cars is that stupid check engine light and the fact that the car was built around the engine!!

 

black boxes...most 2k and up cars have them to big brothery for me

CEL lights

disposable wheel bearings

 

THE STICKER PRICE. and the fact I cant have one

 

Thats actually completely false. The majority of vehicles produced today do not have EDR (Event Data Recorders) installed. This is an extra cost for the manufacturer and most will not install them unless it is mandated by the local government. Even then they are only accessable by the manufacturer or local police forces for accident reconstruction.

I think what you are refering to is freeze frame data which is saved when a DTC code or collision event is recorded. This has VERY limited information about what the car was doing when the event happened.

 

My wife"s newer Mazda 3-feels like I am driving around in a disposable diaper(not used!)-There is NO metal on new cars-I guess when something breaks,I will throw it out(recycle),and get another!

 

lol , before last year , the wiper blades on my 2001 were original .

 

My company truck is a 2012 Ford Pickup. I do enjoy driving it, but was shocked to see a plastic oil pan when I crawled underneath it. Likely it is some new fangled plastic that is strong... but when I'm driving a jeep road in the woods the last thing I want to worry about is breaking the oil pan on a big rock! John

 

Soon the whole block and bottom end will be plastic!!!

 

My complaints about new cars mostly centers around driving comfort.

1. Seats - The seats I am sure are better designed for safety today but they lack the comfort of the old seats. Newer seat cushions are very hard and constraining.

2. Door panels are usually made of hard plastic and are uncomfortable to rest my leg up against.

3. A center console that make me feel sandwiched in.

4. Ride quality - the older cars are much better freeway cruisers. I think every new manufacturer thinks I want a firm riding car. Sure if I buy a new Mustang that's fine but if my job has me doing a lot of freeway driving, then I don't want to feel every road imperfection or dip.

I personally prefer my Supreme's bench seat with the center armrest or my Eldorado's bucket seats for a long drive. The softer door panels and the ride quality are much nicer than most new cars.

Of course, I did not mention the boring styling of most of today's cars compared to the pre-1987 cars but that's another post.

 

I HATE "check engine" lights!!!
I LOVE that my Old's doesn't have one... and doesn't require the Calif. "Smog Test"

 

They're all grey or black or white - what happened to colors?

The manufacturers expect people to get them serviced instead of wanting to fix it themselves (which, sadly, is true), so it's becoming increasingly difficult to work on your own car.

 

I don't know what I'll drive when my two Grand Marquis die or rot out. Last of the traditional American cars and very dependable. My 00 will die of rot My 07 never gets used during winter so it should be good for some time. I loved my 88 Caprice and my old Caddies. I do like my girlfriends Acura MDX but too many gadgets that will probably eventually break.

The last time I replaced wiper blades I couldn’t find any US made ones.

 

I have no problems with new cars except for GM. I will never purchase a new GM vehicle.

 

My 2008 f150 has 2 things that drive me nuts-
1 the passengers side door is always locked, i have to constantly go around to the drivers side to unlock the damn door to get something, weren't the door locks together ! If the drivers door is unlocked, the pass. door should be unlocked also . period.
2 The dome lights have a mind of their own- they should come on when I open the door and go off when I shut the door. When I stop and shut off my truck, the dome light comes on and stays on- noooo. Don't put the spot light on me !

Put things back the way they were/ please.

 

I don't like all the Tech'y things, bluetooth, sync, nav, on board monitoring, etc..., too many distractions with multiple screens and an endless array of buttons and switches. I think cars need to go back to standard gauges and decent stereo. Today cars almost require an engineering degree to operate and repair!!

 

Can't stand a car - truck that locks the doors for me every time you move 10 feet. Also new pickup beds are so high now you can't pick anything out of it that slides to the middle, you have to crawl in like a reptile to retrieve any tool you might need. ...Tedd

 

Can't say I'm much a fan of most of the modern car gadgets either, as never use most of them myself. Gotta love the fuel efficiency, and clean exhaust though. My daily 08' Pontiac GXP, runs to 60 in six flat, mid 14's quarter, and 28 mpg highway. Not many 60's so called muscle cars will run with it. With where gas is going, almost wish I'd gotten a 4 cylinder Chevy Cruze. Can you imagine what it'd be like, driving your 10-15 mpg Olds as a daily commuter these days.

 

Lots of things I don't like about soul-less disposible cars of today, but have to commend them on safety. Went to dinner this weekend with a friend who described recent accident in a ~5yr old Accord. He got T-boned at 50 mph by a driver running a red light. No warning, just an explosion of metal and airbags. He walked away shaken but unhurt. Same for the driver of the offending vehicle and the 2 children also in that car. I try to be very careful in the Olds, can't predict what others will do.

 

I dislike the smallness of all new cars. I am only 5'-11" and weigh 204 lbs. I have to put the seat in my wife's Sonata all the way back and as low as it can go to get enough leg room and not have my hair brush the ceiling. When I had my 2003 Cad STS in for service they gave me a Cad CTS to drive I hated it. The seats are too narrow, my hips hit the center council and I could not get my left hand down to adjust the seat without opening the door. I will keep the 03 until it quits. Either that or until I shrink enough from old age to fit.

