People are abandoning their cars for expensive repairs.
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People are broke and modern vehicles are often not worth fixing.
a 30 year old bicycle is more worth fixing than a car it will be cheaper upfront and long term
Literally the truth
That's why that Kia is worth fixing it
like tv
This might happen to me one day as I have 1991 oldsmoblie that will soon need transmission but don't have the money to replace it along with brakes too. What am I to do? I am a widowed and on fix income, senior(65) and no family. Five of my cats are my family and they are not toxic at least they won't stab me in back like people do. My family all passed way and they were toxic. I am grateful to have strong enough legs and able to walk and ride bicycle. I can repair the bicycle myself and won't break down on me , no smog check, no tags or insurance BS. Buy an good decent bike about 300 dollars ( don't need a expensive fancy bike as that's total waste of money and will get stolen).
I bought a 94 Toyota for $1600, drove it for 20k miles and then the transmission case broke off from the mount on one of the ears. I decided to pay a shop $2k for a used transmission, clutch, wheel bearing and other related items. I’m glad I did, because I’m still driving it 150,000 miles later with no other major repairs. I still drive it out of state with 325k+ miles. I’m going to be sad when it finally rusts away.
Get a bucket of fluid film and go to town all over and inside that truck. It will completely stop rusting as long as you keep reapplying every season.
I've thing about Toyota they last
Try getting that same transmission repaired in 2025.
Have a 91 Toyota myself. Never getting rid of it.
Had a 1993 Camry, the thing was built like a tank. Solid parts and the engine was cast iron and boy did it feel like it would never break.
i was a Dealership mechanic for Ford until 2017, and i will NEVER work on cars as an occupation ever again. it was bad enough back then but i just especially dont trust the industry right now enough to stake my house payments on it. going independent is better but i don't want to have to deal with unpaid bills and abandoned vehicles.
i specialize in mobile auto-shop equipment repair now (translation: i drive to shops and dealerships to fix car lifts, air compressors, and tire machines) and its a lot better pay and workload. but im still talking with the guys like you, doing the car repairs every day, and it just sounds like i picked the perfect time to get out of vehicle wrenching before it got so, so much worse between planned obsolescence, crappy electric cars, customers getting even WORSE (didnt know that was even possible!) and manufacturers squeezing that warranty (warren-free) work even tighter on payouts because they design stuff wrong and dont want to pay mechanics properly to fix their mistakes.
i think that in 5-10 years, there will be so few decent mechanics left that the industry is gonna openly panic and be forced to offer better pay and benefits across the board just to hire entry-level techs, and they'll have to offer experienced technicians manager salaries to even consider coming back. and they'll STILL have trouble getting good techs because the trust is gone
At the mechanic school I went to, they told me the same thing you did: that the industry is panicking and forced to offer better pay and benefits across the board. So as a naive kid I signed up and then worked at several shops.
Well, let me tell you the industry is very good at playing up their panic. Their real solution isn't to offer better pay and benefits though, it's to justify to the government the massive hiring of foreign workers from Africa and Asia, as they can pay them peanuts and abuse them because they control their Visa. The salaries and benefits have barely budged, still very close to minimum wage for new workers, and you get a dollar or two more per hour after a year. Anyone with half a brain will either go independent or move on to diesel or factory work where pay and conditions are semi-decent.
What's really going to happen is we will simply stop fixing cars. When they stop working we'll just dump them and buy another one. And if you can't afford to buy, then you're out of luck and will have to take the company bus to work at the food processing plant (which are also massively hiring illegal immigrants, and hence offer the company bus to get their workers in).
Just be honest unlike every single mechanic I had
Total =11 mechanics after those hypocrites I gave up on mechanics ..
I been learning cars for 38 years and hearing their lies 🤮🤮🤮🤮
Just drive your used car until it gives up ….
Use these mechanic and let them charge you big for that certification then save for the next car to go back and see the same liar mechanic
@@noseboop4354 i fell for that too tbh, and while starting pay was above average, they NEVER wanted to give raises. the only benefit i had that was worth it was employee health and dental that was half decent. but when you're flat rate and you're not getting assigned jobs during slow periods because they're making sure work goes to the guys they actually want to retain... then that's when i realized there was no future for me in the dealerships.
in 5-10 years, they'll be desperate AND actually be serious about being desperate. but no-one will want to do it. the guys like me are busy not recommending the next generation to try this line of work based on our own experiences.
in the end though, i'm glad i have the skill-set and the tools to maintain my own vehicles at least, so it wasnt a total waste.
I work on mostly JDM and Euro cars its actually kinda fun unless the car I am fixing is 30 years old and literally everything dry rotted but unfortunately I've had to deal with a few US cars and I hate them so much the simplest things are unbelievably hard to do
@@psychoairsoft7146 why no just seize the abandoned vehicles? Takes time but is legal
Life is getting harder and harder. It's almost like the Ruling Class doesn't want the Proles to have privately owned vehicles.... Or housing.... Hmm.
It seems that way, and we know money doesn't go as far as it used to, but the trick is to buy something you can afford, even if it's not a fancy label, and shop carefully, don't be in a hurry. People unload great cars for peanuts every day, for all sorts of reasons, you just have to get there first...
Just do some simple research on reliable car makes and models and just stay on top of their maintenance.
That's what they want, exactly.
Part of the plan
Was 2 ez
Hold on to old vehicles. They are well made and cheap to repair. ALL new cars are overpriced, overengineered, unreliable, disposable junk... like everything else sold today.
They rust away in many parts of the country.
@@JA-gx4hb I live in the "salt belt". I always rust proof my cars. Extra couple of hundred bucks will be well worth it.
the reason I ditched the car entirely for bicycles in 2020 think of the money I have saved
@@newmobile1455 I grew up in Europe. My family did not own a car. We walked everywhere (work, school, shopping, entertainment...etc). We did have few bicycles but they got quickly stolen so we never replaced them.
