The Truth About Modern Cars and Their Maintenance

House paint is a far cry from car paint when it comes to durability and performance. Unlike house paint, which can withstand the elements, car paint is more prone to damage and degradation over time. The fact that modern cars are made with water-based paints that don't hold up as well as their oil-based counterparts is a significant drawback. Not only do these paints peel off more easily, but they also lack the protective properties of traditional oils.

Furthermore, the government's insistence on selling water-based paints due to environmental concerns has led to a proliferation of inferior products. Oil-based paints, which were once the gold standard, are now seen as less desirable. However, as anyone who has worked with cars knows, oil-based paints are still the better choice. They provide a longer-lasting finish and are more resistant to damage.

One area where modern cars often fall short is in their maintenance requirements. In the old days, cars were simple and easy to fix. A quick tune-up or replacement of parts was all that was needed to keep them running smoothly. However, with the advent of modern technology, cars have become increasingly complex. This means that preventive maintenance is now more important than ever.

In fact, one of the most critical areas where modern cars require regular maintenance is in their battery systems. Many modern cars rely on computer-controlled systems to manage their batteries, which can lead to issues if not properly maintained. Testing the battery every year is a simple and effective way to catch any problems before they become major issues.

Unfortunately, many car manufacturers have taken advantage of this lack of awareness by selling inferior batteries that don't hold up well over time. Modern batteries often lack the built-in safeguards that older models had, such as warning lights or notifications when the battery is approaching its expiration date. This means that owners may not realize their battery is weak until it's too late, resulting in costly repairs.

The consequences of ignoring this can be severe. A dead battery can leave a car stranded, and with the rising costs of batteries these days, it's no wonder many people are hesitant to replace them. In fact, buying a new battery for an old car can sometimes cost as much as $200 or more, which is just not affordable for many people.

However, by taking proactive steps, such as testing the battery regularly and buying from reputable dealers, owners can avoid these costly issues. It's also worth noting that some batteries are designed to be used in a variety of applications, including cars, so shopping around can sometimes yield better deals.

For those who have experienced the frustration of dealing with modern car repairs, it's easy to feel like we're living in a different era altogether. Cars were simpler and easier to fix back then, but that was before the advent of complex computer systems and cheaply made parts. By taking a few simple steps, such as testing the battery regularly and shopping around for better deals on replacement parts, owners can avoid some of these common pitfalls and keep their cars running smoothly for years to come.

