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  1. #151
    Oneheadlite's Avatar
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill D View Post
    I bet in climates like Florida’s, battery life is less than 6-8 years. I’m surprised I’ve been seeing 4-5. If you do a lot of driving here, tires don’t last terribly long either. A lot of it has to do with the composition of the roads here.
    Very true. When I worked at a battery store as a teen they explained it as "The heat kills the batteries, it`s just the cold that makes you realize it"

  2. #152

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nizmo View Post
    Hmm, how did I not see this before. While I haven`t seen a battery failure on my GTI (*knock on wood*), I did have to replace mine on my 08 Jetta. It never did act strange or anything, it just cranked slow. Now when I replaced my battery the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree until a couple miles down the road.
    My GTI is a 2014 Mk6. The battery never showed any sign of failure like a slow crank until it simply failed without warning...when I needed to go to work. The battery was four years old, so the failure was not too suprising based on the age. When I called my service advisor friend to determine what was going on and figure out my next steps, he simply chuckled and told me the battery was dead. After replacing the battery myself, I sheepishly called him back and thanked him for his spot-on diagnosis. While it freaked me out, it`s apperenty quite common...for a Mk6 at least.

  3. #153
    Hooked For Life Bill D's Avatar
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    All of my batteries failed without warning too. I wish there was some kind of app that would help forecast their inevitable doom.
    Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.

  4. #154

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Desertnate View Post
    My GTI is a 2014 Mk6. The battery never showed any sign of failure like a slow crank until it simply failed without warning...when I needed to go to work.The battery was four years old, so the failure was not too suprising based on the age....
    Gee, batteries only last that long in, uhm...modern cars?

  5. #155
    Hooked For Life Bill D's Avatar
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Unfortunately.
    Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.

  6. #156

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Shudder... [Accumulator reaffirms his refusal to update his vehicles]
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  7. #157

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Sadly it`s true. I would scratch it up to the batteries and not the cars. I`ve only been a car owner for 20+ years, but it seems batteries only average 5 years over that time. That`s enough cars in enough different states (and countries) to think it`s more the battery and not any one specific vehicle. When I hit 6 years on a battery I start getting really nervous in the winter. It won`t replace them early, but start really watching the crank speed when the engine is really cold.

  8. #158
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by jatleson View Post
    I`m going through the German car pain as I type. My 2010 335 xDrive is at 90,000 miles. Time for some serious maintenance. About $2000 in parts and labor for needed repairs at my indy shop (and about a 1000 in additional go fast goodies) are about to be installed.

    If I was shopping for a new car...I would probably go American. BUT, there is nothing new on the road that drives like the older german cars. To me, all the new 3 series, C classes, a4`s feel the same as a Camry or Accord. I`m sure Porsche`s or the new Alfa`s are nice, but they are pricey. My e90 feels more solid, drives better and once all the repairs and goodies are installed, will keep up with any of them. The switch from hydraulic to electric steering completely changed the characteristics of a car. We won`t discuss the availability of manual transmissions.

    Having to spend 3,000 - 4,000 for major repairs once every 2 - 3 years and keeping up with regular maintenance is less than having car payments on a new entry level European car. To get my daily driver today would be a 50k+ BMW.

    If cars aren`t important to you...it is hard to justify spending anything more than a car payment a month, and there is nothing wrong with that. I (like most of us here) like cars, and I`m willing to pay to keep them properly maintained and running. They don`t make them like they used too.
    It is the new year - let`s revisit this. Since posting back in late 2017 - a new player has stepped to the plate - The Hyundai Motor Group. The Genesis G70 and Kia Stinger are legitimate German car competitors. Not quite as polished around the edges, but that will change as they evolve the generations. It is to the point where I can`t justify putting money in the 3 series. Still love the car, but when little things start going, it drives me crazy. None of the little things impact reliability or performance, but they put that question in the back of the mind - what is next? If I do have a change of heart and keep - I`ll be planning to pay for clutch, turbos and while it is being torn apart door lock actuators. Grand total for all that is starting at $6500 (price varies based on which parts are used).

    The Korean cars have like drive train technology (twin turbo 6`s, rear wheel drive architecture, AWD option, 8 speed trns, some have 3 pedals), are built solid, feel solid on the road, and offer significant savings. On top of that the warranty is tough to beat. Having a nice, sporty, powerful car is a luxury. One way or the other you are going to pay. Question is do you want large, likely unplanned lump sum cash outages or planned monthly small cash outages with the large unplanned covered under warranty? Brain vs. Heart - Logic vs. Love. Happy New Year everybody.