@@samkitty5894 the point is you did not need a car to get around
Funny how shops suddenly CAN clean up & fix those $6000 transmissions, after taking ownership of the car. Then dump it on the next guy at an auction
It is called business - they are working after hours with no overheads tax etc. However their earnings per hour are often cents.
This is one of the many reasons I am keeping my 2012 Ford Focus Hatchback with MANUAL transmission. I've been an auto tech and I've always taken care of my own cars. Without the DCT issues, this car has been phenomenal. 176,000 miles and still runs like new. The only defects I had to repair was when the rear upper aluminum shock mounts corroded and broke, and I replaced them and the rear shocks around 130K miles (I live in the rustbelt). Also, I had to replace the coolant outlet at the back of the cylinder head when the plastic lip of the slot for the seal cracked and leaked. That is all! Everything else has been maintenance.
I don't want a newer, more complicated car with more things to go wrong on it, or for it to collect and transmit all kinds of data on me. My coworker has a 2014 model of the same car and has over 300,000 miles on his. He had the same problem with the upper rear shock mounts and that's about it. He also does all his own work. In the years to come, whenever my car needs a new engine (if I am still alive then, lol) it will cost a lot cheaper than paying $40,000 or more for a new car that is going to track my every move and cost tons of money to fix the coffee maker, well drilling attachment, and the electric dog polisher. Then when the satellite tracking software fails the wipers won't work anymore. 😋Who wants to deal with that?
I have the same car, and after adding 110k to it, I liked it so much that I bought another 2013 Focus Manual for my wife. Now we have two Focuses, and they’ve been amazing-no depreciation and no hefty repair bills. They’re also super easy to work on! If I ever need to replace one, I’ll definitely go for another Focus Manual 😅
@@taunus1979 - Agreed. Ford could have had a home-run wit this car if they didn't stick with the DCT transmission. The rest of the car is just awesome. My co-worker and I agree these are the best cars we've ever had, and we both have fun driving them.
Oil pan stared leaking on mine. Seems to be a huge problem with ford ecoboost engines. My dad had to replace his after 3 years. Mine was at 7 years.
@@TheDealer6373 - My engine is just the regular, naturally aspirated 2.0L engine, but being a first year car it is not a Flex Fuel engine. I put a new drain plug on the oil pan. The owner's manual considers this regular maintenance. That's it. No oil leaks from the pan gasket.
This past summer I replaced the valve cover gasket (maintenance again) with about 173,000 miles on it. It had very slight seepage on the back side of the cover, but over the years you could see some wetness of oil there. Never a leak that caused any issues with maintaining the oil level. I just wanted the engine to stay clean. I also painted the valve cover the same blue color as the car while I had it off. I clean my engine compartment 2 or 3 times a year. It still looks like new, though it has never been garaged. I wipe down all the black plastic (battery box, fuse box, air cleaner, etc.) with Armor All. The silicone makes the plastic look new and also helps dust to just slip off and they stay clean longer.
The bigger concern with the 3 and 4 cylinder EcoBoost engines is the poor block deck design. The cooling passages between the cylinders prevents there being enough surface area for the head gasket to remain intact and it blows very often. There is a Technical Service Bulletin on this. The "repair" is to replace the engine. There are class action lawsuits agains Ford for this.
You took care of your car. You did regular maintenance and did not just get in and drive like most people. You didnt wait until the car had a problem before you decided oh maybe it needs an oil change. That is why your car is lasting with few problems. You MAINTAINED it. I like how people buy a car do nothing at all for 30k miles then bring it in and oh my gosh I need a new engine. Oh its too expensive and cant afford it. What do they expect not to mention the many speed demons who stomp on it and pass people at excessive speeds while beating the crap out of their car just to be in front of you at the next stop light.
Better off buying a car crusher and starting a junk yard.
Oh yessss... we even see some repair shops closing their doors. 😢😢
The problem is with the PEOPLE. They buy cars they can't afford, then can't afford any repairs. Greed, need to show off, ego-boosting, this is the plague of the social media age. Hope that trend reverses soon.
I once owned a 1988 BMW 325i, but totaled it in 1998. My father sold the car to someone who wanted the engine. In 2006, I got a fax from a guy wanting to buy the car. It had been abandoned at some mechanics shop, and he had to run a vehicle inquiry on it in order to see who the last registered owner was. Of course, I had no title since we sold it as a parts car, so I went to visit the car, and it had been (very badly) repaired. Not parted out at. The dash had been replaced, floor mats removed, and one of the wheels no longer matched.
I talked with the shop owner who said that the person who left the car there asked them to sell it, but didn’t leave any contact info, therefore they were unable to do anything with it. There was no mechanics lien, but they would love to have the parking spot back. I filed for a lost title, and received it in the mail, making the car legally mine once more.
What’s messed up was the receipt in the glove box was for the poorly done body repairs, the very thing that totaled it. It was done cheaply, which explained the quality. The customer that receipt was billed to was NOT the person my father sold the car to. I later found the bill of sale my father made out to the buyer. So I have no idea what happened, since it was sold as a parts car, for the engine, which never happened, because it was still numbers matching. Once the car was home, I swapped out the fuel filter, and the car started up! However, since the fuel in it had sat for about 8 years, it clogged it, and burned out the pump. It was basically sitting because the fuel had gone bad.
This is why I love my 2002 Subies. I don't get why people like new cars. Most of them don't even look good.
lol
there junk.i do liked some new ones not all.
