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  1. #16

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

    Agree with Dan`s sentiments. Love the way German cars drive, hate the quirks. Will personally not buy another German brand.

    Japanese cars, are a mainstay in our family. They`re not the latest and greatest tech, with antiquated engine/transmission design...but the damn things just need oil and gas. That`s it.

    Perhaps on another plane of existence, where our family didn`t have a responsibilities with children and work - we could enjoy German cars. However, here on Planet Earth, we don`t have time or patience to deal with low oil, coolant, electrical, and fuel pump issues.

    To each their own. Respect and admiration for those that can maintain a nice Audi, BMW or MB.
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  2. #17

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

    Great thread. I have had a Nissan 300zx bullet proof. Drove it until someone ran a stop sign and t-boned me= totaled. I was ok after the wreck so car did It’s job. Next I did a Toyota Supra turbo. Really awesome targa topped monster. Drove it 80k miles and gave to my brother to enjoy. I purchased an M3. First 25k were perfect. Then it started expensive brakes, rotors , electrical gremlins, radio code issues. Constant sorting out of issues. I never when through so many light bulbs in any other car. I loved the car and that’s why I put up with it. That car cost me a fortune in dealer service. Got married and shortly after traded it in on a baby mobile for my wife. We got a Volvo turbo and she did not like the wallop of Power when the turbos kicked in so I took that and she traded my beater in for a Saab. Volvo good Saab so so. Next up got the wife an Infiniti and wow. 5 years of nothing but oil changes and brakes. Kept that suv 16 years. It was my wife DD for 7 and then an extra for foul weather, both kids learned to drive
    In it. It was their first car. Just sold it weeks ago for $ 2,900.00 with 106k.

    Since then we are pretty much straight import. Subaru, Infiniti,acura. In a moment of weakness we did get a jeep and knock on wood. It’s been 3 uneventful years! Anyone who follows these forums knows I’m on my 5th Infiniti as my Dd.

    I just added a German 5 series Bmw at my wife’s request. Fingers crossed.
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  3. #18
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Agreed - great thread.

    JSFM35X - My friend had a 300zx TT. Super fun car. Unfortunately by the time he owned it, it was old enough to have started to get “quirky”.

    I’ve heard good things about Infinity from the premium used car dealer down the road from us. Based on the bodywork/repair work I’ve seen on some of the cars they’ve bought, they may not have the highest of standards for what they peddle; but the owner raves about how they virtually never hear back from the people that buy the infinties needing repairs.

    Good to hear on the Volvo- my wife’s mom just bought a ‘16 Volvo T5. Neat car, hopefully it’s good to her. She had an ‘04 Nissan Maxima for 175k, but the last 75k were quite expensive.

    And I know I went on and on about it in your other thread, but please do oil changes on the 5k’s with your 5 series, it’s cheap insurance towards a better future!!!
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  4. #19

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

    I purchased the service package on the bimmer. Covers oil, breaks , rotors and everything else is on the regular warranty
    Quote Originally Posted by Oneheadlite View Post
    Agreed - great thread.

    JSFM35X - My friend had a 300zx TT. Super fun car. Unfortunately by the time he owned it, it was old enough to have started to get “quirky”.

    I’ve heard good things about Infinity from the premium used car dealer down the road from us. Based on the bodywork/repair work I’ve seen on some of the cars they’ve bought, they may not have the highest of standards for what they peddle; but the owner raves about how they virtually never hear back from the people that buy the infinties needing repairs.

    Good to hear on the Volvo- my wife’s mom just bought a ‘16 Volvo T5. Neat car, hopefully it’s good to her. She had an ‘04 Nissan Maxima for 175k, but the last 75k were quite expensive.

    And I know I went on and on about it in your other thread, but please do oil changes on the 5k’s with your 5 series, it’s cheap insurance towards a better future!!!
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  5. #20

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

    This thread will never end! I bought a 2016 tundra last august and a 2017 highlander this august. First toyotas I have ever owned I have never bought extended warranties for anything. This day and time parts are cheaply made and cost a fortune I went ahead and got the 10/100,000 warranty just for piece of mind.
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  6. #21
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    I think another really big factor that comes in with today’s cars regardless of brand is the huge push for better fuel efficiency. Engines today have so much more going on than days past - variable valve timing and valve lift, turbochargers, variable displacement oil pumps, cylinder shut down, direct fuel injection, etc. Add to that the fact that less weight = better fuel economy, so they’re making things as light as possible. Super lightweight oils are also becoming widespread, though I’m no engineer so I can’t speak to what effect that’ll have long term.

