Maybe there'll be less mechanics, but I doubt they'll disappear because they can't do engine work. Engines are super reliable these days - it's the stuff around them which develops problems.
> "I think we’re very familiar with the usual two- to three-year cycles that are extremely popular in the UK, [...] Toyota will take vehicles back to the factory after their first use cycle (ie a typical lease contract) and refurbish them
This article isn't about "remanufacturing" cars at end-of-life - it's about three-year-old cars.
Typically, what happens post-lease is that the inspection will help determine whether the vehicle is of the correct 'quality' to be Certified Pre-Owned (i.e. sufficient quality or fixing whatever's wrong and selling as CPO is worth doing) and that's kinda the first decision gate.
After that, I would assume that the dealer getting the lease back has some pull as to whether they keep it, but that might be contingent on a few factors like what your agreement with the leasing company is and what your current floorplan is like. (Many dealers in the US don't own most of the inventory on their lots, so any car you keep on your lot eats into that line of credit.)
Oh, also the agreements between the financing companies and the auctions themselves. In some cases the agreements are extremely tight, and there are only small windows where someone doesn't already have the 'rights' to sell a vehicle. (That was a fun project.)
(Which is amusingly the cheapest way to buy your car at the end of lease... just ask the pick up driver where he's taking it...)
The car is used, often just off-lease, but it's inspected by the dealership and minor repairs are done so it can be resold with the original warranty essentially reset as if it were new.
It is much more like how Apple, for example, sell refurbished devices that have been put back down a production line for remanufacturing.
I think the intention is for the remanufactured cars to be almost indistinguishable from a brand new car (as an Apple refurbished device is).
Make it look as new as you can, sell it at a premium as a "certifed" car, with maybe a 2-year warranty. Profit.
Even a 5 year old car is very unlikely to have any major mechanical issues unless it has been abused.
- Car starts
- Windshield wipers present
- Door locks work
- Key fobs work
...etc
That sounds so ridiculous to anyone living in the UK. The second hand market here dwarfs all other routes to obtaining your own vehicle. I've never bought a car less than 10 years old.
It would seem that of new car sales, 93% are leased[2]
> The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members in the twelve months to October 2021 was 93.0%, a similar level to the same period in 2020.
[1]https://www.statista.com/statistics/299841/market-volumes-of...
So yes, there will be local mechanics for things such as bodywork and tires, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see only 10-20% of the number of them in 20 years time.
Brakes are dead simple to replace and cheap to do so. Regenerative braking is insignificant in the scheme of refurbishing vehicles.
Wear keeps rust at bay but when they don't get enough wear to remove rust it can make the discs uneven and at that point it can easily spiral out of control.
But every time, it's exhibited as a 'pulsing' feel on the brakes that is alarming before it is dangerous. I suppose to the untrained it could be confused for ABS kicking in but to me it's a very distinct feeling.
https://www.designnews.com/automotive/lightweight-aluminum-b...
What happens when the power fails?
So, power fails? It stops. Quickly.
Done likely because these vehicles are larger and hydraulic brake fluid runs the risk of boiling (air compresses unlike fluid) and/or catching fire.
As for brake fluid and fires, I had a neighbor's Ford Explorer (more like Exploder?) catch fire while parked and it burned down to the chassis due to this: https://www.cozen.com/admin/files/publications/Motor_Vehicle...
Bodywork can easily make a car a write off, especially if exotic materials (aluminum, carbon, composites) are used.
Don't think this is true, I was looking at the MOT record of a car a few days ago and emissions failure was definitely stated as MOT failure reason.
They're getting a lot more strict on ECU testing, too. Used to be you just needed to have no check emissions codes being thrown. Now they're more thorough, for most ECUs they can check to also verify no modifications to the emissions settings (can't just tell the computer it has no cat so it doesn't throw codes).
Hydrocarbons 0.023/1.2 (1:50) CO 0.3/15 (1:50) CO2 502/NA (guess this one has no limit?) NOx 0.081/2 (1:25)
Maybe some states apply newer, stricter limits to older cars retroactively but in my experience as long as a car is operating normally it is impossible to fail emissions. I wouldn't be surprised if the ECU threw a code before the dynamo test caught something. IMO the most practical check they actually do is the presence of a functioning gas cap.
Even that throws a code these days. 14y.o. BMW has a pump that pressurizes the fuel system to check for leaks and it’s usually the pump that breaks and throws a code.
17y.o. Corolla threw a fuel system code but it was the gas cap.
Only thing is that this pressurization check system only runs when the weather is warm enough, so resetting a code usually lets you pass e-testing as “Not Ready” because months can go by. Maybe there’s differences in summer/winter e-testing criteria.
The next year emissions weren't an issue, mainly because the only journey it did was a 250 mile run up the A1/A66/A6 and back again on a weekly basis.