What Kills Cars in Australia

[addo]

It's been interesting to swap experiences with a friend who runs a rural dealership (non PSA).

In the cities here, cars are written off economically due to a succession of minor knocks or a major shunt. Engines are generally low mileage and good donors when idiocy has killed another motor (ie; running with no coolant). You see too many overall good cars with the infamous yellow sticker (statutory write-off; cannot be re-registered in any form) due to the high cost of body repairs in expensive urban living situations.

While my mate initally suggested that lack of things like oil changes was the cause of rural car failures, a little more probing determined it was two related factors - firstly, a reluctance to observe major logbook events like timing belts or fluid flushes, and secondly, to ignore the advice of experienced mechanics who'd inspected the car, where a handbook had no input into the situation (good old fashioned stubbornness). Typical scenario being a timing chain wearing out a guide shoe, then chafing through the timing chest. This sort of stuff usually happens later in life than the urban string of minor collisions, and the vehicles' higher ages coupled with repair part costs, cause them to be taken off the road.

Corrosion generally, is a coastal or tropical thing and with the exception of intense exposure (like being parked in the open near breaking surf) vehicle loss due to substantial rust occurs far less often than the collision scenario.

[CitroJim]

You know Adam, I think it's the same thing that kills most cars here too and very much because people neglect them. Rust really is a very minor cause these days.. Duff electrics possibly account for more write-off than anything else these days. Going past my local ELV facility (scrapyard) most vehicles in there look very tidy indeed at first glance. Must be something major wrong with them.

Long gone are the days of five year old cars needing extensive welding and a ten year old car still on the road being something of a miracle...

My first car, a mini, was 12 years old when I first had it and was then composed, all all of that age were, mainly of filler. Same age as my HDi. How often do you see, even in the UK where salt is thrown around like confetti, a badly rusted car at 12 years old unless it's been poorly repaired from a shunt?

I don't recall the Darwin climate being too hard on cars, apart from the interiors and rubber bits. There were loads of oldies running around up there when I was there albeit some looking very battered and scruffy but then a lot of Darwin looked like that

[Citroenmad]

How often do you see, even in the UK where salt is thrown around like confetti, a badly rusted car at 12 years old unless it's been poorly repaired from a shunt?

If its bearing a blue oval or a three pointed star then very often Even five year old Ford Kas have rot if you look hard enough.

With those exceptions aside, your quite right, rust is not a problem now. All french cars stand up well in this area, I don't ever remember seeing a rusty Saxo or Xsara (unless has had obvious repairs), Xantias are not often seem with serious rust issues and XMs can stand up fairly well to.

Electrical gremlins probably do kill off a good few cars now, though I also suspect neglect being the top cause of death. So many people seem to neglect even simple things like servicing and probably have not the first idea of the timing belt change intervals.

I would also bet that new cars are a cause too, a great number of people want a new car when their current is reaching the end of the warranty period and this must surely knock on how long a car lasts. Given the many many finance and lease packages (C1 VT from £99 per month, after £99 deposit and free fuel for a year) it looks appealing to get a new car for many people.

[ACTIVE8]

How often do you see, even in the UK where salt is thrown around like confetti, a badly rusted car at 12 years old unless it's been poorly repaired from a shunt?

If its bearing a blue oval or a three pointed star then very often Even five year old Ford Kas have rot if you look hard enough.

With those exceptions aside, your quite right, rust is not a problem now. All french cars stand up well in this area, I don't ever remember seeing a rusty Saxo or Xsara (unless has had obvious repairs), Xantias are not often seem with serious rust issues and XMs can stand up fairly well to.

Electrical gremlins probably do kill off a good few cars now, though I also suspect neglect being the top cause of death. So many people seem to neglect even simple things like servicing and probably have not the first idea of the timing belt change intervals.

I would also bet that new cars are a cause too, a great number of people want a new car when their current is reaching the end of the warranty period and this must surely knock on how long a car lasts. Given the many many finance and lease packages (C1 VT from £99 per month, after £99 deposit and free fuel for a year) it looks appealing to get a new car for many people.

Regarding the deals people get nowadays the era of the throw away/disposable/commodity car are here, and therefore the neglect and rot (by rot in this case, I mean the f**k it I'm not bothered with looking after my car attitude, and not the rot of corrosion) set in so the downward slide of neglecting the condition sets in, and sooner rather than later it ends up at a scrapyard.

[addo]

Here's a random detail shot of my 13 year old car, taken today. Note the lack of corrosion... Brake soot is another story.

[red_dwarfers]

Nice!

I took off the Xantias OSF wheel arch liner a couple of weeks ago. A a small chunk of my inner wing fell off...I feel that most of this summer will be spent on the body work of the Xantia before things get too silly, I'm not having RUNN rust away on me!

[Citroenmad]

Rust is a real car killer in this country, no doubt mainly to do with the salt put down during the winter months.

By contrast, a wheel arch of a 1996 XM, an otherwise very tidy car apart from its rough edges:



I only ever use our C5s and C1 in the winter months while salt is down on the roads. If its been fair for a while and no salt has been down then I might get one of the others out for a little run but if they dont have to be used in bad weather I wont, as I want to keep them good.

Talking of small washer bottles ... have you seen the size of the one on an XM?

That is just one of them! Cars with headlamp washers have another the same size on the opposite side. Well if we are being picky the original one is the NS and this OS is the additional tank for cars with headlight washers.

I need top top up our XMs wahser bottles, as its warning me they are getting low. There may well be a water drought in Hartlepool!

[addo]

605s have one only of those reservoirs, it's located on the offside. Absolute mongrels to clean if they get algae or mould internally.

[myglaren]

You could have a bath in that!

I think there is a hosepipe ban in effect Chris, be careful