In conclusion, modern cars are a far cry from the simple machines they once were. With complex computer systems and cheaply made parts, owners need to be proactive in maintaining their vehicles. By testing the battery regularly, shopping around for better deals on replacement parts, and taking other preventive measures, owners can avoid costly repairs and keep their cars running smoothly for years to come.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines today I'm going to talk about things that I hate in modern cars by showing a Mercedes-Benz but it's an older one I'm not in love with Mercedes but the older ones are a lot better made than a lot of the modern cars are now the first thing I ate on Modern cars are those stupid plastic headlights this has glass ones they're not fog they still work try that with a 25 year old plastic headlight car it'll be all fogged up crack probably broken so why do they do it replace glass with plastic man because it's cheaper to make plastic and it's a style thing too this fits with a flat front right but with all the smooth lines of modern cars they can make the headlight all one big piece of molds in with the rest of the car can't really do that with glass or it costs a small fortune but of course plastic's cheap of course plastic Fades cracks glasses a lot harder than plastic but they're going to continue to make chibi plastic ones land obsolescence all the way but if you do have plastic headlights and plastic body parts the only thing you really do is I've been using this plexus for years it was invented to do that plastic fiberglass stuff on it fighter jets originally but it protects from the UV rays the UV rays are what destroy the plastic and the hot bulbs inside the car which is another ironic thing most of the older last ones hey the headlights didn't burn as bright you could get the brightest ones you want on these hot has put a lot of temperature this glass it won't hurt compare that to the plastic lenses the super hot halogen bulbs inside that can melt the plastic over time so if you're worried the bulbs melt in the plastic fading the plastic on your lenses switch them to LEDs they're not going to melt the plastic like the LEDs doing you can easily switch them out if you do them right I've got a video showing you how to do it right basically you just get a bulb that has an LED unit in it and also has a built-in resistor don't buy them without resistors they'll screw everything up good ones like basila that I use in my wife's Matrix had those in there for years they work perfectly fine because they have the ballast resistors in line and the lights work fine and they don't melt the new plastic lenses that I put in in The Matrix when I did that because if you look at just about every old Matrix got the factory halogen light bulbs you see their headlights are all faded away you might want to switch to LEDs in that case the next thing I hate about modern cars is the overuse of plastic take this old Mercedes this is Chrome plated metal even this I can just about guarantee you if you have Chrome plated Parts on a minor car it's Chrome plated plastic yes those door handles they look like Chrome they aren't they're plastic that's been Chrome plated I found that a few years ago kind of shocked me and of course with plastic parts the brittle they break and the plastic flakes off them a lot easier you'll see a lot of modern cars around the doors windows wherever the plastic Chrome plated starts flaking off you see the plastic underneath it looks like crap because the plastic's been going on a long time this is a 92 Mercedes so that's plastic door handles and when we look under the hood it's got a plastic radiator yes a plastic radiator Mercedes is one of the first big companies to use plastic Grady of course it's cheaper to make them they'd be asked and said well they weigh less than the metal ones and we want to make our cars way less to perform better well come off it now radiators aren't that heavy to begin with and they still have an aluminum car just plastic tanks tanks crack and break then you got to buy a new one they don't last as long as metal and it's mainly because they're so much cheaper to manufacture they use a crimping process instead of having the hand solder all the metal together on a metal radiator plastic tanks go into the aluminum machine just Crimson crimp crimp and that's it so they're really cheap to make cars for serious things you want metal top of the engine valve cover gaskets metal right you can see some of the paints faded off but who cares it's still there many cars now have plastic valve cover gaskets which of course get hot warped then you got to buy another and they're cracking Lake plastic for their intake manifolds where the air gets sucked in the nail warp and you get vacuum leaks it's all Mercedes of course has a metal aluminum intake manifold and of course y'all know I hit those plastic Beauty covers open hood of the car you see the stupid Beauty cover right I mean look at this looks like a vehicle short see the spark plugs the exhaust the air filter with the fuel injection systems inside the really only reason for the use of plastics because it's cheaper Extrusion molding they just squeeze it in and makes the part it's so much faster easier and cheaper than doing metal casting that they just went Hog Wild making everything plastic budget doesn't age well even on this Mercedes the mirror is made out of plastic and look you can see it's all melting in the sun now I missed the days of chrome bumpers this one is in between it's got a chrome strip but the rest is plastic and rubber I mean the name says it off it's a bumper It's supposed to bump into things all the motor cars you bump into something it cracks it looks like crap then you got to spend a fortune to get it fixed and repainted why aren't they actual bumpers that can bump in now for a while ones like these they could take a little amount because they had rubber in front of the bumpers back was plastic but the front was rubber