There is another big problem with new cars: modules. These things which replaced all the mechanical and electrical bits in a car and can be EXTREMELY expensive to replace can also brick the vehicle when they fail or miscommunicate with the computer and in many cases no one knows why.
Go to YouTube and search “the 5700.00 taillight.”
Modules have also made assembling the car cheaper and easier with the result that very cheap but important parts are buried in, say, the dash and to get at, say, a twenty dollar plastic “air director”. (the part a h shifts air flow to the defroster or vents etc) you have to disassemble the entire dash and the airbags etc. you’re looking here at up to 3 grand in labor for something that might have been less than a hundred bucks in an earlier car. Plus the computer in many cases must be updated to any module changes or to get those airbags back on line.
We hear of junkyards (YouTube)that are starting to look like parking lots due to the still viable looking vehicles being junked because they have module problems too pricy to replace . Stay tuned. Someone predicted the new thing very soon might be kits to turn these module cars into mor analog vehicles.
Those modules are what make a lot of the 90s and newer automotive technologies possible and actually make the cars more reliable and easier to troubleshoot and maintain. If not for the CAN BUS that those modules communicate through, the huge bundles of wiring would make it difficult if not impossible to trace and troubleshoot problems, incredibly heavy and on the whole less reliable. Because of the CAN BUS you can plug a diagnostic computer in and figure out most of the problems in the system. If a failing module is taking down the whole car, a good diagnostician can quickly isolate and identify the cause.
The downside is that because those modules are so specialized, and their function is difficult and expensive to copy or duplicate they will ultimately doom the car as it gets older. After a few years the only way to get a replacement for a bad module is from the used or reconditioned parts market. As those markets dry up over the years, and especially for lower production run cars, you ultimately will not be able to keep the car going at any reasonable cost. That said, my cars range from 16 to 32 years old and I still have been able to get any module part I need.