 

There is a lot to like in modern vehicles and lots not to like. Personally I like things like blue tooth & vavigation. What's to argue about 6 forward speeds & 270 HP out of 183 cubes with highway mileage on the mid to high 20's like my CTS? Major dislike is complexity for complexity's sake. Ona lot of new cars you have to remove the front bumper to change a head light. On the CTS if the LED tail lights start going bad you have to change the entire tail light.

 

I have seen the Ford ad with the "parallel park assist' . I nearly messed myself. If someone can't park their car they should be dragged behind it. This combined with 'blind spot monitors' ( you gotta be f'ng kidding me) speed sensing cruise control are giving the worst drivers out there confidence to do really stupid things. These are the same people who come to a dead stop on a busy main road to check an address or stop in the middle of a merge lane that is 100 ft long.

Blue tooth and sat nav are all fine for some people - I personally consider it fluff but to each his own. Give me a roadmap and a large coffee ( not a half caf low fat grande whizbang) and an open road and life is good.

 

Amen to all of that - could not have written it better myself...
Too much plastic crap surrounding me makes me feel claustrophobic....

And I will again say I hate the repair costs - too complex = too expensive (and too often) to fix.

 

Perhaps we're talking about the same thing and your terminology is incorrect...either that or by completly false you meant entirely true

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event_data_recorder

and for short list of vehicles w them

http://www.harristechnical.com/downloads/cdrlist.pdf

 

I often look at a car like my wife's Acadia and think who would want to maintain this car when it gets old? It has a power hatch which is great but you can't open it manually and the touch screen already had to be replaced once under warranty. It controls the navigation, stereo, DVD player and also accesses a number of other systems and is also the display for the back up camera so its not like you can get by with it broken. When the car gets old who is going to pay to fix all this shyt when its out of warranty?

 

I like the new cars for the power and reliability. I spend a good part of my day behind the wheel. Love my Charger R/T. On the highway if I drive nice I can get between 26-28 mpg. It has the nav and all the other good stuff I use. I hate the plastic door panels and cheap looking dash. The seats are the upgraded heated ones so it's comfy. The thing that drives me batty is the frickin' engine light. I have replaced the gas cap three times and within 90 days the light comes on again....I do like the new Chargers the interiors are much nicer and the power from the V-6 is pretty good. When the time comes I may get another Charger. I think I'll skip the Hemi with the gas prices going up like they are.

Still love the feel and power of the Olds!

 

DIY maintenance can be a hassle on newer cars, but as newer cars fall out of warranty, the techniques for the DIYer will be found. One day, we'll laugh at how easy it is to change a water pump in a 2011 M3.

 

New cars may have a lot of safety gadgets, but they need them because they're so small and light. I feel safer in my '70 DeVille than in any new car. I hate electronics, I work on computers for a living, I want my car to have a switch that operates a load via copper wires. I don't ever want to see an electronic screen or gadget in my car. Of course servicing new cars is almost impossible, it's part of the design, everything is packed into such a small space, you generally have to perform ten operations just to replace the offending part. My next daily driver will be a '71-'76 Delta 88/98. I will fix it when it breaks, repair rust as necessary, and undercoat it regularly to keep rot to a minimum. I currently get 15 MPG on my Blazer, the 455 will cost me about $1,000 more per year at $4.50/gallon to operate. The Blazer has depreciated at about $1,400/year. People will look at me like I'm crazy, and I will smile and keep on floating down the road.

 

What I find the real shame of all is the inability to order what you want. Want no carpet in a truck, but want something useful like heated mirrors? You have to get a full package of stuff you don't want. The new stuff is safer,faster, generally lasts longer, is easier for non-drivers,(electronic stability, etc), but boring, without style, and costs too much.

1965 98 rag top
1961Dodge M-37
1984 Ranger 4x
2002 Dodge Cummins

 

If fuel milage is a concern, a 4000+lb Charger would be the furthest thing from my mind, as heavier than many of the 60's cars, members here own. Chryslers new Pentastar 3.6 engine is excellent, but more engineering time is needed on some of their chassis, to get the weight out. Glad to see Chryslers bringing a small car Dart back into the fold, as think they screwed up big time, pulling the Neon from the youth car market. Know a couple guys, running SRT-4 Turbos into the 12's. Of course, there's the Fiat 500 which is pretty cool, but really micro sized. Recently discovered, Fiat actually owns 60% of Chrysler, so guess it's actually all Fiat now.

 

Every GM vehicle since the agreement with OnStar in 1995 that has an OnStar system has an EDR.
This is why we've strayed away from new GM vehicles. This should be a voluntary option, but
instead GM has made it a mandatory one with nearly impossible removal since 2006.

This actually tells you the location of every GM vehicles EDR.
http://media.mgnetwork.com/blackbox/

 

No disrespect but the plastics used on the Chargers are pretty beat. They put better seats in the RT but the dash & door panels are pretty standard fare.

 

Most new cars are pretty heavy. All those gadgets & safety equipment add weight. My CTS w AWD is almost 4K lbs.

 

You may feel safe, but you would be a lot more likely to walk away from a serious crash in a CTS.