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  9. #159
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Desertnate View Post
    Sadly it`s true. I would scratch it up to the batteries and not the cars. I`ve only been a car owner for 20+ years, but it seems batteries only average 5 years over that time. That`s enough cars in enough different states (and countries) to think it`s more the battery and not any one specific vehicle. When I hit 6 years on a battery I start getting really nervous in the winter. It won`t replace them early, but start really watching the crank speed when the engine is really cold.
    I have a low amp charger/maintainer that I like to put on my car after its been sitting for a week. It will usually show 60%-70% and charge it to "100%" after a couple hours. Will this make the battery last longer, who knows, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside (or was it the bourbon, eh, who knows...).
    2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR 4x4 6MT - 2023 Toyota Camry SE
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  10. #160

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    personally even with batteries at 100 SOC consistently IMO, lead acid just doesn`t last these days. Just replaced a 38 month old battery.
    eh, maybe it`s just due to the lead getting recycled after recycled, after recycled.

    LOL. All this plugging in of chargers. It`s just getting us all ready for tesla`s with the practice of plugging it in

  11. #161
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    After a little more research on battery registration I found that if you replace a BMW battery with the same amperage battery registration does little to nothing at all. It’s when you change to a different than oe spec things go a little haywire as the computer does not recognize the change in amps unless told to. The article I read said that if you replace the battery with the same one and don’t register it there might be a 1% reduction in battery life. The article was a technical one and not clickbait, so it may have some veracity. I wish I would have kept it so I could link to it.
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  12. #162

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by jatleson View Post
    It is the new year - let`s revisit this. Since posting back in late 2017 - a new player has stepped to the plate - The Hyundai Motor Group. The Genesis G70 and Kia Stinger are legitimate German car competitors. Not quite as polished around the edges, but that will change as they evolve the generations. It is to the point where I can`t justify putting money in the 3 series. Still love the car, but when little things start going, it drives me crazy. None of the little things impact reliability or performance, but they put that question in the back of the mind - what is next? If I do have a change of heart and keep - I`ll be planning to pay for clutch, turbos and while it is being torn apart door lock actuators. Grand total for all that is starting at $6500 (price varies based on which parts are used).

    The Korean cars have like drive train technology (twin turbo 6`s, rear wheel drive architecture, AWD option, 8 speed trns, some have 3 pedals), are built solid, feel solid on the road, and offer significant savings. On top of that the warranty is tough to beat. Having a nice, sporty, powerful car is a luxury. One way or the other you are going to pay. Question is do you want large, likely unplanned lump sum cash outages or planned monthly small cash outages with the large unplanned covered under warranty? Brain vs. Heart - Logic vs. Love. Happy New Year everybody.
    While the Koreans and the Japanese do often have the value and, sometimes, the quality proposition locked in which make them look great to your accountant and seem the logical choice, there are often intangibles which don`t show up until you get behind the wheel and start driving them. Over the last few years while car shopping I drove an American and German hot hatch back-to-back and also comperable Japanese and German sport sedans back-to-back. In both cases the non-German vehicle was less expensive. However, neather drove as well as the German option. The engines weren`t as smooth and didn`t put down power as well, the body structure didn`t seem as rigid, the ergonomics weren`t as good, and the way they behaved themselves at speed and especially in the corners wasn`t as confidence insipiring. Things I would never had know had I not driven them close together in long test drives.

    My in-laws own a G90 and while it`s a VERY nice car, there are a few things which would give me pause if cross-shopping with other large sedans. Things like the seat bottoms being really short with no thigh support, slightly off ergonomics, squishy/floaty body control, and the use of lower quality materials in some areas. I noticed the same thing when looking at a Stinger.

    For me, I expect a certian *feel* and experience when driving and so far only the Germans have been able to provide it, though I keep driving everything else to see what it has to offer. I`m willing to pay a bit more and have to shop a little smarter to get it. In all honesty, I`ve owned two long-ish term German cars and reliability has never really been a big issue. My BMW had a few issues under warranty, but once resolved I happily drove it for three more years and put nearly 130K on it when sold. My current GTI has been very reliable and I`m out of warranty and knocking on 60K miles. For me life it too short not to drive happy.
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  13. #163

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by rlmccarty2000 View Post
    After a little more research on battery registration I found that if you replace a BMW battery with the same amperage battery registration does little to nothing at all. It’s when you change to a different than oe spec things go a little haywire as the computer does not recognize the change in amps unless told to. The article I read said that if you replace the battery with the same one and don’t register it there might be a 1% reduction in battery life. The article was a technical one and not clickbait, so it may have some veracity. I wish I would have kept it so I could link to it.
    This is true, my place of employment is an INDY that primarily services BMW, all the new cars "need to be told" that the battery has been replaced with a new one.
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  14. #164

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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    The Genesis G70 has really caught my eye, haven`t had the chance to see one in the flesh. I wait patiently.
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  15. #165
    Hooked For Life Bill D's Avatar
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    I guess I won’t be able to have my mobile mechanic replace my battery if I get a new German car. I might be forced to find a good Indy shop.
    Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.

 

 
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