I’ve been working on cars for 25 years, and have run my own repair shop for the last 12, and I can confirm that the newer cars are absolute junk, across the board, in a way that I’ve never seen before. It isn’t just that they are unreliable, it’s that they are unfixable! Engines are no longer designed to last 300k miles, you’re lucky if you can get 100k out of them. When the engine does fail, it can’t be rebuilt, so your only option is a used engine that has the same problems. None of the newer transmissions are rebuildable! Trans shops just swap them out for a new or used unit. Computers in everything all communicating over can-bus means not only more likelihood of failure, but when it does fail, it has to be done by the dealer cause it has to be programmed, and installing a used module will often brick the car because it goes into theft mode and won’t start the engine. Combine that with manufacturers not wanting to release proper information like wiring diagrams, and now Chrysler and Ford locking out aftermarket scan tools unless you pay for a monthly subscription (which I’m sure the other manufacturers will follow suit shortly), it is just a disaster every way you look at it. Unfortunately I think it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. One thing they have gotten very good at is making cars last just till the warranty runs out with minimal service. So if someone buys a new car, and in 3-5 years they have a catastrophic unfixable failure, they’ll think it’s a fluke, and just buy another one. When that happens, they’ll switch to another brand, and maybe another, so you probably have a good 15-20 years where the manufacturers can saddle the public with this junk before people start figuring it out, and by that time, they may have forgotten what it was like to have a car that lasted for 20 years and 300k miles.
