I have read this post with interest. I am not one of those people who believe older cars are better or that modern vehicles aren't built to last. I have been buying cars since 1973 and have had many, many different vehicles. And the older ones were complete rubbish, frankly. I may have loved them, and they may have helped me to do fantastic things, but frankly, why would anyone want to go back?
None of which explains why I own a 1978 Jaguar XJS, a car which requires more ongoing maintenance than the Sydney Harbour Bridge! But for its time, it was amazing, and that engine still is.
My everyday car is a modern, sophisticated, powerful, fuel efficient AWD wagon, beautifully built and incredibly capable, with all the equipment you could ever need. I do plenty of kms, it is my company car. But my 4WD to tow the camper was a '96 Jackaroo 3.2 petrol, with good offroad tyres. It was a plodder, super reliable and well built, but drank like a sailor on shore leave, was sluggish, the brakes overheated going downhill with the camper on (until I put big DBAs on it), it struggled uphill when towing and generally drove like an early 1990s 4WD. But it did what I asked of it, slowly and competently, never missed a beat.
But I recently bought a bigger, heavier camper, and I am going to go further afield with it now work is less of an impediment. So I went through the decision process of trading both for a new 4WD with all the bells and whistles, heaps of grunts and traction aids.
Now, I am not frightened of electronics anymore, having taught myself how to maintain and repair modern fuel injected stuff and use a laptop and diagnostic tools. Trust me, I am no talented mechanic, just a determined plodder who used the internet and skilled friends to help me. If I can do it, you can.
What did I do? Buy a shiny new expensive powerful turbodiesel 4WD with the lot? No. I bought a mint, later model Jackaroo 3.5 petrol (the diesel is troublesome) and kept the car. I couldn't give up having a proper car for everyday driving. Yep, its two regos, the Jackaroo is a bit slow and thirsty by current standards, but its still reasonably capable offroad. I know my way around it, and I am upgrading plenty of stuff but doing most of it myself. Little depreciation to come, low purchase cost.
Each to their own I guess. And I would still like a modern 4WD with the lot down the track. They do things so well, and so easily.
