People will rationalize ANYTHING. I had a guy provide a laptop for repair. I told him I didn’t suggest spending a single PENNY on the thing as it was quite old, outdated, and had lots of problems needing to be addressed. I basically told him that if I saw this for 20 cents at a yard sale, I wouldn’t even consider buying it. It needed a lot of parts which were no longer available new. I had to go used and many were quite expensive. Then there was a my time.
Somehow keeping this old junk running was more economical for him rather than replacement. He happily paid the bill of $1400 which could have covered the cost of a new laptop + setup and then some but I told him the entire time that this wasn’t the proper financial decision. Then his granddaughter showed up and was giving him crap for spending anything on the thing. She was like “I have told you for year that thing needs to go in the trash!” I told her I had highly suggested against the repair but that he insisted.
I have probably spent more on some of the old cars I have than I should have but at least they run well and have decent tires, brakes, front end components, etc. I was considering getting rid of one before the pandemic but with the crazy price of used cars, I am keeping it going. To me it seems more economical to spend $3500 having a bunch of work done on an old pickup and not having a payment than getting into something $50,000 plus and having a new truck. Also, I tend to use my trucks rough so why have a nice new truck that gets driven through the woods and scratched up, parked at remote river accesses where people are known to vandalize or rob parts such as catalytic converters, etc. I take the worst looking truck I have and haven’t had any problems. You might see the window smashed out of a nicer looking one but not the one I leave at the river.
One motivation to spend $$ to repair out of date laptop, esp for older person, they don’t want to have to spend their own time to learn how to do what they need to do, caused by changes to how the new computer software would work. They already know how to do it using their existing computer. True, seems foolish to spend $1400 on an old computer, but if that saves the owner 6 hours of frustration learning new software, and probably other problems like their currently used files getting accidentally deleted or unreadable b/c of format change, many would say the $1400 expense is worth it.
Not saying I’d do that, but I can certainly see the motivation. In the car world, somebody might well wish to keep their 1987 Ford Fiesta on the road simply b/c they didn’t want to have to spend their time dealing with OBDII check engine lights, abs and stability system warnings, faulty air bags, etc.
It was an older guy as you assumed. This seems to be more common with older folks. The problem was that they had been hacked and lost their access to several accounts, some permanently. Their old e-mail accounts had been taken over, used for criminal activity, and BANNED. Basically, EVERYTHING on the system was outdated and insecure from Windows Vista to Office XP and all kinds of other stuff from that era. I had to upgrade the OS and then replace some of the outdated apps with paid or free apps that at least have support. It was a major change in the end so that it was at least safe to use. I explained to him that if the computer were a car, it wouldn’t have passed inspection, your insurance company wouldn’t insure it, the state wouldn’t give you tags for it. I got him up to Windows 10 which is supported for another 2+ years but after that, it will need to go. There are tricks to get most Windows 8 era systems to run Windows 11 which is officially not allowed but possible. His system is much older than this so will not be upgradable without LOTS of work and at that point, he needs to just give it up.
For older cars, I kinda have a soft spot for early OBD II stuff. It seems that cars were decently reliable by then and relatively efficient compared to those of the past. This is when I first really got into working on my own cars as well so am sure that is part of the deal. It seems that this era combines a decent level of technology, safety (ABS, airbags, etc.) as well as simplicity in servicing so I guess the late 1990’s-2000’s era cars are my irrational bias. A lot of the newer cars have so much technology it is intrusive. One of my buddies has a nice late model Suburban. We load kayaks on top. Opening the back hatch with kayaks on top becomes a HUGE chore. The hatch lifts automatically and is ALMOST able to open completely but then touches the kayaks and then has a fit. It either tries to automatically close or just gets all confused and goes bonkers. I would rather have a mechanical system or the ability to override this nonsense as this “convenience” feature has cost us lots of time in dealing with it. One workaround to access small items is to only open the back glass within the hatch and that seems to work. With a mechanical system, it could just open up 90% of the way and be up against the kayaks with no problems. With the assist, it needs to be open 100% or it goes crazy and becomes very annoying. We all have to remember to do everything we need in the back hatch before loading or after the kayaks have been unloaded.
I find many of the touch screens less intuitive and more distracting than old analog dials and buttons you can just without taking your eyes off the road. You get to memorize where they are and if you realize you hit the wrong thing, odds are you know that the correct button is just one position over from the wrong selection. With a touch screen you have to take your eyes away and actually look at what you are pressing. Again, this makes me appreciate older cars.
Then there is the fact that some of the electronics which seem to fail sooner than in the days of old are integrated into the dash. A simple radio replacement is no longer simple and requires the removal of the dash and all the modules. There is no more buying a $100 radio and putting it in yourself in 30 minutes. It is a major job and climate control, etc. is part of the radio.
With the old truck I just dumped a bunch into, I knew the good and bad about it. It wasn’t like this was something I was going into blindly and knew that the engine and transmission seem to be in good condition and have been serviced regularly at least since I have owned it.
Agee with the touch screens I had a rental for a week with h the touch screens and a CVT transmission and will never own with either one also will not use or look at my phone while driving. Like also e you I also appreciate older cars.
