In my opinion, vehicles produced from around 2010 to today show a clear downward trend in overall build quality and long-term durability. Yes, modern cars are loaded with technology—touchscreens, driver-assist systems, advanced safety features, turbocharged small engines—but the mechanical foundations underneath have not improved in the same way. Many design decisions over the last decade look driven more by cost savings, emissions targets, and marketing than by engineering for longevity.
Things like CVTs, widespread direct injection, constantly “updated” multi-speed transmissions, known build quality issues (Toyota, Kia/Hyundai, GM, Ford, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, VW, etc.), ultra-low viscosity oil requirements, and an explosion of plastic in critical engine components have all contributed to modern cars feeling more disposable and less like long-term investments.
Having worked on numerous modern automobiles and watching numerous pro mechanics online, I feel the following are some major reasons moderns cars don't compare to yesterday year:
The mass adoption of CVTs is one of the biggest contributors to reduced long-term reliability in modern cars. On paper, CVTs offer smooth acceleration and improved fuel economy. In practice, a lot of them simply don’t hold up over high mileage or under real-world load.
For someone who plans to keep a car for 10–15 years, this kind of drivetrain is a liability, not a long-term asset.
Direct injection brings real benefits: more power, better fuel economy, cleaner tailpipe emissions when new. But it also brought new long-term problems that older port-injected engines simply didn’t have.
Some manufacturers have backtracked partially by introducing dual injection (both port and direct) to reduce buildup—basically admitting DI alone has real longevity issues. It’s a fix, but it adds even more complexity and cost.
Modern 8-, 9-, and 10-speed automatics are another example of complexity chasing MPG numbers. They can work well when they’re new and perfectly tuned, but they’ve also brought their own set of headaches.
Instead of a simple, robust 4- or 5-speed that just works for 200k+ miles, we now have transmissions that rely heavily on software band-aids and are very expensive to rebuild or replace once out of warranty.
To chase fractional MPG gains and meet emissions/efficiency targets, many manufacturers now specify extremely thin oils like 0W-20 or even 0W-16. While these oils help in controlled test cycles, they are not always ideal for long-term protection in the real world.
If you plan on keeping a car 200k–300k miles, relying on the thinnest possible oil with extended drain intervals is not exactly a recipe for maximum engine life.
Plastic has taken over a huge number of parts that used to be metal—especially under the hood.
While plastic is lighter and cheaper, it doesn’t handle decades of heat cycling, vibration, and chemical exposure the way aluminum or cast iron does. The result:
What used to be rare, end-of-life problems on older vehicles are now fairly common at middle age on newer ones.
Even brands that used to be the “safe bet” for long-term ownership have had serious quality and design stumbles in the 2010s and beyond.
Toyota was once practically synonymous with unbeatable reliability, but they’ve had a growing list of issues across multiple platforms—including their V8s.
None of this looks like the old-school, overbuilt Toyota philosophy. It looks like cost-cutting and newer manufacturing choices chipping away at long-term robustness.
Hyundai and Kia have faced very public engine problems that have led to massive recalls and lawsuits.
For many owners, “normal maintenance” hasn’t been enough to keep these engines out of trouble over the long haul.
Subaru’s core formula has stayed similar (flat engines, AWD), but they’ve had their own 2010+ reliability hits.
GM’s variable displacement systems—Active Fuel Management (AFM) on earlier engines and Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM) on newer ones—are a prime example of complexity introduced for fuel economy that ends up punishing long-term owners.
Engines like the 5.3L, 6.0L, and 6.2L that used to be known for going hundreds of thousands of miles are now frequently needing top-end work or complete replacement far earlier than expected. Many owners proactively install AFM/DFM delete kits simply to make the engine behave like a traditional V8 again.
Ford has had its own wave of issues, especially with the EcoBoost family and some of their modern drivetrains.
Add this to earlier well-known issues (like V8 spark plug problems and older cam phaser designs), and it paints a picture of a manufacturer that has leaned hard into turbo, DI, and complex transmissions—often at the cost of relaxed, long-term durability.
BMW still builds great driving cars, but the 2010+ era has brought a lot of long-term ownership concerns that simply weren’t as common back in the simpler NA inline-6 days.
Audi’s modern lineup is packed with DI turbo engines and dual-clutch transmissions, and with that has come a raft of known issues over the last decade.
Mercedes still sells the “engineered like no other car” image, but the modern era has seen its fair share of mechanical and electronic trouble as well.
VW has had a mix of great-driving platforms paired with engines and transmissions that haven’t always held up as well as they should.
Beginning in the late 2000s and accelerating through the 2010–present era, many automakers transitioned to low-friction piston ring designs as part of the push for better fuel economy. These thinner, lower-tension rings help manufacturers meet regulatory efficiency targets—but they have introduced a wide range of long-term durability and oil control issues.
Automakers adopted these rings to:
When you look at the full picture—from CVTs and DI issues to complex transmissions, manufacturer-specific engine problems, ultra-thin oils, and an overuse of plastic. Because of how modern vehicles are built, it’s hard to argue that modern cars are built to live long lives like many vehicles from the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.
Modern cars are fantastic for their first 3–7 years and roughly up to the 100k–120k mile mark, which just happens to line up nicely with warranty windows and typical lease/ownership cycles. Beyond that, the combination of complexity, material choices, and cost-cut engineering starts to show.
In my view, cars built from around 2010 onward are generally not the same kind of long-term investment that older, simpler designs used to be. They may be smarter, faster, and more efficient—but they’re also more fragile, less forgiving, and far more expensive to keep on the road once the odometer climbs and the warranty is gone.