Specialists have debunked the myth that old cars are more reliable

Almost no EU requirements or directives can predict reliability, because it is not easily measurable and the car manufacturer cannot specify any objective numbers. There are basically two demands on customers: the manufacturer’s warranty period, which varies from two to seven years, and long-term car testing.

For example, manufacturers such as Audi, BMW or Opel give their cars a two-year warranty and to extend it to five you will have to pay extra. Hyundai already applies five years as standard, while Kia customers can enjoy a car warranty period of up to seven years, which is the longest period in the entire region.

Guarantee: quality guarantor?

Vitoldas Milius, editor-in-chief of Auto Bild Lietuva magazine, agrees that the warranty is an important criterion, just like reliability tests.

“To check the reliability of the car, long-term tests should be carried out, as the Auto Bild magazine does: after 100 thousand it buys the car after having driven kilometers, dismantles it and thus determines the defects. Different cars are tested – both Kia with a long warranty (7 years), and those with a warranty period of only a couple of years. The tests reveal different results, but it can be said with certainty that a longer warranty demonstrates the manufacturer’s confidence in the quality and reliability of the car,” he said the car expert.

According to him, if the manufacturer is not afraid to commit to the long term, it means that the customer can really worry less.

“A short warranty seems to show the manufacturer’s reluctance to take responsibility, because he may not know what it will be like after a few years. The logical idea is that by producing unreliable cars and providing a long warranty, the manufacturer will cut out a large part of the profit,” V. Milius said.

J.D. Power, a U.S. company that has been conducting extensive research on the quality of automobiles for more than three decades, this year updated the results of a long-term study and examined defective or malfunctioning units and equipment that are difficult, inconvenient or unclear to use or that do not work as drivers expect. Dodge and Kia received the same top score for quality. Dodge became the first U.S. manufacturer in the study’s history to receive the top score, and Kia has received it for six consecutive years.

Furthermore, this study revealed that Japanese brands, which were previously considered quality benchmarks, have lost their positions and are unable to catch up with some US or Korean cars that are rapidly raising the quality bar.

“Famous engineer W. Edwards Deming once said, ‘Quality means understanding and meeting customer needs,’ and for a long time Japanese automakers lived up to those expectations, but in recent years they have been surpassed by others who better understand what quality means to today’s customer,” said Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power.

It’s a myth that older cars are more reliable

There is a prevailing myth that new cars are generally unreliable and all units of old models are simple and there was simply nothing to break, but statistics show the opposite.

The website consumerreports.org conducted a reliability study involving more than 420,000 consumers. cars produced in the period 2000-2020. Breakdown data from the last twelve months was used, “complaints” from high-mileage cars were subjected to an appropriate formula that eliminated the effects of natural wear, and for new ones a reliability forecast was provided calculated on the basis of a series of criteria and the reliability history of the units of the same previous models.

The results of this study, to the surprise of many, show a trend of increasing car reliability every few years. For example, 2% of cars produced in 2012 had serious engine failures, and since 2016 less than 1%. More than 4 percent of owners of 2012 models complained of malfunctions in the climate control system, brakes and suspension, and in 2017 this number dropped to one. Perhaps electronics suffer less: most cars fluctuate around 3-4%, only in recent years has it dropped to 2%.

“There is definitely such a myth, but I could not agree, because there are many nuances. It is said that now cars are produced with small engines, the resources of which cannot be high, but reality shows that this is not the case. Normal resources, everyone drives normally, but the point is probably that the status of the car in general has changed and most people do not consider it a lifelong purchase,” continued V. Milius, talking about the reliability of new cars.

According to him, people usually change even a reliable car after 3-5 years because they get tired of it. They no longer need a car that will last 20 years.

“Another myth is that electronics fail, nothing like that. For example, in the 80s, the French began to install a lot of electronic devices, and after a few months you could discover non-working electrically operated windows. Are there such situations now? No, everything works. Many failures were simply fixed by manufacturers over time,” said the head of Auto Bild Lietuva. publisher.

Dainius Leonavičius, a colleague of the election commission “Lithuanian Car of the Year 2021″, argues Vitold, stating that this is more of an unfounded myth than a fact: “I have not heard any indication that the current ones are less durable than cars produced twenty or thirty years ago. Yes, some successful models can be cited, for example some Mercedes-Benzes with extremely durable engines, but here – unity. Supporters of the myth argue that the walls of the new engines are also thinner, but you have to remember that the technologies are also different. I cannot conclude that older cars were more durable.”

Best value for money and no high cost

The word “warranty” can be very suitable and the truth is that one warranty is not necessarily the same as another, but some aspects apply to all cases: during the warranty period, the car must be serviced at the intervals specified by the manufacturer at authorized services, and any serious breakdown will not cost the driver anything.

“By granting a warranty period of five or seven years, the manufacturer assumes the long-term risk, but of course the driver will also try to maintain his car properly, because even if he intends to sell it, the still valid warranty will be an additional value,” said D. Leonavičius regarding the maintenance of the car during the warranty period.

V. Milius also expressed his opinion on this issue: “You should always read what the warranty of a particular car covers, familiarize yourself with its conditions, but in general it can be said that the longer the warranty, the more useful it is for the user. It can be compared to insurance. If the bumper is scratched, perhaps you can repair it yourself, no problem, but when the car suffers major damage, thanks to insurance, you will not be left barefoot, this is the most important thing. Let the warranty that the insurance allows you to feel calm and not to be afraid of serious breakdowns that usually arrive unexpectedly.”