Been wondering! In the 60's & 70's & perhaps the 80's cars rusted away for fun. Manufacturers then started proper rustproofing treatment & better build quality to prolong life so cars would last say 20/30 years. Then sophisticated electronics were introduced to make cars 'better'/ 'safer' but this has lead to cars being perfectly serviceable from a rust perspective but being scrapped because it's not economical sense to spend several hundred pounds on replacing parts on a car worth, say, £1500.

 

Two questions

 

1. Is it still worth manufacturers rustproofing cars to the extent they do?

 

2. When were the 'best' cars built? i.e. When rust wasn't a problem but the car was sufficiently unsophisticated to mean it could be repaired at reasonable cost? What car fits the bill?

I think you raise a very good question there, as economics is certainly influencing the longevity of cars.

 

Take the Z for example. Despite being A LOT of car, the majority are now worth so little that once a major component fails, many are scrapping them or breaking them (same thing). Although it makes me sad each time I see one of these great cars scrapped/broken, the economic logic is robust and perfectly sensible.

 

With cars becoming even more advanced, parts will continue to be very expensive, and to be honest, like manufacturers of all consumer goods, car manufacturers also have to think of their future. If their cars start to last 20-30 years on average, who is going to buy the new cars? And if new cars continue to sell, and older cars live longer, then we will eventually run out of road space (some may say we already have). The scrappage scheme took lots of cars off the road, many of them very good cars. Similar culls may be necessary in the future.

 

I'm all for cars lasting longer (espaecially special cars like the Z), but I also understand the economic and social factors.

 

A dilemma indeed!

The best car was made in 1993!! :whistling:

 

I think many of us on here have had similar dilemmas. I have. One of my tubs is failing and so to fix it properly is a very costly sum.

BUT, I have already invested heavily in the car with both money and sweat so to scrap the car because its tubs are knackered is also foolish.

So I will be spending around £3k before long changing the tubs and doing some other work while the engine is out. And this doesn't matter as long as I keep the car for quite some time..

 

Depends very much on your outlook and feelings toward the car.

Ultimately, you can spend a lot on a new large Alfa / Vauxhall / French car and many others and immediatley loose £10k in a year, sometimes more in depreciation.

Ferrari f40, sheer madness

i have a house in poland and visit there quite regularly, now if you wanted to go out and buy a mk3 golf 1.6 1993, you would look to spend around 1000-1500, in this country you wouldent pay more than 400 quid for an average example,

 

what im getting at is because the price of second hand cars are so high and the wages are so low(approx 200 quid a month), the people tend to keep the cars for much much longer, and if the engine blows up then its cheaper to buy a engine from a salvage yard and fit it than to go out and buy another car.

 

whereas its much cheaper to scrap the car here, cash in 150-200 quid at the scrapy's and go out and buy a fully roadworthy car for less than 500 quid.

They built a stainless steel car here in Belfast a few years back and still a few of them about yet:biggrin:

240Z era, what's that.....70's?

 

 

With regards to the economics side of things, funny 'cos I was actually thinking this morning about this.

 

 

Think about the time that the Z31 was released as 'the new Z car' and how much it would have cost you to buy one back then, compared to; lets say, an 8 year old 240Z

 

 

Now 30+ years on, the 240Z is considered by many as a timeless classic and worth a decent five figure sum if it's a good example, whereas the newer Z31 is considered by most to be a poor relative of the earlier Z's (and prices reflect this!)

 

I was just thinking that maybe the Z32 has fallen foul to the same dilemma?

 

 

Because there are so many out there (compared to earlier Z's)

 

*350Z owners take note 'cos you're next!*

 

Maybe we just need to hang slack on writing them (Z32's) off and bide our time.

 

I feel that in 10 years or so the Z32 will be back up there because so many will have been scrapped for being economically unviable and will be widely recongnised as a proper Z classic along with the earlier 240Z.

 

 

Who know's, we may be having this exact discussion in 20 years time?

Thanks for your comments, guys. No-one has actually suggested an answer to the question- at what point in time was there a balance between rust prevention/ ability to be worked on at a reasonable cost (i.e not too sophisticated).

Thanks for your comments, guys. No-one has actually suggested an answer to the question- at what point in time was there a balance between rust prevention/ ability to be worked on at a reasonable cost (i.e not too sophisticated).

 

I think it's too subjective an issue and requires the respondees to have been around that length of time... :-)

Early 90s without a doubt :cool3:

i have a house in poland and visit there quite regularly, now if you wanted to go out and buy a mk3 golf 1.6 1993, you would look to spend around 1000-1500, in this country you wouldent pay more than 400 quid for an average example,

 

what im getting at is because the price of second hand cars are so high and the wages are so low(approx 200 quid a month), the people tend to keep the cars for much much longer, and if the engine blows up then its cheaper to buy a engine from a salvage yard and fit it than to go out and buy another car.

 

whereas its much cheaper to scrap the car here, cash in 150-200 quid at the scrapy's and go out and buy a fully roadworthy car for less than 500 quid.

 

That's a big difference, it sounds like it'd be worth buying one, driving it over there, selling it and Easyjetting back.

Best cars?

 

I hate rust so the best rustproofing available sounds good to me.

 

I see BMW's latest 320d does 60-70mpg and 0-60 in under 8 seconds. I bet it'd outhandle most Z32s too. I'd love one (if I had the money) although it has zero presence compared to the Zed.