@shanenice5380 😊
all that cr&p you talk and there are still more cars on the roads than ever before - make your comment make sense 🤣
@truetothegame2928 They aren't new cars 😳 My comment is valid lol
Planned obsolescence has led to disposable cars. I didn't know you could abandon cars at repair shops. Cool solution to the problem of planned obsolescence!
Show me one document, one policy, one "plan," that supports your claim or "planned obsolescence."
After all, if it's "planned" it must be written somewhere.
@@kewlztertc5386 It most likely is but not where we'll ever see it.
If I owned the shop I'm ok with that.. 30 days it's mine lol
@kewlztertc5386 planned obsolescence doesn't mean it has to be written down somewhere. All it means is that car companies are using cheaper materials and builduing cars that are just barely good enough to out last the warranty if that. If you spend time on any mechanic youtube channel you'll see that the older cars were built with stronger materials and all the modern cars are made with cheap plastics.
@rob637 so it's a plan that's not a plan but is a plan?
Cheap fabrication of parts, that has nothing to do with "planning." It's just good business, cost cutting to make a profit.
Steel is more expensive now. Its also limiting for designs, and weight.
Every generation says cars are cheaper built. But that has no intent behind it.
How many UA-cam videos have you watched? Compare that to the 100s of thousands of cars on America's streets. Let's have a little perspective.
If cars were really trash, people wouldn't buy them and manufacturers would change based on demand.
I bought a brand new Toyota back in 2005 when my children were in grade school, they had been growing in my Toyota over 20 years since then Toyota at 3 miles. Twenty years later the Toyota gained 350K miles taking hundreds of road trips and never breakdown. The Toyota only needed with only minor repairs for the most part like timing belt replacement at $700, alternator at $350, spark plugs at $400. The repairs are years in between but never have to make monthly car payments. The money goes to kids’ education instead.
The most expensive repair has been new catalytic converter at $1800.
Engine, transmission, AC, suspension , fuel pump, injectors, electric windows, upholstery are original without issue.
My previous car was also a Toyota that I kept for 23 years without major issues.
Spark plugs at $400? Were they gold plated? Seems really expensive for plugs idk
And junkyards are disappearing-so you must use expensive new parts. When repair costs exceed 70% of the car's value the insurance company will total it.
While I agree it is irresponsible, I understand why it it happening. When repairs cost is higher then the value of the car some people look at it like why dump money into it when I could just go buy another beater . My daughter purchased a 2015 ford focus, the one with the wet belt problems. Well the belt came apart and plugged up the oil pickup and now the car needs a new engine. Cost quote from FORD , $6000, KBB value of car, 2700. She bought a used Toyota and I have a ford focus boat anchor parked at my house. Maybe if they better engineered these vehicles to last instead of building throw away vehicles it would curb some of this ? Just my thoughts
Ford should be sued for that one.
w the horrific reputation of ford that is widely known, can I ask why did zhe still choose a ford? found on road dead, driver returns on foot, fix or repair daily? 😂 like come on man.
What brand of car hasn't had something that gives them a bad reputation? No matter what you choose someone will go "why'd you get that car, don't you know xxx brand sucks?"
People buy a car because it's what they can afford and what's available to them. It's not fair to blame the average consumer
@@theshiningfalcon a lot of cars dont. Corollas. Civics. Camrys. Accords. Thats about it though lmao
But why push your problem vehicle off on someone else? It’s not his problem it’s yours!! Totally irresponsible!!!
The worst is when people list cars for sale on facebook that needs a big job that costs around 2000+ at a shop, and drops the price at $600 less than what a good running similar mileage one would cost, and says "mechanics special". Its like they value a mechanics time and expertise at 20 an hour and justify that the mechanic makes around 20 an hour from their boss, so its a good deal for the mechanic. Theres a big difference in what a shop charges per hour vs how much mechanic gets paid per hour
What a waste of cars. The way we go about making them, repairing them, and maintaining them, is insane. For $6K, I bought a 2003 Mazda MPV minivan in mint condition with 65K original miles on it 3 years ago. Of all places, I bought it on Ebay and had it shipped from Florida to Pa. It's been the best investment I ever made. Unlike most people, I take good care of it. I've learned to never take my car for granted and I never drive hard as many people do with jack rabbit starts, hard braking, or speeding.
My neighbor laughed when I told him that MIT and Stanford predict that by 2035 only 20% will afford a car. It would be the same as the year 1910 when only the rich 20% have a car.
Manufacturer's need to be held liable for making vehicles too expensive to repair. Its one thing to have engine repair costing $5-6000, but when it costs almost the same to replace a headlight, struts, or an alternator, when do you say enough and get a different car.... People need to start inquiring about basic maintenance before buying.
They won’t because you believe someone needs to hold them accountable. America is built on consumerism you’ll have a good six months and go back to consuming. Stop buying shit in general and stop giving away your independence but we are all allowing society to slowly take away all the skills and tools that made us independent to become slaves. They’ve made us hate our elders and now they’re dying with all the knowledge that helped us not need governments. I really don’t see a free world anymore in 200-300 years from now because once we forget and our elders die they’ll keep all the knowledge.
$2500. to replace a tail light on a F250 truck!
I was at my local Honda dealer a few years ago. I was looking at a new Accord. The salesman suggested not going with the LED headlights. I asked why. He said when they break, they cost $1,200 each. When I talked to the lead tech, he said all the new cars are junk. Decided to keep my 2007 Accord with the VTEC and stick shift.
If they can't fix your own car they kinda deserve the repair bills
Did anyone else read "Manufacturer's need" and just outright dismiss whatever was being bleated out?
Manufacturer ... is need? Has need? Was need?
Manufacturer's ... what need?
Why in the world is a tuneup in a four cylinder Ford Fusion $1000🤔. The plugs not difficult to get too..