why they just make them out of rubber you know so you can bump into things without doing damage but in my other card was the front and the back are plastic crap you hit something it cracks somebody hits you in the parking lot it cracks then it looks like crap of course then planned obsolescence comes in oh my car's looking creepy I'll go buy my another one when they tell you how much it costs I've seen you guys pay 8 900 bucks to get a bumper painted and fixed if it's cracked they're not cheap even though they're cheaply made going into this old Mercedes I used to laugh at them back in the day saying look at all these buttons and dials and all these numbers and everything right but in hindsight this car is simple compared to the modern ones with buttons all over the place I have an airbag in it but it doesn't have all the buttons on the steering wheel and all that crazy stuff it just has power windows here power mirror here heating and air conditioning system here wipers sunroof the frosters squirter it's got a nice glove box you can use for stuff in comparison my sister-in-law just came here she rented a car she didn't know what half the buttons did on the car and she said it took her like half an hour to get the stereo system to work they're making them too complex now Mercedes-Benz was an early user of fancy Wheels this is a fancy Ally wheel it costs a fortune if you lose them they're pretty well made you see it's still pretty good shape even though it's a 92 but as far as I'm concerned the modern insane special Wheels that people have I mean I've seen people that spend six eight thousand dollars for a set of wheels people are getting carried away with having fancy Wheels man a guy over here the other day he brought his car overhead the low profile tires he'd had the car for six months he's already popped two of the tires and broke the rims it would have cost them a fortune but at least he was smart enough that when he bought the car he paid like a thousand bucks for insurance I don't want to throw a thousand bucks away on some guarantee that may or may not fix the wheels when they break you don't have insurance on fancy wheels and they break you're gonna wish you didn't have those fancy wheels on your car another thing I can't stand about Minor cars is you can't check the transmission dipstick this one has one because it's a 92. but many modded ones don't hey you'll want to be able to check your transmission fluid what if it's dirty what if it's something that's leaked out the modern ones don't have any dipsticks what can you do if it's leaking a little you didn't notice it it'll burn your transmission I've seen it up on lots of cars you don't know if it's dirty or it's low or it's overfilled such an easy thing to put on but the manufacturers are all bsing well it's a lot of time fluid now you say what's a lifetime fluid well the fluid lasts as long as the transmission that's true for any car if your transmission wears out dirty transmission ruins it and it doesn't work anymore you still got to change it don't listen to all that nonsense don't have a dipstick they say it's lifetime fluid BS if it was a crapper like a Nissan with a jackal I'd change it every 30 000 miles a Toyota or something like that and I changed it to be 50 60 000 miles but I would still definitely change it learn how to do it yourself there's always a way to get it done you got to change it if you want the longest like foreign and believe it or not some cars including some Mercedes don't even have dipsticks in the engine oil that's got to be the biggest dipstick idea I've ever heard what's great for a brand new car it doesn't burn at all you change it at all times the car ages starts burning oil you don't know now they have sensors that can supposedly tell you that it's low or not I've Seen Those sensors break people didn't know they're out of oil their engines blew up sensors can't tell you how dirty the thing is that people always come back to and say what's God oh you're old you're not modern techies cars today have oil duration warning meters that tell you when to change the oil well they're inaccurate as can be I've seen them break too I had a customer had an engine blown I said wouldn't you ever change it all well never told me to because the system had broken so they never change the oil because it didn't say change oil now and they blew up the engine you need a dipstick check your engine oil too that one was just too far back most cars still have dipsticks for their engine but there's some out there they don't as we close the hood I'll tell you another thing I hate about modern cars this is a 92 Mercedes it's the original paint job it's still in pretty good shape if you get the leaves off and ignore the dents from hail instead of using oil-based paint like the salt Mercedes many manufacturers paint the car with water-based paint what could possibly be wrong there why would you want a water-based paint they do it because it doesn't pollute the atmosphere with bad Vapors as much as other painted it was oil-based right but it doesn't stick on as well it doesn't last as long I had a Toyota Corolla that's my worst car ages going to paint all bubbled off if fade away it looked like crap it was one of their early attempts at water-based paint now they seem to be doing a better job today than they used to do but still these things aren't going to look like that Mercedes when they're 30 years old right they just aren't plus you see a lot more cars with faded painting than the manufacturers say oh it's outside the warranty period a guy bring me a Ford the other day Hood paint was coming off with Ruston and you Mustang six years old the warranty is only good for five well the old oil-based paint didn't work that way it'll last a lot longer than five years now it's like they're praying open last five years but it's cheaper to paint them with water-based paint so that's what they're doing so what can you do about that if you do have a water-based paint car you're not going to strip it down to the