East German symbol provides a lesson

Whenever our family car, a small Citroen, (c 1990) goes for its warrant, I am offered the same advice from the garage: "Don't be in a hurry to replace it".

Like the Trabi, it is a practical car to own, but with none of the disadvantages. Most servicing, short of major overhaul, may be carried out by an owner with a bit of nous, the service-manual, and the motivation.

A relative of mine has a much more modern vehicle - French, but not Citroen. Recently a fault developed, with the engine over-heating. What was once admirably performed by a fan-belt and thermostat it seems is now the task of a computer, wiring harness and electric motor with a combined replacement cost of more than $1000. The simplest diagnostics call for the system to be plugged into a computer, meaning that owner servicing is no longer possible, a hugely unnecessary expense for those prepared, and able, to carry out their own servicing.

Advertising hype and bull is continually being forced upon us to regard these vehicles as practical to own, but I think many of us are beginning to catch-on.A sound, basic, but good quality, vehicle is badly needed on New Zealand roads, one capable of being serviced by the semi-skilled, with the robustness to stand up to New Zealand conditions.

Even the lowly Czech 'Skoda' was designed to conform to stringent East European conditions initially, with platinum-tipped spark-plugs etc, and other features designed to be practical in countries with poor to non-existent servicing facilties.

Being designed principally to satisfy East European aspirations of the time (like the Trabant), it generally 'bombed' in the west due to its rather pedestrian features and finish.

Hey, this brings back memories. Being from former Eastern Germany, my family never had a car before the wall came down. The Trabant was ridiculously expensive then. After 1989, prices came crashing down, because everyone wanted a proper western car. I think I bought my first second-hand Trabi as a student for about 150 Westmark, the former Western German currency. It was the perfect car for the young, cheap to buy and easy to fix. You did not even have to bother with insurance (other than third-party) - if you ruined it, you just bought another one :)
Or got the replacement parts at any scrap metal yard and fixed the vehicle yourself. Winters in a Trabi were a bit of a pain. Sometimes took forever to start, and the heating was very basic. Power and speed were also an issue. Uphill, the thing slowed down so badly that you became the bother of many. It was generally best to take any hill with pre-built momentum. Top speed was about 110 km/h, but only downhill and without driving into the wind. Emissions were bad, quite the environmental hazard. Well, it had a 2-stroke engine after all.
Finally, one did not want to have an accident in this car. Large portions of the outer being made of fibre (rather than metal) sheets, a crash did not cause bending but snapping. Other than that, it was perfect :) I must have owned about three or four in total.