When my computer went down, my guy was able to captur and replace most of my stuff and just transfer it to the new computer. Of course you had to use the new software but you get used to it. He gave me two thumb drives. One with all the build information to replicate the system again, and one to do updates every couple weeks if I think about it. So I think I can pretty much throw the computer away if something happens and all my information is saved.
While the higher price for “Luxury” products doesn’t always guarantee top quality, the lower price for “Bottom of the Line / No Name” products pretty much guarantees poor quality.
The reason is simple. Assuming similar raw material costs and production methods, the only way to reduce costs further is to increase output by reducing production labor and eliminating quality control. Run that production line as fast as possible using cheap, unskilled labor and eliminate quality control of the raw materials and finished product and you can easily reduce the costs by 10%+ but of course your defect/failure rate will soar. While that may be unaceptable for an established manufacturer with a valuable “Name” to protect, the Mongolia Rubber Co.manucturer of Golden Dream tires probably wouldn’t give a hoot.
The bottom line is that if you want to economize and it fits your needs the “Second Label” brands of the major manufacturers are often made of the same materials on the same production lines by the same employees as their “Name Brand” products, the major differerence being the manufacturer’s profit. i.e. “Our “Name Brand” production has some slack so instead of running idle, let’s fill it with some lower profit “Sears” production.”
For myself and my needs, I’ve never had a quality problem with General tires (owned by Continental) or Kelly tires (owned by Goodyear) but on the other hand I saw significant serious and widespread defects (sidewall blisters, tread separation) when a Fleet Manager decided to “save a bundle” on Gold Coin tires.
I agree in general with all of your assessments. The first line in your post is especially salient.
However, as Rodney Dangerfield’s character in Back to School said- you left out a whole bunch of stuff
One of the most impactful and easiest ways, that is essentially invisible to the consumer, is to change the material quality to something that is lower cost and/or to use less of it. Golden Coin rubber may not be as resilient as the competitors, it may come from conflict areas the higher prices brands won’t consider buying from, or it may just be some cheap formulation leaving out some pricey additive. Then you save a bit more by scrimping on the amount of material. Who is going to notice 2/3 the normal tread depth or one less core wrap? But over the production run it saves bundles…the result is the same- quality stinks
What old laptop couldn’t be purchased used in usable condition for well under $500? Then use the current broken one for parts or even the other way around. Is this an HP product? I can’t imagine charging $1400 for some 15 year old hardware. Have the customer switch to a desktop so it’s easier to repair.
The justification for staying with XP or Vista rather than using Windows 10 is that Windows 10 itself is malware. Windows itself has become malware that steals your personal information and is produced by a company that has lied in the past.
Back in 1974, my Dodge Charger needed tires, but I knew that I would be trading it in fairly soon, so I decided to go cheap with replacement tires. The brand–Falls–was sold by a large local indy tire dealer, and I think that this was his “exclusive” brand in the region.
I didn’t have those tires long enough to be able to judge their ultimate treadwear, their winter traction, or even their resistance to hydroplaning, but they made the most unbelievable screeching noise if I took a turn any faster than walking speed. People would turn their heads, apparently thinking that a vehicle was about to go out of control–even though that wasn’t really the case.
Miles per dollar Michelin tires are the cheapest way to go, at least for the size that fits my car. When I need them Michelin seems to have a rebate sale going usually something like $125 off a set of 4 which is a good percentage when the car uses the cheapest size they sell. 195-65/15.
I might try Michelin as the next set on my car since they will wear out before they age out. The trucks will age out before they wear out so will stick with moderate priced but good tires on them…
He wanted his unit fixed and quickly. This caused me to have to source overpriced used parts. Some of the parts alone could have bought a decent NEW laptop. To each their own. I had just set him up with a NEW laptop as well but he wanted his old one fixed as he wanted a “backup.” I told him buying another new one as “backup” would be more economical.
You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make them drink.
You raised an excellent additional consideration because the “Best Tire for You” will depend on Your specific needs. (Although the “Worst Tires” are so bad I wouldn’t put them on a child’s trike )
Your driving needs, how many miles you drive and how long you’ll be keeping the tires.
Yeah, the trucks sometimes don’t see a lot of miles so the tires have decent tread when dry rotted. If Michelin could last 12 years, it might be worth it. Otherwise a moderate tire is probably best.
I guess Douglas doesn’t deserve a “worst tire” rating if you wouldn’t use those on a kid’s trike. I would trust them to about 35mph but that is it based on my experiences.
I knew a guy who bought decent tires but liked to keep them at the low end of safe inflation for some reason. It obviously hurt the handling and when he was on a sealed blacktop, the tires would do this. It sounded like skidding while turning, even if barely moving at all.
He eventually wised up when a shop aired them up as part of the free checks they run and thought the car drove so much better. He didn’t know what they had done at fist but thought it made a big impact.
I remember back in the 1960s when tires were graded as Premium, First Line, Second Line, and even Third Line tires.
Back then, I ran on recapped tires. A local recapper who was a family friend would set aside a couple of premium casings and recap them for me when I needed tires. I preferred these recaps to Third Line tires.
That is a very good point, but my practice–ever since getting my driver’s license–has been to keep my tires inflated to 3 or 4 psi over the recommended pressure. Those Falls tires were just ridiculously loud when making a turn.
In the early 60’s, it was very normal for some car manufacturers to specify inflation pressures of 22 or 24 psi. It didnt do much for handling but provided a nice, soft ride.
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