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Why do you say that modern cars have a design life of seven years?

Could you please expand on your statement that "modern cars have a design life of about seven years ". This will be of concern to many of your readers.

Asked on 6 December 2010 by AC, Canterbury

Answered by Honest John
Ordinary cars are basically built to last around seven years and then be recycled. The complexity that has been legislated into modern cars is such that numerous expensive components can fail, and if they do fail after around seven years the cost of replacing them can be more than the car is then worth so the car may not be worth repairing.
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