Due to the long waiting period between ordering a Trabant and actually taking delivery (in some cases years passed as scarce materials were obtained), people who finally received one treated the car gently and were meticulous in maintaining and repairing it.
Due to the long waiting period between ordering a Trabant and actual delivery (in some cases, years), used Trabants would fetch higher prices than new ones. The people who finally received their own Trabant treated the car gently and were meticulous in maintaining and repairing it.