    For whole vehicle reliability, seems like every car is coming equipped with tons of technology that used to be limited to top shelf luxury cars, so we’ll see how all that holds up as well.
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  7. #22
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Oneheadlite View Post
    I think another really big factor that comes in with today’s cars regardless of brand is the huge push for better fuel efficiency. Engines today have so much more going on than days past - variable valve timing and valve lift, turbochargers, variable displacement oil pumps, cylinder shut down, direct fuel injection, etc. Add to that the fact that less weight = better fuel economy, so they’re making things as light as possible. Super lightweight oils are also becoming widespread, though I’m no engineer so I can’t speak to what effect that’ll have long term.
    I`m all for engine technology for economy, as long as they keep it simple. Take my GTI for example; 220ish HP at 270 TQ out of the tiny 2 litre turbocharged engine. But yet yesterday I was averaging 36-38mpg, in sport mode! Consistently is more economical than the Camry.
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  8. #23
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Don’t get me wrong - I’m 100% on board with how well the cars drive with all the tech.

    It’s just a lot more moving parts. It’ll be interesting to see how all these turbocharged cars fare in the hands of civilians (vs back in the day when they tended to be more enthusiast cars) who view cars as appliances and likely won’t be terribly diligent about maintenance or letting the oil warm up a bit before rodding on it and really working the turbo; or letting it cool down from being molten hot after a highway blast before shutting the car off. I think most will have after run coolant pumps to circulate coolant through the turbo after shut down, but that oil just sits stagnant in there and gets cooked.

    Sweet car by the way. My brother has a 16 TSi golf (he would have gone GTI if he could have swung it) and loves it. I’d say your engine’s pretty high tech-, as it’s got variable valve timing, variable intake valve lift(or intake runner length, or both), direct injection, and maybe more I’m not aware of.

    Hopefully I’m not coming off as a doomsday-crier or big negative Nancy; I just see way too many neglected cars and have too much mechanical sympathy for them.
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  9. #24

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

    German car fan here. For me, they have a unique something that I identify as soul. I have1992 MB 190E with 207k. I`ve had to replace most wear items in the 15 years that I`ve owned it. Sill drives like new. Also own a 2009 MB C350 that has been reliable and is my trip car. Super nice on the highway. Recently sold my Porsche 911. Loved it and miss it. I`ve had Toyota and Hyundia. Excellent but bland.
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  10. #25
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Oneheadlite View Post
    Don’t get me wrong - I’m 100% on board with how well the cars drive with all the tech.

    It’s just a lot more moving parts. It’ll be interesting to see how all these turbocharged cars fare in the hands of civilians (vs back in the day when they tended to be more enthusiast cars) who view cars as appliances and likely won’t be terribly diligent about maintenance or letting the oil warm up a bit before rodding on it and really working the turbo; or letting it cool down from being molten hot after a highway blast before shutting the car off. I think most will have after run coolant pumps to circulate coolant through the turbo after shut down, but that oil just sits stagnant in there and gets cooked. .
    Yep, in many cases the owners have no idea that the car even has a turbo. There are so many cars now with them, going to get interesting as the turbo fleet ages. People look at me like I`m crazy for letting my Turbo cool down for a few minutes after a long highway run. I see people pull right in off the freeway into a rest stop and off the car goes. Add in the fact that zddp has been removed from all modern oils and you have no protection when that oil burns up.

    Direct injection is another technology that is forced on to the masses. You have carbon buildup issues and HPFP issues. Where oil changes could be somewhat neglected before, now intervals are longer and there isn`t much margin for error.
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  11. #26

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

    When we say that maintaining used cars gets expensive, I dunno...is it *really* more expensive than replacing them? Every now and then one of the Audis needs a bundle spent on it, but with a new A8/S8 (which we wouldn`t like as well) costing well into 6 figures we can swallow a lot of $5K or even $10K service bills and never come close to spending the same amount of money. And $5-10K at a time is a lot easier to swallow than one BIG check all at once.

