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> How long are 914s supposed to last?, Sorting through the myths
JeffBowlsby
post May 6 2021, 08:13 PM
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We like these old cars for our own reasons, but we often hear:

"...remember, these cars [or their parts] were not built to last more than ___ years, they are commodities with a limited useful life." "we live in a throw-away society"...but our cars are not generally disposables with a short time line or priced as such.

I recently saw a Model A with 20K original miles, original paint. At 90-some years old it was a great car for its time and for what it is today. I think the draw is more than just nostalgia, its respect for good design, engineering and an owners regular maintenance.

Todays cars are generally not made from water soluble materials or short life span elements (other than disposable maintenance items) - they have steel not wood chassis, glass not plastic windows, durable leather/fabric not paper seats, etc. With exceptions, generally capable of lasting more than a few years and they cost enough to justify the durability.

Todays manufacturers give warranties of X years, Y miles. All that seems to mean is that they won't pay for maintenance or service after that limited time is up which is just a limitation of liability for those costs, not that the car is only expected to function that long. Not an unreasonable condition of sale, and most cars won't explode when the warranty expires.

Seems counter to the disposable argument that 50-ish years later the original manufacturer still supports these old cars with many factory OEM new parts (albeit of limited selection) and many 914s are still thriving. If it were true that they were only intended to last a certain short period of time, then the mfr. would not be obligated to continue to support them. But they do.
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wonkipop
post May 6 2021, 10:35 PM
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QUOTE(JeffBowlsby @ May 6 2021, 08:13 PM) *

We like these old cars for our own reasons, but we often hear:



I recently saw a Model A with 20K original miles, original paint. At 90-some years old it was a great car for its time and for what it is today. I think the draw is more than just nostalgia, its respect for good design, engineering and an owners regular maintenance.







(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)



appreciating a great past work of design and engineering might be nostalgic.
but not always.

i think the hostile climate of the northern hemisphere where most of the car industry was centred probably drove the idea of "obsolete" into a quicker cycle than it otherwise might have. body shell structural rust etc.

it was certainly the case in australia right up to the mid 90s that the service life of cars was well stretched out by owners, beyond the expectations of manufacturers. the cars did not rust (or not so quickly and severely). people here were poorer in relative terms than prosperous americans (even the middle class) and cars were expensive when compared to other western countries. cars were looked after, rebuilt mechanically and generally made to last as long as possible by owners. there was a practical side to it.
Kiwis tell me it was the same, if not more extreme, in NZ.

i have to admit that is gone now. australians might well be the most rampant consumers on the planet these days. more so than americans if you can believe that.

but what i am i saying. i think genuine respect for mechanical tools (and a good car is a good tool) is something bred by necessity. i've seen some pretty amazing daily drivers of great age still getting around in aus, not as much as i used to, but i have even more respect for that use and maintenance of a car than i do for my molly coddling of my 914.
but if you think a car is an appliance rather than a tool, well.........it will be nothing more than a toaster to you, rather than a good hammer.


as an after-thought - and particular to the 914. the type 4 engine is a sturdy engineered unit when compared to the earlier vw engines, ie the type 3. in australia it was not unusual for type 3 engines to last only 30,000m before burning or dropping valves on the #3 cylinder. the dreaded lay down oil cooler a long way from the fan. but the rest of the car would be perfect, barely run in. so you would just rebuild the motor. i was on my third rebuild and facing my 4th when i finally retired my old variant. that was definitely a factor with older cars here, you would usually find you would wear out the engine long before the rest of the car showed any form of terminal wear big $ death sentences. it was nothing to rebuild a motor. in the right environment, like a desert or dry climate, 914s were all set up to last a lot longer than perhaps even VW might have imagined. part of the reason VW gave up production in australia? the cars were too good and lasted too long? all those famous VW ads from the 60s in north america came true in australia ---- the cars never changed much year to year, you could be driving an old one and ..... it still looked new. its only in the last 10 years that i have noticed beetles completely disappear off the roads here. the last of them were still getting flogged into the ground in the early 21C as daily drivers a good 25-30 years after the production line closed down. they finally rusted out on the C pillars down here - but the floor pans were still intact.
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JeffBowlsby   How long are 914s supposed to last?   May 6 2021, 08:13 PM
bbrock   Great topic! I've never bought into the d...   May 6 2021, 08:50 PM
Shivers   40 years, three engines, untold thousands of miles...   May 6 2021, 09:15 PM
930cabman   40 years, three engines, untold thousands of mile...   May 7 2021, 12:54 PM
Jonathan Livesay   40 years, three engines, untold thousands of mil...   May 7 2021, 02:39 PM
wonkipop   We like these old cars for our own reasons, but w...   May 6 2021, 10:35 PM
iankarr   I think the concept of intended/usable lifespan is...   May 7 2021, 06:41 AM
Superhawk996   Answer is straight forward in engineering terms. ...   May 7 2021, 06:45 AM
bbrock   10 years, 100,000 miles was standard engineering ...   May 7 2021, 08:16 AM
horizontally-opposed   In the old days (pre 1975~), and in certain (many)...   May 7 2021, 06:58 AM
anderssj   When I bought my 914, I figured its expected usefu...   May 7 2021, 08:49 AM
Jamie   As part of this longevity discussion, I've oft...   May 7 2021, 09:28 AM
Root_Werks   I agree with the 10 years, 100,000 miles for most ...   May 7 2021, 09:45 AM
914Sixer   Since the 914 was built by VW I would expect the l...   May 7 2021, 09:46 AM
Montreal914   Climate is the key! Body rust is the killer in...   May 7 2021, 09:47 AM
Shivers   The valance's sheetmetal is paper thin. I fou...   May 7 2021, 09:53 AM
bbrock   The valance's sheetmetal is paper thin. I fo...   May 7 2021, 10:23 PM
Shivers   The valance's sheetmetal is paper thin. I f...   May 8 2021, 01:07 PM
StarBear   Regular oil changes, washing, tuneups and routine ...   May 7 2021, 11:39 AM
Tom_T   Regular oil changes, washing, tuneups and routine...   May 7 2021, 12:41 PM
Tom_T   Great topic Jeff! :agree: I've always ...   May 7 2021, 12:38 PM
Porschef   Great topic Jeff! :agree: I've always...   May 8 2021, 08:01 AM
Ansbacher   Anything well designed and well built originally c...   May 7 2021, 01:46 PM
9146C   A very interesting topic... I was in my mid-teens...   May 7 2021, 03:00 PM
ClayPerrine   There should be no doubt that modern vehicles (in...   May 7 2021, 03:31 PM
Beeliner   When I was growing up in the 1950's the rule o...   May 7 2021, 03:14 PM
Tom_T   When I was growing up in the 1950's the rule ...   May 7 2021, 03:53 PM
ClayPerrine   As far as I am concerned our 914s are going to las...   May 7 2021, 03:28 PM
Front yard mechanic   It's like trying to keep a snow ball in the fr...   May 7 2021, 09:29 PM
bbrock   We haven't defined "lifespan" to det...   May 8 2021, 08:23 AM


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