Anybody drive a German car?

My Dad does. He has a Volkwagen Diesel. It's a great car - it gets extremely good fuel economy, and it's a pretty smooth ride as well. Plus, being a diesel, it's easier on my asthma (gas fumes are a major trigger for me).

 

I have a German car. I love the way they drive. I've had a couple and they were all great. VW, Audi, Mercedes and BMW are all great cars. They just have a much different drive and feel versus a Japanese or American car.

The only thing I would say about German cars is that the cost of repairs and service can be higher depending on the brand. Also, BMW uses run-flat tires, which I personally don't mind, but they do cost a lot to replace if you get a flat. I also am not sure how long they last. On my last car I got 30K miles out of my regular tires. I am not 100% sure, but I don't think run flats will last that long. (someone else who has them might know)

 

That sounds awesome! I have an American car, and it's pretty horrible. I'd love to have a VW Diesel. I've heard nothing but good things about them.

 

Nope, I used to drive a Chevy, but now I have a Buick. Both American.

 

Hey! I actually drive a 13 years-old BMW series 3.

My experience? I don't know where you live. But in my country, the BMW service is sh*t. I'm sure you have heard of the phrase, "customer is god" right? At BMW, it's the other way round. All the people working at BMW are so vein and arrogant to you unless you buy five Series 6's from then or something, then they will start treating you like god. Also, where I'm from, even minor fixing can be SOO expensive. A scratch can probably cost you $1000 to fix. Now, let's talk about the car itself. When I first got the car, the aircon was broken. I went to have it fixed and now it's been working again for a year, but within two-three years, I can guarantee you the airconditioning system will break down again. The space inside, is also small, and I am a small person (170cm tall).
Would I recommend you to buy it?
Depending on your BMW service in your country, driving a BMW can be a great experience IMO. It has its problems, but the pleasure from driving it is great too!

ps. That's not my actual car. It's an image I took from the internet, but it's my model exactly(without the modified rim).

 

Nope, and I never will. Except for maybe a '50s or a '60s one. Japanese build be most reliable cars out there. VW Australia is having a class action against them.

 

Watt up my TDI and IDI brotha :lol:; I love them I drive an A4 ALH VW Jetta and my dad's got an mk6 TDI wagon; my grandfather a mk5 CR Jetta and they've both had IDI's before that. The new CR clean diesels are amazing clean, especially thew new Urea injected ones not to mention how quite and efficient they are. Seriously drive one before you judge it and give it more than a moments though.

They need routine maintenance and care, not to mention someone who can care about them a little bit. Not a whole lot but you've got to do things like using the right oil and keeping it filled (Usually a specific brand/spec that is hard to find in US shops), changing filters routinely (As should always be done) and getting stuff fixed before they break.

TDI's and other such diesels and engines can have specific break in procedures too so you should look that up when purchasing a car. (Hint, drive TDI's hard and short for the first 15,000 mi's or so; no oil change in the first 10,000; then do it soon). This really applies to every vehicle though, you've probably just put it off in most of them but German cars can be less tolerant.

The dealers can suck though; they've got a monopoly and they know it so if there are any issues get it fixed and on their paycheck if possible; especially if it's in warranty. Check with other owners and call other dealerships if yours is being unreasonable.

On the topic of diesels, the new Cruze one looks cool; but I'm unsure if the dealers would be even less competent than the typical junk that you can get.

Fun cars though, I'm doing new shocks/struts, lift and a refresh on mine soon. It's been beat up over the last 13yr's or so and it desperately needs it. Plus I want to ride on tall 16's for better gearing and better clearance.

 

Just another thing to add. The Japanese have a tendency to take existing technology and perfect it. The best example was the Wankel engine.

Um can I ask you what has gone wrong with your Mother's Honda? If it is automatic transmission issues, that doesn't surprise me at all because it Honda thing. I have heard a couple of mechanics say things along the lines of "don't buy a used BMW, you'll be paying the price for a new one." and I guess that applies to most European makes.

 

That's a good point. To add onto that - my cars were new, and my problems were covered under warranty. If you are buying used, I would get a Certified Pre Owned with a warranty so that any repairs are covered up to 100K miles.

