German Cars Disappoint Car Owners

DW World ^ | 11/29/03 | DW World

[bvw]

I've had two timing belts (or chains) go on me. One an early 80's Honda I had let go too long, and another on a Old's Cutlass. Got both enegines rebuilt After rebuild and tweaking (considerable playing around with the early vintage electronic oxygenation controls controls) the Cutlass was hot. Leaf u-joint risking hot. Taking it home from the garage, some gent in a Ford Bronco plowed into it whilst I was at a stoplight and pushed it into a Septa Bus. The bus had an side panel and bracket damaged -- the bus shop bent the bracket out and replaced the panel from junker stock. Cost $75.

My hot Cutlass was totaled. I replaced it with an 1989 Acura.

[Dasaji]

I have an 8 year old Acura Integra with 105k miles
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Hold onto it :)

[Dasaji]

Those who buy german cars have money to throw away...
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Not really, if you consider the depreciation loss on a German car is about 10% per year avg., while an American car drops 25-53% in it's first year. Who's throwing their money away?

[bruoz]

We bought our first BMW in 1984 and drove it for 16 years. It still looked and ran like new when an idiot dialing a cellphone in her p.o.s. Mustang II ran a red light and totaled it. My wife and I walked away with no injuries. We have had our second BMW for 4 years now. 'Nuff said.

[Vesuvian]

True true, a person should never push a car beyond its abilities or their own driving skills.

It's also nerve wracking to be told (in my case this was screamed at me) that in the event of a loss of traction apply the throttle : O

[Jumper]

I love my 2001 Mercedes E Class Elegance Euro version. I specifically bought an European Version and have convereted it to US Specs for import; everyone who sits in it is impressed, as am I. After driving an Acura for 3-weeks this Summer in the States, I was very pleased to again sit behind the wheel of Heavy, powerful, elegant and yet sporty MB. My other car is a 97 Honda. Both of these vehicles are superb and dependable. Dodge builds crap these days and I dropped them after 9 vehicles in 27 years for imports; wish I had dropped them sooner:)

[Vesuvian]

It is a great car- my father is on his second 2.7T

I'm still trying to figure out the best way I can steal his engine and drop it into my car without getting caught ; )

[PhilipFreneau]

>> Please look at the reliability records for BMW and Acura for years 1990 to 1997.

You stated, "German cars have nothing to offer beyond excessive price, their quality is less Japanese cars or even US made cars."

Again, that is an opinion, not a fact. Regarding your old reliability data, I did not buy 1997 BMW's. I bought 2001's after referring to reliability data from Consumer Reports. While the Accura and a few other Japanese cars rated slightly higher, the reliability of the BMW's have been excellent. There were other factors that led to our purchase: 1) ride -- can't beat it; 2) handling -- can't beat it; 3) safety -- at the time our vehicles were the safest cars tested. A final factor is the overall quality of the vehicle. The BMW felt more solid than any other car we test drove, including the Mercedes and Volvo. BMW's are truly a joy to drive. Your statement that BMW's have nothing to offer beyond excessive price is ridiculous, at best.

[PhilipFreneau]

http://www.bimmer.info/

Thanks. Neat stuff.

[PhilipFreneau]

>> What do I want next? Not sure, but it is unlikely that it will be American (sadly).

The X5 and Z4 are assembled in Greer, South Carolina, not far from where I grew up. The engine/drive train for my X5 came from Europe, but many of the components and accessories are outsourced locally.

[Dasaji]

that in the event of a loss of traction apply the throttle : O

That's cool, isn't it? I have a close friend who sells new Audis and went to Audi School last year. They road test them against BMW, MB, Acura, Lexus & Infiniti in every kind of road condition imaginable. . .when my friend came home, it was like he had "gotten religion" and became an Audi fanatic. They hung up an Audi All Road in a pit with just one tire hitting surface and it walked itself right out of it. They'd race A6s against BMW 5s and 7s in serpentine cones and then throw oil out in front of them or gravel - the Audis never missed a beat, the others spun and smoked.

[Mark17]

Beat that.

LOL, I did, a 1996 BMW 328is. You got a better price than I did, however. I would love to have another, but that is probably the main reason I will not, the price.

[skraeling]

The site says "...on 1994 & later models, manufacturer does not recommend a specific maintenance interval." Wonder if any readers have actual experience with timing belts on 1997 Toyota Corolla engines? I don't want to spend the money on this little used spare car if it's not necessary.

[PhilipFreneau]

>> They'd race A6s against BMW 5s and 7s in serpentine cones and then throw oil out in front of them or gravel - the Audis never missed a beat, the others spun and smoked.

BMW has a similar video placing a 5 series against other luxury cars on an icy surface. The 5-series wins hands down. (Note the 5 and 7 series are rear-wheel drive vehicles. The 3 series can be purchased in all-wheel drive).

[LearnsFromMistakes]

I owned an '87 535is - what a fun car. Bought it used (about 8 years old, 115k miles, paid just over 8k). Drove it for nearly 6 years, got totaled a couple years back (my anti-lock brakes worked well - better than the guy behind me...). His insurance company gave me nearly 5k for it. I replaced it with a well used Volvo. Not near as fun, but I do feel safe in it. But I felt safe in the BMW also. I miss that car. A guy I worked with bought a 328is and had to take me for a ride to show me how quick it was. Nice, but not quite my 535...

[TalBlack]

There is a difference between a timing CHAIN and a timing BELT. Belts have to be replaced at about 60k.

Since way back when the Japs use a timeing chain tensioner to take up the dangerous slack that age imparts to the chain. THAT is one BIG reason that the jap cars last so damn long. The timing mechanisim is an engines weak link. The better it is the longer the car lasts. Witness the Mopar slant six which used GEARS.

[duckworth]

Same here. I'm now on my third Mazda 626. Oops. Now they call it a Mazda6. Whatever. Great car. Great engineering. Out-krauts the krauts. And it's built in Michigan.

[Pedantic_Lady]

I have had a BMW almost 8 years now. I have only had minor problems with it. The water pump died at 75,000 miles, but that was easily fixed.

Beamers are good cars. We considered buying one, but plumped for a Honda Civic instead. Now I wish we'd bought a Beamer...probably would have had fewer problems with it. I'll never buy another Honda. I owned a Nissan in the States and was immensely satisfied with it; I think when we move back, we'll buy another Nissan.

[Pedantic_Lady]

I know I'm jinxing myself here, but my 10.5 year-old Acura Integra (147k miles) is still running with it's original headlight bulbs.

Acura = Honda. My Honda eats headlight bulbs...it's an R reg (latter half of 1997) and in the time I've owned it (2 years) I have had to have nearly 20 bulb changes on the headlights, taillights, and signal lights. It's infuriating. It failed its MOT this year (kind of like a state inspection in the States) because it had SIX bulbs burned out.

F*ck Honda.

[HitmanLV]

My 2002 Saab 9-3 is a dream! No german cars for me, ever.