Mechanic calls out ‘fancy-schmancy’ car for hiding a costly secret: ‘Not designed for the long haul’

In a video posted to the TikTok account RastaBuilds (@rastamanbuilds), a car technician, presumably the Rastaman himself, had a lot of fun pointing out all the problems with the plastic parts in a “fancy-schmancy” Dodge Charger.

Rastaman has built an impressive following across social media platforms with his honest and entertaining takes on all things automotive. This video has gotten attention on TikTok, garnering 90,0000 likes, and on Reddit in the r/Anticonsumption subreddit.

The video is captioned: “I am just saying. In my experience this is what I see and think.”

While a Dodge Charger was the unfortunate focus of the video, Rastaman made sure to mention that a lot of European brands use similar plastic components that cause high-pressure fuel leaks on a regular basis.

On the Charger, Rastaman was replacing the plastic oil filter housing with a new oil filter housing that he’d ordered — that happened to be made of … you guessed it, “plastic city” as he called it.

He pointed out that the fuel reel and fuel reel line are plastic, as are the intake manifold and the valve covers, which have a habit of splitting.

At this point, Rastaman gets on his self-proclaimed soapbox and gives his opinion on why all these parts are made of plastic.

“This is not designed for the long haul. This is not designed for problem-free or low ownership cost. It’s not designed for that,” Rastaman says in the video. “This is designed for low cost in manufacturing to maximize the profit margin.”

He points out that the parts are made to last just long enough to outlast the warranty, and consumers will be “footing the bill” for repairs.

But, given that he makes a living fixing cars, he jokingly says at the end of the video, “This is the gift that keeps on giving.”

Rastaman was pointing out the waste that comes with using almost exclusively plastic components: the wasted time and money on the part of the consumer, the wasted resources that go into producing these parts that are going to fail after only a few years, and the loads of plastic that are created just to be thrown away.

Commenters tended to agree with Rastaman.

One TikToker posted, “World functioning on scam and lies.”

While another said, “It’s for weight reduction to make it faster while it’s on its way to the junkyard.”

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