    Our dilemma is parts availability; Audi just doesn`t support their vehicles the way some makers do. If anybody ever cracks a head/tail light on the `93 it`s a paperweight. Even stuff for the A8 is getting really hard to find; we keep hearing "found the last one at a dealership in [wherever], hope you never need another.."

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan View Post
    Yep, in many cases the owners have no idea that the car even has a turbo. .
    Gee, are people really that clueless about something they rely upon go get around?!?

    People look at me like I`m crazy for letting my Turbo cool down for a few minutes after a long highway run. I see people pull right in off the freeway into a rest stop and off the car goes...
    Same comment...Accumulatortette had a few turbos and it`s not like I had to tell her anything about how to treat them.
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  12. #27
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Accumulator View Post
    When we say that maintaining used cars gets expensive, I dunno...is it *really* more expensive than replacing them? Every now and then one of the Audis needs a bundle spent on it, but with a new A8/S8 (which we wouldn`t like as well) costing well into 6 figures we can swallow a lot of $5K or even $10K service bills and never come close to spending the same amount of money. And $5-10K at a time is a lot easier to swallow than one BIG check all at once.
    Funny how we see the same thing in a different light. To me anything other than regular maintenance on a car with under 100k miles is unreasonable. The manufacturers tout "no tuneups needed for 100k" so yes, its reasonable for me to expect that major issues won`t occur in that time frame. And with Toyotas and Hondas (Lexus and Acura as well) that my family has owned, that has been true, NONE of them have needed anything other than scheduled maintenance until they cross well north of 100k. Two exceptions were an 80`s Celica and Tercel, both had AC issues, which of course was with the dealer installed AC. Can`t fault Toyota for that. FWIW, we`re looking at 12 cars and almost a million miles (wow can`t believe we drive that much!).

    We had a 92 Saab 9000 that we spent almost as much on maintenance as we did on the original purchase price. Left my dad stranded 3 times I think. This is in 11 years of ownership.
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  13. #28
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    Quote Originally Posted by Oneheadlite View Post
    Don’t get me wrong - I’m 100% on board with how well the cars drive with all the tech.

    It’s just a lot more moving parts. It’ll be interesting to see how all these turbocharged cars fare in the hands of civilians (vs back in the day when they tended to be more enthusiast cars) who view cars as appliances and likely won’t be terribly diligent about maintenance or letting the oil warm up a bit before rodding on it and really working the turbo; or letting it cool down from being molten hot after a highway blast before shutting the car off. I think most will have after run coolant pumps to circulate coolant through the turbo after shut down, but that oil just sits stagnant in there and gets cooked.

    Sweet car by the way. My brother has a 16 TSi golf (he would have gone GTI if he could have swung it) and loves it. I’d say your engine’s pretty high tech-, as it’s got variable valve timing, variable intake valve lift(or intake runner length, or both), direct injection, and maybe more I’m not aware of.

    Hopefully I’m not coming off as a doomsday-crier or big negative Nancy; I just see way too many neglected cars and have too much mechanical sympathy for them.
    Oh I`m, super picky about maintenance. First oil change was at 1400 miles and the next is coming at 5K. Air and fuel filters at 10K.

    BTW, it really likes E85/93 blend...
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  14. #29
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    I`ll start this response - the way I start a lot of responses:

    I dunno man.

    I have a 2008 BMW M Roadster I`ve owned since 2010. It has 60k on it and has yet to need even a light bulb.

    I`ve owned BMWs before this car and they`ve been very reliable.

    I don`t daily drive a BMW because they don`t make a truck & I need that for the winter here.
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  15. #30
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    Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

    I need to remind myself that by the nature of my profession, I see the worst side cars.

    Accumulator: Yes, some people really are that clueless. I kinda do-it-all at the shop, so I answer the phone and take appointments when the guys need help up front. I’ve had phone calls where the people calling literally don’t even know how many cylinder engine is in their car... You also bring up a great point that there are costs to both approaches- Just buying a new one, or repairing and keeping your “old” one. We’ve got a customer that in a short number of years has spent $20k plus on his 2002 745. He’s done the math both ways and is comfortable that it’s the right path for him. If his car was more Accumulator level condition, I wouldn’t second guess him, but...

    Going the other way though, Not only do you have the high cost of entering ownership buying new, but then you have higher insurance and license plate fees to go with it.
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