bare metal and paint it with oil-based paint it costs you a fortune to do that right it would cost a fortune but use something like this new finish it's not a wax it's a Polish it works better than a wax and polish your car if you're a fanatic do it four times a year okay you're not a fanatic it doesn't sound a candle once a year car polish so I think that's not enough but I mean at least it's going to protect them because the reason most car paint goes bad is the ultraviolet rays of the sun and it gets rid of the clear coat and then it starts fading underneath understand paint's a lot more complicated as you might think there's various layers and the only thing that makes it shine in a modern car is the clear coat on top and basically you want that clear coat to remain ply available you don't want the ultraviolet rays of the sun to dry it out and make it crack so a Polish like that does wonders to hold it in and believe you me you got to take care of water-based paint a lot more than you did in the old oil-based paints yeah I've seen old Mercedes sitting in a yard in the field people get them they polish them up with a polishing machine they look great they're oil-based paints water-based paints when they start to fade they pretty much so you want to protect what you have you're not going to repaint the car but you want to keep liability it is flexible believe it or not to paint your car is somewhat flexible it's on metal if it wasn't every time you slam the door slam the hood pieces of flake off you know it's not like house paint your house doesn't move anywhere plus water-based paint is crap it peels off doesn't hold up as long but uh the governments and as we have to sell this water-based paint because it doesn't pollute the atmosphere blah blah blah oil-based paints are better you ask any painter they'll tell you the truth you know I'm not a Mercedes-Benz fan but hey I'm a bigger fan of this old 92 than him some of the modern crap that they're putting out where everything's made out of plastic computers control everything you get locked in your car you can't get out because the computer shut everything down but of course realize a lot of these things I can't stand are going to be here to stay because it's cheaper to make them that way so at least learn how to maintain those cheap parts as well as you can let's say you own a Volkswagen or BMW with a plastic cracks when you're pregnant just look at it right use stuff like plexus use plastic enhancing products so at least it won't get brittled faster than it should it'll eventually break but I mean what the heck take care when you open the door handles don't grab them and pull them they will snap off on Volkswagens like no tomorrow I've had customers gone through eight or ten of them on their cars if they kept them for five or six years it's kept snapping off the plastic was so cheap it's a sad fact that with modern cars we're paying more and more for cheaper and cheaper made vehicle in the case of modern cars preventive maintenance is even bigger deal than it was back in the day when I was a mechanic in the 60s and cars were simple gigantic it got horrible gas mileage but they got you from here to there and they didn't cost a fortune to fix and my last tip to help you save modern electronic cars is this you want to test your car's battery maybe once every year so it's a simple process any mechanic or auto parts store can do it in four minutes because with modern cars since everything's run by computers if your battery system starts to wear out and is under or overcharged voltage surges places because it's shorting out inside it can destroy expensive Electronics in this case you don't want to go by the saying if it ain't broke don't fix it the saying is maintain it and when your battery starts to get low and it's at the end of its lifespan which these machines can tell you replace it then because you don't want to damage thousands of dollars of electronics because your stupid battery started to go bad it's bad not that you'll get stranded but it can do some serious electronic damage to the computer system of a car when it's going bad and that leads me to my final rant they don't make batteries all that well these days back in the day you'd always get warnings you start your cart start a little slower and then start up or go room room click and then room room and it would start up showing you the battery was going weak modern batteries are so poorly made that a lot of times they don't have that extra built into them so when they go one day you get in and turn it no nothing car won't start you don't get a warning the old ones would warn you because they were better made even though they were going out they had enough power to finally start your car but you notice that starts kind of slow makes weird noises and you get it tested modern cars aren't that way they often will not give you that warning with those batteries test them every once in a while so you don't get stranded plus you don't want to waste money you're stranded in the middle of nowhere you need a new battery whoever sells your battery's probably going to stick it to you the highest price they possibly can that's why you see these auto parts stores they're selling batteries for close to 200 bucks now let's say you get yours tested and it says it's weak heck you can voice around that buy it online go to Walmart whatever I looked at batteries at auto parts stores from my wife's Lexus they wanted 200 bucks for them I got one for 95 that was pretty much the same rating because I priced around I knew it was weak so I priced around I didn't wait until it went out then wherever you are that's where you got to buy it and yes sadly we can't go back in the past and live there when things were simpler and easier to fix but at least now you know how to deal with some of the crap in modern cars so you won't be wasting money or get stranded somewhere because you didn't understand how cheaply made it was so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell\n"