No such thing as a tune up anymore.
I just thought that & saw your comment.
@@JA-gx4hb I agree, gap and change the plugs, dwell-tach the timing belt, plug your Sun diagnostic into the OBD port and clear faults ... 3, 2, 1, you're done. Bonus, check the gas cap and fuel return line, O2 sensor, PCV valve, maybe fuel filter and pumps ... these can keep a car from running or even starting. Your diagnostic will likely tell you these. Some of these items are emissions-related and can be fixed FREE before 50K to 100K miles, depending on the year of the car.
@@JA-gx4hb I'm assuming the plugs on that should be changed at least every 100,000 miles
Because the ripoff repair shop charges $250 an hour labor !
In Germany Workshops take 400 Euros per hour wage and in Switzerland even 700 Francs most people cant afford anything
This is why I'm going to get a 2011 Crown Victoria, Ford F150 or 98-02 Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator next. Very reliable and very cheap to fix and maintenance can be done yourself with a basic set of tools.
The Crown Vic I drove in police training had over 600,000k on it and still drove very well. My friend's 1997 F-150 with the I6 over 880k miles on it. A colleague has a 2002 Expedition with a 5.4 2v in it and it has 330k on it. My '88 Ranger has over 580K on it too (odometer has rolled five times). My 1993 Jeep ZJ I6 has 260k on it, and hell, my 2003 Landrover Discovery with 126k on it is still going strong. I cannot reasonably expect that today. It's sickening.
The 2010 and 2011 f150s are very good. Smooth transmission, reliable engines.
This is nothing new I've been flipping cars that were abandoned for a heater core job since the 90s
Has it gotten easier now?
That's very interesting, is it a sideline or your main job? And where do you find most of the cars? And in what shape?
In the 41 years I have been driving, I've replaced two heater cores: one on a Land Rover Discovery 300tdi and the other on a 1900 VW Golf GT TDI. I'm not a car mechanic by trade, but the Discovery heater core wasn't too bad to replace. However, the heater core in the Golf was an absolute pig to replace. The steering wheel, dashboard, centre console, wiper motor, and many other components had to be removed to access the heater core. Why car designers would design something so difficult to replace begs the question: do they purposely design difficulty into replacing parts to put home mechanics off repairing their cars - I'd rather have my undercarriage slowly hacked off with a blunt spoon than have to replace another Golf heater core.
Of many big ticket repair jobs now has reports of abandoned vehicles taking up space in a repair facility's compound as a number of vehicles abandoned over a heater core replacement as to get to the heater core has the dashboard pulled.
tbf these mechanics are getting crazy with repair prices needed a new cv axle on a murano 2011 and they wanted 900$ i repaired it in my drive way for 120$, if you include the lunch and my time 240 still way cheaper than 900.
They need to price around everyone else’s screwups and negligence. It’s like healthcare that way. $900 isn’t bad, really.
@@BillLaBrie$900 is horrifying dude. It shouldn’t be more than like $225 absolute tops for a CV axle
@ shops gotta make money. Oberhead is crushing. Dude.
@@WilliamDiaz-p2h when I was listening to the video I couldn't believe he wanted to charge $1,000 to do a tune-up on a Ford fusion which only has four spark plugs and they're very easy to get to. I could see if it was a Mercedes but to charge $1,000 to do a tune-up on a Ford fusion is insane. They should be ashamed of themselves
@@BillLaBrie overhead is crushing but we’re talking about a 2011 Nissan Murano not a Bentley continental. A CV axle is not that expensive even at the rip off shops.
DUDE 🥸
That's what happens when you start making disposable cars...
They’ve always been disposable personal property. They are not real estate.
I'm an Engineer and machinist. I would never leave any trade person stuck with a car or unpaid job. I took work for a living and look down on people who would screw a shop just because their life is screwed. If your poor and can't afford your bill just tell the shop. They might be able to find a work around solution.
Well when you find out it cost more than it should and you can't afford it there isn't much you can do , Happy to hear your fortunate enough to be able to afford a hit like that
@@stevenrichard6226Don't authorize the repairs and take the car back. I got a fair price for a car that needed $2000 in repairs from the mechanic. He did the work in the evening after the shop closed.
We were both happy with the deal.
You haven't been broke yet.
Dealing with the auto industry can make you abandon your normal way of doing business in a courteous way.
@@stevenrichard6226This doesn't make sense. Even if you're poor, you can drive the car to get junked yourself. You don't have to leave it at a random repair shop and abandon it. There are pleanty of places that advertise that they will take your car and sell its parts individually or turn into scrap metal. This has nothing to do with being fortunate
1993 Toyota Tercel, cop'd last year. Owner was have leaks and issues with it. Cost me about $500 for parts to replace it and $400 in labor( over the course of 6 months, not all at once ).
Buddy of mine is spending $700 a month to basically drive to same places i go to while I pay $30 in gas tops.
So many people was asking me why I bought and why not get a new car. This is a perfect example as to why.
Most of these folks Are being Lied Tooo' From the Dealer.. the Cars repairs Are not expensive' To Fix' its the Dealers Charging through the Roof.. thats why its important to do Simple maintenance on A Car' Ask around..Dealers just Being Greedy..you know somebody in your life or not that knows more than you about Car's.. educate yourself.. dont get Robbed & Fooled buy Greedy Car dealers & sub standard Car mechanics.😎
I believe there is a shortage of mechs and that contributes to the expense. A shop/dealer will have to pay a tech more just to attract them to work there. Sure dealers are expensive, but so are regular shops with rates at $100/hr. Plus, nowadays shops want easy repairs that only take a few hours. A shop will refuse to do 20 hours to take apart/replace an engine... especially when they may not get paid. That is a huge upfront cost that the shop will have to absorb before they get paid (if they ever do). One local shop owner explained to me that cars are reliable enough that people do not maintain their car (less simple work for a shop). They just get in and drive it until it dies which is now near 200k where it was less than 100K back in 80s. At that point, people feel they got their worth out of it and trade it in/abandon it so it is someone else's problem.
