I wrote this article just as I was wrapping up my lap around Africa, based on the experiences I had there.
Time and again I saw people driving older vehicles (70s, 80s, 90s) who were having a hell of a time with maintenance and repairs. People we rebuilding gearboxes and engines. People had cracked frames and people were topping up oil daily.
On the other hand those of us with more modern vehicles (circa 2010) had no such issues and were spending much more of our time actually enjoying the trip rather than working on our vehicles.
While conventional wisdom says old timers are better for wickedly remote work around the globe, my experiences on the ground were the polar opposite.