@FreddieUK is not about affortability to own newer car i can but i dont want to.The complexity of modern car cant say all unreliable but from what my friends ownership experience mostly back and fort to garage to solving endless engine problem one after another like whack-a-mole.The more complex the design the more likelyhood frequence break down.

@UsernameAlreadyInUse I know that can be some peoples experience, but for the past 12 years or so I haven’t had a moments problem which needed the attention of the garage outside the regular services. I’m one of the fortunate ones. In the past, I’ve had older vehicles because that’s all I could’ve afforded at the time and I was a regular at the service area having it looked at.

@senghenydd drain the oil when it's hot and you don't need any flushing agents.

@Baremine You could possibly have a build up of sludge in your sump depends on if you generally do short journeys where your engine doesn't warm up properly, that's my thought.

@ArishMell 6,7,8 ? Why so many? I understand the oil level, coolant, and differential, but what else was needed? Older cars required greasing the drive shaft, and a few places on the axle, but how did you come up with 8? British cars have always had a personality of their own.

BTW, I saw an Audi last week with grease points on its brake calipers, that was a first for me.

@DallasCowboysFan The "Series- number" Landrovers are two-wheel / four-wheel drive, selectable so you normally use only rear-wheel drive, plus a high/low range gear. All these gears might be combined in one case - I can't really remember if some of the duties are performed in the "transfer gearbox".

The transfer gear-box carries the power take-off point, using a shaft that when fitted, emerges through a prominent hole through the chassis' rear cross-member, below the rear door or tailgate.

The oil-levels are the:-

Engine,
Gearbox,
Transfer Gearbox (unless combined with the main gearbox)
Rear Differential,
Front Differential,
The two steering-ball joint casings,
Steering gear-box, I think.

It's only the engine oil level that normally needs weekly attention.

Not sure what you mean about British cars having a personality of their own, but manufacturers selling vehicles in their own countries do have to follow national tastes and needs, and national / international laws covering vehicle safety and nowadays, environmental, concerns.

This affects imports too. For example the ordinary Tesla battery-electric cars built to meet British and European laws are fine, but that "Cybertruck" fails them, so is illegal for sales at commercial level.

(In the UK law, vehicles have to comply with the "Construction & Use Regulations", or any replacement equivalent - but years of EU membership brought a raft of extra, and tighter rules.)


A major difference between US and UK, indeed many European countries, is that even in the 1950s-60s most motorists never wanted the US-style, two-ton behemoths with huge, very thirsty engines, just to carry four or five people around.

Nor were many impressed by fancy fins and acres of chrome. In the late-1950s Ford's British operation modestly nodded to US styling, like negative-rake rear windows; but although the cars sold well enough the style did not catch on.

Instead, although there are plenty of big luxury cars like the Rolls-Royce, Range-Rover and large German saloon cars, most people drive smaller, lighter and much more fuel-efficient cars still capable of carrying four or five people at motorway-cruising speeds. Economics do play a part in this, of course: fuel is not cheap in many European countries. So we regard an ordinary car returning under 40mpg at steady cruising, as rather thirsty; and under 30mpg, extravagant. (UK Gallon - a bit bigger than the US gallon.)

The hatchback and estate versions seem more popular than the three-box body-shapes, too; as it is more versatile. The manufacturers' sales people advertise the load spaces of these in an odd way - not by dimensions in metres, nor by cubic metres of volume - but by the liquid measure, litres! Do think we will use the car as an aquarium?

Also, manual transmissions were a lot more popular than automatics in Britain at least; but this is slowly changing; and the battery-electric cars slowly gaining ground, are automatic anyway.


Car size fashion has changed a bit in Britain, lately.

Cars have become larger and fatter generally, partly I believe to accommodate "crumple zones" so a collision does more damage to the car in exchange for less to the occupants. This has led to the problem that parking in public car-parks is more difficult, and many cars now are too large for typical household garages built more than a few decades ago! You can drive the car into the garage... but then you'd be trapped in it!

Also it has become something of a fashion among those who can afford them, to buy bloated "SUV"s or over-size panel-vans, with no real reason to do so. Why buy a builder's wide-bodied pick-up just for day-to-day, ordinary motoring? I suspect mere vanity, including it being intimidating to other road users.

.......

I typed that penultimate sentence... then had to re-arrange the adjectives. It's the pick-up that's wide bodied, not the builder. Usually!

@1490wayb mine toyota is 2004,for me those era late 90s to early 2000s vehicle are the best spot of car engineering where it reach peak of efficient and reliability.Later years on car just became so complicated to compromise for meet strict emission regulation.

@1490wayb It's cheaper to maintain a car, than buy a new one.

@samueltyler2

All my life lived in New York, except 6 years in the Navy, lived in the same house since 1983 and still here.....

@masterofyou in the same house, wow.

@masterofyou I would love to have that Camaro

@ShenaniganFoodie i do mine in my Diesel truck every 10000 km. Easy number to remember. Holds 16L. Its recommended at 12000, but i also run synthetic.

@Baremine I once had to stay in the hospital over the night i wasn't working , because the rain we had shorted out all of the wiring. I then found a set of wireproofing devices, like girdles for all of the wires, distributer cap, etc.

@Baremine @samueltyler2
I personally seek a mid-1990's Ferrari 456.

@Amyrakunejo you have interesting taste

@Baremine I don't know how thick of floor is required. I've heard 4". We have a 6" thick floor.

@Baremine Would think 6" would do with spread to 4 points

@BrandNewMan 6" has worked well for over 20 years with the two post.

@jpv1960 about close to 200k miles on my hand,but is actually much more than that with speedometer had been reset by previous owner when i bought the car.

@UsernameAlreadyInUse Wow! That's really good. I used to change oil and service most of my old cars, but don't do it any more. Some years back I heard in Germany Taxi drivers use Merc and it is not unusual for them to do more than 500K on the same engine.