Exactly
The pos middle east or Russian dealers with "CrackCanics" living in the junked cars behind the shop ARE a big problem! Bought our 2004 Subie from one of those. Paid TOO MUCH $$$ in Panicdemic 2022 for it BUT replaced the rebuilt alternator and leaky power steering and super thin AFTERMARKET belts, put a new radiator in and did all the work by myself, now it's rock solid once I got rid of the shoddy repairs the dealer made and replaced their cheap rebuilt parts with original used parts from the junkyard I pulled myself!
Bro the video isn’t even at a dealership….. and you’re still making this claim…. Cars are in fact expensive to maintain.
Y’all expect people to make shit pay is all. Hence why all the mechanics move to being fleet mechanics … to make an hourly wage or they own a small independent shop to keep prices low as possible.
@@xoxojohnandres4616 ok. I knew a guy who had a 2011 nissan murano from a brand new
He was babying that car, replacing cvt fluind with both (!) filters every 30k km or every 2 years (whatever used to came first)
And you already know the answer: transmission went at 138k kms.
Replacement cost was higher then cost of a car , so he simply just parted that thing out
Back in about 1972, I had some work done on my car, and the shop loaned me a car to drive. I am guessing that it was a car that they fixed and then the owner never came to get it. It was a 1958 Chevrolet 4 door sedan which was just an old transportation car back then. The paint was faded, and the upholstery was torn, but the Power Glide automatic shifted very crisp like a new one. I assume that it was brought in for a transmission rebuild. The 283 V8 engine ran good too.
My neighbor had a 58 Chevrolet in the late 60s, good running reliable work car. He paid 50 or 75 dollars for it. I had a 46 Dodge in the early 70s, 50 dollars.
I'll keep my 2008 Toyota Matrix Xr. 228,000 miles and still reliable. Maintenance and repairs are cheap.
Mechanics turning into car salesman and shops turning into a salvage yards
they want people to buy new cars every year
For the cars shown in the video, you can tell the owners never took care of them. Proper maintenance could have prevented most of the issues.
Some mechanics charge double or triple just to impound customer cars. By experience, I had crazy estimates like 7000 bucks who I could fix per 450 dollars. That's why I don't trust this shops.
Yesssssss... we have been seeing that phenomenon more and more now.. mostly for some brands like BMW, Cadillac.. crazy.. people still buying them😅😅😅
I think my car was bought from a repair shop. The person who sold me it was a car flipper who bought it from coparts but on the copart pics it looked like the car was sitting for a while. I’ve owned it 2 years now turned out to be very reliable. 2008 Accord 4cyl
Newer cars are more reliable, but their owners neglect them.
Problem is lack of maintenance
Ring gear slipped of flywheel. Totaled the clutch and starter and the car in the process. (Manual) Was I supposed to check the ring gear regularly ?
Problem is piece of sh!t design and blatant designed-in-defects. Forget consumer reports and JD Power, the best place to research your prospective new-to-me car is the forums for the car you're considering. And try to answer the question, what are the common major problems, and at what mileage do they occur? Any car that has a pattern of major problems with engine, trans, or electrical, at under 100,000 miles, are probably cars to avoid. But that list comprises most cars made in the last 10 years! A better question might be what is still a "good" brand!
Hint, its probably very few if any cars made in the USA (sadly!), and sure as heck none of the brands from Europe...
@@robertmaybeth3434 Even Japanese cars are shit nowadays
Problem is not lack of maintenance but poor engineering and product design. I owned two Chevy Impala's. One a 2003, and the second a 2005. The service was always done on time, and done at the dealership. All service records even showed up on Carfax. The oil was changed every 3500 miles. The transmissions serviced with new fluid, and filter every 25,000 miles, and coolant serviced at the same time the transmissions were serviced. At 70,000 miles on both Impala's the transmissions just stopped shifting into gear from a stop. The problem was a poor design of the 4T65E transmissions used in the cars. The dealership near me said they all do it, and that was why they kept the transmission in stock at their parts department. The Impala's engines delivered more torque than the transmission could handle. Both cars also developed intake, and head gasket leaks. Changing the fluid in the cooling system did nothing to stop that either. This is why I keep my old 2006 Ford Freestar with the 3.9 V-6 that has been durable, and reliable since day one and no repairs.
problem is designed to F'n fail.
With transportation affordability getting worse, your efforts to get these low costs cars into the hands of people who need basic reliable transportation is ideal.
the reason more and more people are using bicycles and Ebikes and such
In our area the salvage yard pays us $300 if we can drive it there and if it doesn't run and we pull it in with a tow rope he pays us $200.
Shop around if your car is in driveable condition. The tires and cat alone are worth way more than $300. I got $500 from my local scrapyard, towing included, for a piece of junk that was technically still driveable (but had oil leak, broken AC, broken CD player, rusted hood latch that prevented the hood from being opened, half-broken door that was hard to close, etc).
That's exactly what i was offered for my 95 Golf 16 years ago!. I took the $200 and THEY towed it.
@@thingserik7269 Nice. Better than I did back in like 2005. I hauled a Ford Tempo into the scrap yard instead of an actual salvage yard and drained all the fluids out first and they only paid me $25. Things have definitely gotten better than back then.
Since mechanics are now so dishonest, people are screwed when they bring in a car. Most of my life I have known a standard diagnosis never had any charges. Nowadays with scanner and newer knowledge it's takes about 20 minutes to read a code and diagnosis a problem. Ofcourse you will see a 200.00 or 300.00 bill for 20 minutes of work.
