Once again I had to deliver the news to a guy last night that the car he was so proud of because it got a few mpg more that my own now needs $1000 or more in work.
There is a false economy being promoted around the price of operating a car; fuel costs are the most immediate, what you feel every day. However, the real costs start showing up when you have to replace those lightweight parts...they aren't cheap.
Overhead cam? Sure, you can spin up a few more hp in the upper rpm range, but break a timing belt and see what it costs ya. Got a Hemi? Replacing bent follower plates is about $2500. Last night it was a lightweight steering rack...part @ $400, labor twice that. Exotic metals are expensive and the use of plastics more common...I have seen bearing sets with every second bearing removed and filled with a plastic blank to make it cheaper and lighter. Are you really saving money buying crap like that?
Where did all that money saved in fuel costs go?
J.T.: Scary. In a couple of cars I've owned, the plastics used under the hood and inside the car seem to get brittle and break before the engine parts wear out. Engine's purring but I have to replace the windshield washer tank........
S.W.: Yup, seen that one before! The heat just ruins the plastic and rubber parts.
Me: Imagine what you new car will be like when cafe goes to 35 mpg...
S.W.: CAFE is a piece of feel-good legislation that ignores the laws of physics. They can improve engine efficiency to a point, but only so much. And to make it an average standard means that to sell one low mileage vehicle, say a truck, they will have to sell a very high mileage car to even things out.
T.N.: There is a lot of technology out there that could be explored if the gov would just do it. I am tired of being forced to help the gas companies get there 5-6 billion in profits every 3 months.
S.W.: Oh, I agree! I just see a lot of cheap cars that turn out to be very expensive.
Me: Profit is good.
Me: Oh, and federal fuel tax revenue is $25 billion. So who is really making the big bucks from gas, courtesy of you and me?
B.W.: Gas is taxed at a per gallon rate when fuel prices go up the consumption goes down. The tax rate has not kept up with inflation. Road maintenance and construction is now subsidized by your income, and property taxes.
S.W.: While all companies would love to make cars with great mileage, some sacrifice mpg for stronger and more reliable parts. Customers only see the sticker price and the mpg and opt for the best gas mileage. Yet down the road they have paid out more in maintenance and repairs than they would have if they bought the more expensive car in the first place. This was a cheap, bottom of the line import that delivered on low initial cost and good gas mileage. Parts aren't common and the supply chain is limited; the have him over a barrel: pay up or walk home. Having hit 100,000 miles he is entering a a high maintenance period where he can expect to start replacing worn parts. The longer he drives it, the more expensive it will become.
Me: B.W., true but irrelevant. My point remains that the big bucks are being made by government, not oil companies. And whether by our incomes, our property taxes, or at the pump, we are still the ones being forced to pay.
R.W.: Our taxes would be spent wiser if we had wiser people in office. Heres hoping that the new captian at the helm quits writing checks he can't cash like the old crack ho whats here face did for 8 years.
J.H.: Gees, I wish for the days when I could work on the car myself. It is hard to even change a headlight on your own. Steve do you work at a shop? or just on your own? Oh and Rick if you think that the oil companies are not making money I suggest you check again.
Me: J.H., I simply contrasted the bigger take by government. We complain about oil company profits when it's government that gets a far bigger share of our gasoline dollar.
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