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“In my experience, cars last much longer now than they used to.”

My friend. As someone who has cherried and fliped Classics all my life you really do need a “technical” education on how mythical what you just shared really is. A “well maintained” 60s-70s model will go 300K easy. I have one right now I have 300K on and it still does not burn oil and will indeed still pass modern smog regs with a fresh proper tune up. I got 350K out of my Pinto and tore it down and it didn’t even need boring. Just a light hone and new pitons rings and bearings. Good for another 100K and more...

You know where this mythical mind comes from? “Passing smog”. They are taking us out long before our time...

A “well maintained” 60s-70s model will go 300K easy.

The maintanence comes at a cost. One of the biggest problems encountered in Northern climates for cars is the bodies rust out because of salt. It can be overcome. You can coat the underside of the car, it helps. If you keep your cars garaged and wash the underside often, even in the winter, it can help a lot. Of course, frequent oil changes and tuning is important on those older cars. If you baby them, and do all the maintenance, they can last a very long time.

My experience is automobiles in southern climates, away from the ocean (more salt) last longer.

Modern cars seem to have better salt protection from the factory.

Have you kept records of how much time you spend maintaining these cars? It would be interesting to know.