Unbelievable😢😢 I got charged $225 for less than 10mn. In Lexus LX570
Exactly, you can by your own OBD2 Scanner like a Launch or Autel save a ton of money.
I work in a shop also I do my own repairs to save money, truth is if you wanna save money you have to do maintenance and repairs yourself cuz running a shop isn’t cheap too guy
@@JaredValisno businesses close every day guy it's a lot harder when you overvalue yourself and your service.
@@biff3917 who says about overvaluing? If you don’t like shop prices then do it yourself stop crying so you want a business to lose money u smart man
These cars will be coming to CraigsList soon!
Most of those car models were already on my do not buy list
We call these “mechanical totals”. There are more and more of these every year due to the increased technology in today’s vehicles. It’s only going to get worse. And please folks! stay away from luxury automobiles over ten years old. German cars are the most expensive to fix.
But I want a 2009 Porsche Cayman
I have a 2007 RAV4 and looove it. She had 90k miles when I bought her, came out of Tucson, and in near pristine condition. After I see vids like these I plan on investing money on keeping her going instead of buying something newer. Unless I find another gem.
The repair costs are skyrocketing.
Those cars aren't worth anything
I've got 398k miles on my 08 Camry. It has the original engine that has never been taken apart and does not burn oil. I originally bought it at 330k miles and tried to sell it. As soon as you mention the mileage, everyone walks away. Even if you replaced the engine, trans and all the suspension, you would still have paid less than what a new car costs. Not only that, it is an 18 year old car. The automotive industry has had a long time to learn about its systems, and the parts supply is very well developed. Not only that, all the dealer software has been hacked and can be had for $25 on eBay.
The video did not mention two other items: 1. the added nuisance of money owed on the car. Bank holds the title, and they just want their loan balance. It's tough or impossible to sell the car unless you can deal with the bank to pay them the balance of the note from the sale or auction proceeds. At that point, negative equity if the car was underwater is their problem, but sometimes the bank would rather write the loan down then be paid off, to move faster and clear their books. 2. Get at least a 50% deposit for major work (engine, transmission, etc.) before starting or refuse the work. If they never show up again after leaving the car for the estimate, then of course you are in the impound/mech lien/auction zone. There is a video with Car Wizard with this case, replaced drivetrain in a Jeep G. Cherokee with a bank lien, customer disappeared and he was stuck. Couldn't sell the car (no title) and was out $8K ... sat on his lot. Mech lien was worthless, even in a BK, as he is second in line after the bank to collect anything ...
I don't know where you live, but most states a Mechanics Lien here clears the Title, as the bank is the legal owner prior to the Auction and if they want it they have to pay the repair bill or lose it, most will just send the Title and go after the person on the note.
I’m interested in becoming a car mechanic after retirement since I enjoy working on cars, and I want to open a business that can pay a decent wage to younger workers. I don’t need the money. I like to fix machines in general, but have been primarily working in physics labs for the last 20 years. What would be a practical wage that could be offered if a shop were to give most profits back to employees?
what these people need to do is put these cars in a barn somewhere. in 50 years or so, they can pull them out and people can look in aw at the "barn find."
Yup, I got a 2009 Caddy CTS that will cost more to fix the stretched timing chain than the value of the car. Cars are disposable nowadays. It is better to throw it away than try to fix it on an expensive fix such as this. I repaired it once before in 2016 but it was only $2200 then. Now this repair is $5700 - 7000 with the trade in value being $2000 or less depsite the body having no rust and in great shape overall. Sure it is getting high miles but it still is rather decent, but sadly not economical to fix.
When a 70,000 and up investment is disposable something is dead wrong with this country and our values. When they build cars to go to crap barely past the payments that is criminal. People should shun new cars as long as possible.
What cars you have for sale now
The maroon vehicle with peeling paint has the classic blue car disease. Typically seen in cars with specific blue colors and grey and maroon (both with blue in them). Possibly has something to do with specific wavelengths of sunlight being absorbed by blue pigment, causing damage. Never buy cars painted with these colors.
This has been going on for decades.
When I used to an installer at PepBoys some 25 years ago…..numerous customers would have repair bills higher than the value of the car.
Customer had a Pontiac Fiero that needed a clutch. Couldn’t afford the clutch job, and came back later and signed over the title to my coworker. He eventually put a clutch in it and drove it for two years and then sold it. I encountered so many of these stories working at PepBoys when I was a teenager lol.
I'm a tow driver..this is so true and sad.
I am a mechanic in Australia i have told customers to dump the car at a local scrap yard around the corner where they are crushed andcshipped to Thailand for recycling
I’ve seen people abandon cars at Walmart parking lots or any parking lot
I don't understand why the owners aren't tracked down and issued hefty fines to fund a program to prevent such events.
Abandoned your car in the Walmart parking lot?
Well, golly gee... I wonder who it belongs to. Oh wait, that number on the windshield is directly registered to someone.
Was it stolen? If so, they can present a police report.
If not, enjoy a massive fine for wasting everyone's time and money.
You could charge less than $300 an hour for labor
cause hes more worried about making a fuck ton of money than anything else, just like everyone who runs these places. iv already long accepted thats all that anyone cares about, because in america money is more important than god, it is god. the people abandoning these cars dont have shit to their name anyway so they just abandon it cause fuck it. its out of desperation and hopelessness
@@anacondadope550. Why buy a Beamer or a Volvo then, that you can’t afford to fix ?
I'm considering buying an older model SUV or full size pickup. I've been told when a customer can not or will not pay a repair bill, the shop can secure a title for the vehicle after a certain amount of time then put the car up for sale.
