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A comment on The Rise of the Disposable Car. Parent comment

Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by UniverseHacker on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @05:40PM (#40517357)
That's really only true if you consider within the same class or model of car, where the technology has advanced... but old cars are so affordable you can get a much higher end and much safer car. Do you think a 2024 Chevy Trax is safer than a 2012 Audi Q5? Both are compact SUVs but you can buy 3-4 nice condition low mileage Q5s for the price of the Chevy.

Regardless of tech like changes in crumple zone design, you also can't negate the safety benefits of substantially better brakes, handling, driver comfort, and road visibility from a better designed car made with higher end parts and materials.

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Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by Workaccount2 on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @05:50PM (#40517455)
Whatever you save on the upfront cost of a used Q5 you'll pay on the backend the first time it needs service.
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Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by SkyPuncher on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @07:54PM (#40518556)
It’s a Volkswagen under the hood. Besides some “performance” components most are going to be exactly the same as a Volkswagen.
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Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by UniverseHacker on Thursday May 30, 2024 @11:48AM (#40525091)
Depends on what engine you choose… you can get a base model that has an identical simple and reliable drivetrain to a Jetta or Golf, or some exotic engines that are very costly to maintain- like the V6 TDI.
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Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by UniverseHacker on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @05:59PM (#40517538)
Maintenance on an older Audi is expensive compared to, say, a Japanese economy car, but you're talking maybe $1k/year to maintain on average, vs $500/mo payments for the cheapest new car.
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