Posted on 08/19/2025 6:52:01 AM PDT by Red Badger
Smart and dumber
Here’s something used car dealers and private sellers won’t shout from the rooftops.
The average new car has 1,400 to 1,500 semiconductor chips. And high-end EVs? Try 3,000. Those computer chips power everything from heated seats to emergency crash alerts.
The problem: When the car’s network or software support ends, so do those fancy features. We’ve been here before.
Remember the 3G shutdown in 2022? Overnight, millions of cars lost remote start, navigation and emergency call functions. Owners of certain Volkswagen, Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, Toyota and Lexus models from 2012–2019 suddenly found their “smart” features dead in the water.
⏳ Déjà vu? More like Déjà-VROOM.
Fast-forward to 2025: Acura pulled the plug on its AcuraLink services on cars as recent as 2022. Yes, even the NSX supercar. Goodbye, app-controlled locks. Sayonara, stolen vehicle tracking. So long, digital concierge.
Mazda owners with 2016–2018 models saw remote start vanish with no fix in sight. Subaru’s early Starlink system? Dead since 2022.
It’s not just about network shutdowns either. Cadillac and other GM EVs are ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for their own systems. Even if you paid for these features, there’s no guarantee they’ll be there tomorrow.
😳 Why does this even matter?
Let me break it down for you. The average car on U.S. roads is 12.6 years old. Many connected-car systems only last seven to 10 years. That’s bad news for used car buyers. A mechanically perfect car could have worthless tech. It’s dead, Jim.
Millions of used cars out there have ticking tech clocks. If you’re shopping for one, ask how long the remote start, safety systems and other features will last.
Before you buy that “fully loaded” dream car, ask what happens when the tech stops calling home. Features age out faster than engines. Check the manual, the app and the forums. If the tech relies on a soon-to-be dead network or discontinued service, you might be buying a VHS player on wheels.
Ping!..............
She nailed it. Mechanical items can be fixed, and even remade. No one has the capacity to recreate even those elementary logic ICs without bucks and bucks worth of fab facilities. Don’t even get me started about software in aircraft.
I had all the remote start, charge management online features and emergency call but it was only free for 2 years. Then I was supposed to subscribe to an online service that I would have to pay for monthly. Now I don’t have any of those services and I don’t need them anyway. Why should I pay for the ability to see my car’s level of charge or to see if the doors are locked when I can just walk out to the garage?
LOL yup, i love my 1997 ford.
2022. I lost Onstar useage in my outdated 2014 Impala. They wanted me to download an app to detect a crash. That’s when I found out there are no sensors in the car to detect a rear end collision. On that huge screen in the car, the only thing that works is the clock and sirius. Why do I need that screen now? it’s just another thing to clean!
You can purchase those ICs online. But, few people can repair at the IC level. You will be able to purchase the entire "endpoint device". Buying parts from a dealer will always be dicey.
I rejoiced when I found out the dormant onstar system in my old GMs were obsolete!
This is another reason (that I had not previously considered) to lease cars. While it can seem a bit expensive to put $$ down to secure a lease, the monthly payments can be significantly less than monthly loan payments. Sure, you lose money in the long run, but you lose money the instant you drive off the lot when you purchase too. Plus with, say a 3 year lease, you never run out of warranty before you turn the car in for a new one.
The only way you make money on a new car “purchase” is to buy a new exotic, keep it for 10 years, and sell it on the auction circuit. Or, never buy a new car...
Ditto. ‘98 lifted Taco here. 200k miles. Purrs like a kitten but roars like a lion when I want it to (flow-thru exhaust). The only computerized part it has is the troubleshoot diagnostic. I get stopped. They want to know if I’m selling. Yeah right.
Deliberately increasing cost of vehicles, an idea of Obama.
Now using these things to make sure classic cars never run.
The quality of cars has declined steadily over the past 2 decades. There are very few cars that are reliable over 100,000 miles, which means the average lifespan of a $50,000 car is about 8 years. So you pay about $550 a month and in 8 years your car is valued quite low. If you are unlucky and drive a BMW, you probably put at least $10,000 in repairs over the 8 years or so.
Cars are a money pit, dealers are incentivized to find repairs, The old days of reliability and cost effectiveness in cars is over.
“If you are unlucky and drive a BMW, you probably put at least $10,000 in repairs over the 8 years or so.”
I’m unlucky..............
I'm unlucky x2
“If you are unlucky and drive a BMW, you probably put at least $10,000 in repairs over the 8 years or so.”
True words. My 16 year old BMW 128i convertible recently cost me almost $3K to replace rear shocks and wheel-speed sensors for the ABS system. Fortunately it has been fairly reliable in the long term... Except now stuff is starting to wear out.
This is why I love my 2004 Chevy Avalanche. Zero mechanical or electical isses, ever. Just regular milage mainenance. The thing is probably going to outlive me.
1976 1 ton Chevy truck: ZERO CHIPS
1979 Buick wagon: ZERO CHIPS
“”””“If you are unlucky and drive a BMW, you probably put at least $10,000 in repairs over the 8 years or so.”
I’m unlucky............””””
I was lucky. The only car I have ever leased was a 2012 BMW 750L for a three year period. For a $90,000 car it was a disaster. Started with ‘run flat tires’ that had to be replaced after 18,000 miles and cost $500 each.
Mines a Ranger, 250,000 dirt cheap to operate, registration is 74 dollars a year. 14 inch tires are cheap to buy. I don’t have 4x4, i have snow radials and 300 pounds of sand bags. 4 cylinder gets 20 mpg city, 25 highway. It does have air conditioning.
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