I'm thinking of inquiring along that route in search of an SUV or truck.
That’s funny. The crappy ecoboost fails in Lincoln’s as well. Ford made a terrible sounding engine, and a terribly unreliable engine with the ecoboost line. Ecofail more like it 😂😂😂
From what i just saw in this video, over ambitious repair costs are the problem here.
People are broke and can't afford these outrageous prices.
This will sort itself out and self-correct with a bit of time
I don't understand why someone wouldn't sell it for salvage. You could sell it for salvage for a few hundred dollars at least.
"I will help you any way I can"---It's true!
Is no one going to comment on how ridiculous prices for spares can get? I have a 1.6 diesel volvo (same engine that can be found in cars like the ford focus, citroen berlingo, peugeot 407 among others, and not worth more than 600€ used) and for some reason the dealer charges 7000€ for just a bare engine (aka top and bottom end with no accesories).
Its absolutely insane. I've decided to overhaul it instead
The raw dealer aka stealership
Have a 09 Honda CRV 250,000 miles Doesn’t rattle squeak and everything on it works. Confident enough in car to take it 1,782 miles round trip to Kansas. Still no rust on body
Have 93 K1500 Chevy barn queen. The more I read the more inclined I am to fix it
93' Caprice still going strong! ❤
I used to fix most everything myself back in the day. Now, if my car has a problem it goes right to my favorite mechanic who has always been fair.
Yeah, I’m sorry and that’s the most ridiculous thing cars were 5000. It’s $8000 for an engine but they’ll go out and finance a brand new car all over again pay shit tons of money for something that’s not gonna last five seconds and then not still not be happy me if if my truck blew up a motor tomorrow I’d pay for $5000 for a new motor why because I don’t want car payments and it’s a short term thing way better than financing any of those unreliable cars that are out there and most of them are unreliable unless it’s a Japanese card even though that’s questionable.
The reason for fewer mechanics is because cars don’t break like they used to. When they do break the cost to repair is so high they aren’t worth fixing.
I ended up on this video from your recent video. I don't know why I clicked on them, but it got me interested as I watch some mechanics on UA-cam in my free time. I was curious about the abandoned cars.
The time I got myself a lemon, I ended up leaving the scraps to my garage for the diagnostics (and incomplete repairs), who then sold it to the junkyard. I indeed ended up with nothing, but no bills, and the junkyard got a hunk of metal.
Other than that lemon, I always made sure to take care of my cars, keep them maintained and even doing yearly inspection (our cars rust quickly here in the North). I currently have a Toyota RAV4 and it has been flawlesss since 2018.
My question is: why are garage accepting cars in shitty conditions that have a high chance of having a non-paying customer? Like, I've seen some insane car-junk full of maggots and shit gets accepted by garages....
EDIT:I saw that you have one abandoned with maggots... That's so disgusting.
There exists bad customers, so there are also exists bad garages. A good garage will not accept such a bad car with high likelyhood of non-paying customer. All the good garages in my area have waiting lists at least 3 weeks long just to get an appointment for a diagnostic, while the bad ones will say "come right in today".
@@noseboop4354 My garage is quite busy, and it's a really great one. I usually have 2-3 weeks wait time, though they sometimes can fit you in-between (or earlier/later than normal hours) for urgent repairs. Has saved me tons of hassle and very reliable. I think you are right on that point that good garages are very busy.
Since I found that garage, I have never gone elsewhere, always satisfied with their service. My previous one was sketchy as fuck.
Why are you trying to fix up cars that you have no $$ into instead of just making space and scrapping them? Surely it’s not worth having these cars on the lot for years and years to make a marginal amount of $…
Plastic reservoir of the radiator in my car cracked. I replaced the radiator myself.
2003 camery ateva with only 166000 ks on it bought it for 4 gs 5 years ago with 128 on the odometer with one old lady owner serviced every 9 months for 18 years just had timing belt done. No problems in 5 years runs great just need shocks done at the back
My truck just took a shit for the distributer, got it changed but 400$ for two bolts felt like the biggest rip off I’ve paid for, needed it to happen but if it didn’t start back up I was thinking about just giving the shop it and whoever could get it up and going, thankfully it ran
There was a German car shop locally that had about thirty cars in the lot and the owners needed to pay for the parts and work. They sat there for years. They finally towed most of them away. The owners were wealthy and tight with money or poor people who shouldn't have bought a German car. The cost of transmissions and engines nowadays is crazy.
I think people are buying cheap used cars, driving them til they break down, then buying another cheap used car. Wash, rinse, repeat. The reason they dump em on the shops is because, well, why wouldn't they? It's a free disposal sevice.
I just bought a Volvo V40 1.6L Diesel Automatic. I adore it and i plan in driving it forever and ever!
I do my own work on my ford explore xlt 4.0 the labor charge is high and the waiting time is terrible
Lol it's not a problem that most mechanics are over 40. Median age of the adult population is well over 40. Ages 18-39 comprise 21 years whereas 40-67 comprise 27 years. When supply drops below demand, wages rise.
The only issue we see is with the ridiculous technology that no one asked for being all the new vehicles. These are huge expensive central points of failure. Younger people on average will be much better with learning new technology.
This happens across all sectors as far as repairing concerns
Acutely aware that my aging Mercedes had plenty of computer technology, and parts were no longer available, I sold it while it was in good running condition. I have no regrets. It was parted out for the technology.
7500 in repairs is criminal to begin with. I'm a mechanic and know that repair shops do nothing but ripoff the customer's.😅😅😅
That Ford Fusion is not going to be a tune up. My Uncle had one of these and the top of the engine block cracked on it. Coolant seeps into the combustion chamber overnight and creates those issues you're describing. He got quoted a new engine for 8K.
