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Comment by rebuilder | Hacker News Reader

I've wanted to buy durable items - far from luxury cars, things like lawnmowers and chainsaws etc. What I've realized is that durability seems to come from having simple mechanisms that are relatively easy to service and maintain. But that implies that you have to maintain the machines. You have to clean your chainsaw regularly, you need to know how to adjust the carburetor, you need to take the time to sharpen the blades etc.

For the luxury market, that probably means the customer pays someone to do that work. Maybe it's just cheaper to put in disposable parts that are replaced, since labour costs are pretty high these days.

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I'm not a 'car guy' - but love my 2003 Mk1 Ford Focus. I live in a city, it parks on the street, I don't really even need a car - but I'm emotionally attached to the little-blue-fella. Why? Well I bought it as after numerous Hertz rentals, I liked driving it. Why I have it 16 years later is that it 'just works' - for minor stuff like broken wing-mirror, air filter, wipers, bulbs, batteries - parts are easily available on ebay for practically nothing and can all be fitted with a leatherman and a cheap socket-set. It had a single breakdown where it went into limp mode (new coil pack needed) - and couple of years ago needed £400 of welding (sills close enough to wheels that would fail an MOT). That was a tough decision, as car wasn't even worth that - but I'd have felt like a traitor to have it 'put down. Last 2 years, sailed through check without issue. Now of course I'd like a new car with built in GPS.. well basically "a screen" - and better safety, lower emissions and all the rest... but bluntly not worth the cost (to me, the environment etc etc). This will be my first car I bought myself, and I suspect the last one. "There are many like it, but this one is mine"

I have one as well. I don't love it but it has been reliable and is holding up well. Something weird is happening to the paint at the hood now however, like peeling off in places. Given how little I drive, I can't motivate to change it.

If it's little spots where the paint looks like it's 'gone crackly' - that's bird shit you didn't wash off. I know, as my roof is covered in them. Fortunately the undercoat seems impervious - so can be considered as 'just cosmetic' (although entirely likely you have another affliction).

Ironically one of the major barriers is actually modern environmental laws. Simple engines tend to have poor control over combustion and produce lots of pollutants. Two-stroke engines, while far simpler, have fundamentally far higher emissions.

Two stroke engines are not durable. They require frequent rebuilds. There are very few cars and bikes with old two stroke engines survived to this day, and I suspect that quick wear is one of the reasons.

Tons of two strokes on things like lawnmowers, dirt bikes, and chainsaws, though.

The buyers of these cars only keep them for three years. That's their design life.

Huffy bikes were only ridden for 50 cumulative miles over their lifetime and were designed for just that.

The buyers of these cars only keep them for three years

The OP noted that these cars need major service after just a few thousand miles. It doesn't seem reasonable to expect to drive less than 5,000 miles in three years.

The consumers nearly always lease, the service is insured via the warranty and the customer gets a loaner.

By "major service" he means an oil change - and most of the Euro manufactures are running full synthetic with change intervals of 10,000 miles or longer, so it';s basically a once a year thing for most owners.

Was that a typo, or is there a bike that is literally only expected to be used for a couple of bike trips?

Not a typo. They weren't road bikes. They were looks-like-but-aren't mountain bikes targeting kids. Real big when I was a kid in the 90s. Sold dirt cheap at ToysRUs and the like.

not a typo :( search for "bicycle shaped object". huffy is one of those brands sold in big box stores to folks with little intention of serious use. riding these is so unpleasant there's actually a negative feedback loop.

In fairness, they’ll last much more than 50 miles if kept inside and properly lubricated.

However, they use notoriously non-standard parts. So, if you want to fix your $100 bike, you’re looking at paying for someone to custom machine the replacement part.

You can’t even just find an old huffy and scavenge parts off those, since the geomoetries / threads / etc change constantly, so you’d need to find one made in the same production run as the one you are repairing.

They are disposable kid bikes. They don’t even make frames big enough for 6’ tall men. (and it is not even close; not sure what the cutoff is. 5’9”, maybe?)

Luxury car owners typically lease a new vehicle every 3 years. They couldn’t care less what happens to it in 5.

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