 

Service history is everything for used cars, especially in cars that need that routine maintenance (Like, everyone) and where things like break in matter.

Get em checked out if you can by a guy who really knows the car's; it's the best way to get a good background and check on the service history; you want to have things done on time and schedule and properly.

If in doubt when you get it have it done anyways. A couple hundred bucks in redoing all the timing and stuff is nothing compared to a valve job and you know how long it should run after that. That's the same with all used cars though; but interference engines are really picky about it (don't snap a belt or louse a chain or you can have some bad things go on).

Best of luck to your car buying experience.

 

I have a 1996 BMW z3 1.9. I have had it fo 6 years now. It has been a good car.

I don't find the maintenance to be terribly expensive, though I do most of the work myself. I usually just order the parts on the internet and they are usually not too bad.

I will say it is a 17 year car and it rolled over 100K miles so it is getting to the point where it needs a lot of little things done to it. I'm going to need to put a new top on it soon. I am dreading the day it needs a new clutch. Honestly with the way I drive I can't believe I haven't had to put one in it yet.

I did recently have to replace the thermostat in it. It was an easy job and took about 30 minutes. Really the only think I don't like about the car is that it eats through tires. I usually only get 5-8K miles out of a set of tires. Though I run really soft tires on it. They have lots of grip and are cheap. So I'm ok with that.

 

:jawdrop:

 

It's a beamer, that's kind of part of the territory. I only get like 2 changes of pads before I need new rotors; bmw's are more like every change. But man are they worth it, subjectively; the brakes work great. If your not up to that then don't get that kind of car.

 

I like BMW's. I'm not knocking them at all. I am just surprised about 5K miles off a set of tires. I thought it would have been closer to 15K or so.

My old Audi and my current car both got about 30K off a set. I know I don't have run flats though.

 

I am starting to see a trend in European makes developing issues that are really expensive to repair just after the warranty has expired. Dual mass flywheels going bad being one of the most notorious.

Yes I agree that service history is a must on any used vehicle. But there are some issues that no matter how well it has been looked after that will arise. Like dual mass flywheels going bad, annoying but really important and expensive plastic bits going bad (like the actuators for transfer case in on demand 4WD systems, like in BMW X5s and X6s) ect.

I don't even need to go get second opinions, because I am the person that gets asked for the second opinions.

And yes I agree its better to get a new timing kit and water pump slapped in if you're not sure.

 

Well it is not just the German cars that have dual mass flywheels. With modern engines you really need it. Modern engines produce much more low end torque than they used to and as a result throw off all kinds of odd harmonics. In an automatic transmission the torque converter absorbs these, in a manual you need the dual mass flywheel to absorb them. With out the the resulting vibrations will not only make for a harsh ride, but will tare up the drive line.

The brakes in my z3 tend to last a long time. I've put 65K miles on the car since I bought it. I had to replace the front about 20K ago, haven't had to do the front yet. I think that is because when sowing down I tend to down shift and use engine braking.

For the tires I tend to run some verity of the Khumo Ecsta series. I usually go for the softest compound summer tire the shop has at the time. THey are cheap and have amazing grip. Down side is they wear fast. Last time I bought some more expensive Yokohama tires I think. I don't like them. They don't have enough grip, but they last longer.

 

Actually I am concerned in some cases about the build quality in some of these newer cars. DSG's have been spotty in some cases but it's usually due to bad fluid changes or the 7speed dry's being pushed too hard (They're just too delicate).

The HPFP failures kind of scare me though especially on the newer CR engines, they're pretty devastating and hard to predict or prevent. There however have been some "secrete" recalls (TSB's, and other unlisted backings) by a lot of the company's using HPFP's in the new CR engines. My guess is that the design for the pumps is bad and they weren't made entirely to spec, causing catastrophic damage when they chose to put them in anyways. I've heard of it happening on everything from TDI's to US trucks; even though it's a bit different in those cases.

Eh, corporatism; what you gonna do. Every company will have something like this happen (and indeed most car company's do if you look).

If you really want reliable get a good older car with a manual and all the parts fixed. They're older though but will have history on their side. Where's the fun in that though, if you don't have a strict cash budget and time/skills.