I repair all 8 of my cars myself. Did 2 engine swaps.
Sigh....I have a Tesla Model Y but I still keep my Honda around because i love working on it and feeling independent. I wish people would value the right to repair....but they don't. For what its worth, Teslas are pretty easy to work on too....but the lack of part availability is real....
Not a single toyota, there is your answer
A souped-up 4Runner does appear in the video, but they don't go over it.
That should be abandoning their cars instead of having expensive repairs. Leaving for expensive repairs means just that. Leave it and they will fix it.
Access to easy credit has enabled thousands to own cars they have no business driving. With credit drying up and the true cost of ownership coming to equilibrium, only people who can truly afford vehicles are driving them. The rest should only use public transportation or share one family vehicle. This will only continue in this direction for years to come.
Why not jus build easy to fix cars like the ones from the 90's? Instead of going full communism
Lol yeah sure. Prevent people from going to work and paying taxes because they have no car or public transport available. Fuck em right?
@@HIDHIFDB "full communism"
I dun did lerrnt a werd butt eye dun no wut it meez.
While I feel sympathy for the car mechanic shops in this phenomena, must admit the current system creates somewhat financial incentive for the car mechanic shops to give high repair estimates that exceed the car's resale value. In the end the shop gets the ownership, does not need to do the repair and sell the car via auction. Of course car manufacturers also have a role to play as they design cars that don't last and have high fees for their official spare parts & motor.
If they were decent cars they wouldn’t need repairing…as long as they have been maintained and treated right. I have a 30 year old Corolla. Never misses a beat.
I wish International Harvester had never discontinued making the Travelall utility vehicle. Those were rugged, reliable and practically bullet proof. The 3rd generation of those are my favorite body style.
No Eddy, I’m watching this cause. I’m just curious as hell not that I don’t already know. I’m in the towing business so I see a lot of crap me personally I have two vehicles that are 25 years old and 30 years old not changing them for anything.
I just donated my restored 1946 Ercoupe airplane to charity. Took it to annual and the mechanic quoted me over $20,000 in "repairs". It's happening everywhere. I gave $45,000 for it 10 years ago. Just walked away and donated her to charity. It's common everywhere. I'm looking for a decent Ford F150 from the 90s era with a 300CI inline 6. Had one before and gave it to my Son in law after a half million miles of trouble free operation. I wouldn't buy a new car now if my life depended on it. My current truck has the Coyote engine. So far, no problems, but it's not a 300. 6. Best engine Ford ever made.
300’s had head gasket problems
@preeyakumari-i2q Mine went over 500,000 miles with only a distributor gear that stripped out once and one failed alternator. Bought it as a factory lease out to Ford motor company. Bought it in Illinois from a Ford dealer with 23,500 miles. I did the rest. Eddie Bauer. Black and gold long bed, 2WD, 5 speed. Put one clutch in around 300,000. Thats it. It carried me all over the Country. Oil changes every 3000 and multiple sets of tires. Oh yeah. Broke my left rear leaf spring by overloading the bed with aluminum, zero turn castings that the Company I worked for cast. Great machine. The second best was my multiple 289s in Mustangs during the 70s, high school. Only car I had head gasket issues with was a 1979 Honda Civic. Aluminum head. Rebuilt 289s and made sure to re-torque the heads after break in. Do it right and keep the cooling system in good shape and no problems.
@preeyakumari-i2q Saw a friend drop an old 300, 6 in a combine outside Pana Il. Ran it in the field with no air filter. It just chugged along even in 110 degree heat.
First sentence says it all - less reliable and more expensive - this can only go so far until the automakers either reverse course and make simpler, cheaper cars that are reliable and affordable or they will go out of business. This isn't 1900 when cars were only toys for the rich. This is why all my cars are carburetted 80s cars. Reliable as dirt and cheap to fix.
I’m watching because I’m nosy and I don’t like old vehicles between the lack of safety and just bad gas mileage and low quality technology. I just like seeing what goes on with the world.
I’m thinking of ditching my 2015 Jeep due to repair costs.
What kind of Jeep and what's wrong with it?
@ It’s a cheap model. 2015 Patriot. It needs two front wheel hubs and bearings as well as a new A/C compressor. Not to mention the electrical short that will drain the battery if not driven every couple of days.
@@ControlTouchMaster I've actually been wanting to buy an old Patriot. I have a 1997 Jeep Cherokee that won't last forever and was thinking to replace it with a Patriot. The wheel work doesn't sound that bad honestly and you don't really have to replace an a/c compressor. The electrical issue sounds annoying though.
@ The only way to stop the banging noise from the bad A/C compressor clutch is to keep the system off, including the fan. Surprisingly, it will cool but be extremely noisy. As for the wheels, the entire assemblies need to be replaced on the front. Bearings chewed through the enclosure. Yes, it’s fixable but I don’t have a place to do the repairs myself. Mechanics charge too much. The engine and transmission are in perfect running condition.
@@ControlTouchMaster If I lived near you, I'd probably buy it. I'd just turn up the radio to drowned out the a/c noise. LOL My a/c wasn't blowing cold in the Jeep and NTB charged me $600 for a new compressor and that didn't fix anything. So, I have a quiet a/c but no cold air. I'd rather have a noisy a/c system that worked.
I don't get it. $7500 is still cheaper than a new vehicle, unless you can already afford a new one and it's the better deal for you.
I remember back in the 70’s near where I lived, there were service stations that used the title lien against the abandoned cars. I looked at several cars like this back in the day.
Sounds like the responsible thing to do would be to get a copy of the title, and sell the car to the mechanic. Might even get some money out of it once the diagnosis bill, etc is paid.
What happens if the bank has the title? Can you still take ownership the same way?