Do you still love German cars ?

[fastfredracing]

I am not going to say a lot here, Id like to hear your opinions first, but I think , that what originally drew me to European cars is long gone .
I honestly do not see myself in another BMW, or MBZ, Volvo, or VW in my lifetime again . Maybe , but I doubt it .
I still have a thing for Porsche, but the others, meh..
Curious to see where you guys are at ?

[stevej37]

I'm not at Porsche's price point anymore...retired.
VW has some nice offerings that I might be interested in...but that's it.

But yes...I still love my 911's.

[RNajarian]

German only. PERIOD.

I used to have a dental office not far from the GM plant in Van Nuys. (It’s a mall now).

Many of my patients worked at “The Plant.” The horror stories about poor workmanship sickened me. One painter claimed he would pee in the paint Not sure what color because they didn’t want to walk to the bathroom.

Every time I get a rental car I always try out the competition, Cadillac, Lexus, Lincoln, Acura and would walk away saying “Glad that’s not my Daily Driver.

I bought my 2012 C350 Coupe CPO with 30,000 miles for $24,000 out the door. My previous DD was a 2007 350 CLK similar deal. Prior to that a 2000 Boxster again similar deal.

The responsiveness, interior and exterior build quality, handling, performance, turn radius, gas mileage (I get 36 mph on the highway in my C350.) are far superior to the other marks.

Please don’t get me started on Teslas.

So barring any drastic change coming from Germany, I’ll stick with Stuttgart.

[87maniac]

It's Lexus for me.

Done with the Germans, once out of warranty,
you're left with a depreciated unfixable POS.

[Scott Douglas]

I count myself as being really lucky. I can still love them, well, the older ones. I don't have to worry about being able to afford them. My brother has more than enough to go around so I don't have to worry about upkeep etc., all I have to do is drive up to his place and help him get them on the road again.
As for the new(er) BMW's etc., my son is into them so I still get to enjoy how they work on the rare times I get to see him. I must say, the performance of a 340i is eye opening compared to my old 1600 and 325e.
I guess it's kind of like having grand kids. I can love 'em, but they get to go home with their parents, if you can see that analogy, I know it's kind of weird isn't it.

[RWebb]

Timely Question

- I just got back from a trip in a VW Vanagon with no A/C and it was all uphill as I sat directly on top of the pogo stick front strut.

- It started out in the 90+ oF range as the thing slowly crawled up the Cascades and out onto a large lava flow. The narrow, twisty road highlighted every suspension design deficiency that low cost manf. and non-design by the low buck German firm could muster.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by 87maniac

It's Lexus for me.

Done with the Germans, once out of warranty,
you're left with a depreciated unfixable POS.

lol...you've got quite a list of them!

[wdfifteen]

I love my 4 cylinder air cooled German cars. I love the way they look, I love driving them - they make me smile.

The last water cooled German car I liked was my 1994 Mercedes C-280 - and I really loved that car. I kept trying, but a series of BMW and Mercedes money pits have turned me off to the cachet of German engineering.
The cooling fan on my E-320 ran constantly. It cost $200 to have the dealer find and replace a connector that had filled with water under normal driving conditions and shorted out.
I had a BMW 535X (or whatever the hell they called the all wheel drive version). It was in for an oil change, and when the dealer called and said I needed a windshield wiper blade at something like $60 I was done.

In fairness, the dealerships everywhere are all about selling service parts. I get emails from my Toyota dealer reminding me that I really, really need to change the $60 cabin air filter on my Tundra. No I don't - the electric window winders still work just fine.

[KNS]

With the exception of two Hondas and a Ford all of my cars have been German. I recently bought a new VW - six year/72,000 mile warranty. It will probably be my last new or late model German car, the older ones are just too nice. Simpler. Too much crap in (all) new cars that I just don’t care for.

I’ve owned two BMWs, both have been reliable but I would never purchase a new one, not now.

[greglepore]

Its most modern cars that turn me off, actually. Drove a top tier ls450. Wonderful power, super luxurious, but so much "stuff" going on with adjustable modes of power, trans ,suspension, infotainment and driver "aids" that driving the thing left me feeling like it was in charge. Might as well have driven itself. Unfortunately, most cars are like that now. Old man yells at cloud.

Oh yeah, you need the darned aids, the sighlines are awful.

[p911dad]

The only German cars I've had are VW's and Porsches. Last VW was a 1986 diesel Jetta (great car, couldn't kill it until it was wrecked in a rear ender on the North Grand Island Bridge on the NYS Thruway). We are on the third 911 (993) and it will likely be the last of the line for us. Daily driver is a Toyota 4runner. I hear such nightmare stories about Audi, BMW and MB products I will likely never own one. I had a Peugeot 504 once, but that's another story.

[pete3799]

About 4 years ago the wife and I went to a dealer to look at a used car they had (can't remember what it was now).
Anyway we took it for a spin and were not impressed with it. Looked at and drove a few other cars, a few new ones also, and they were all uninspiring. We were about to leave when i spotted a VW Passat down at the end of the row. As soon as we sat in it we were hooked.
It had 20 some odd thousand miles on it and so far at around 90K have had no problems with it.
Bought a 2011 VW Touareg TDI last year.
So yes i guess I still love German cars. Well.... right up till some computerized gizmo decides to take a dump.

[JackDidley]

Not sure I ever "loved" German cars. I like a lot of cars and after 5 years I still like my Cayman S. May keep it until the end if my knees will let me operate the clutch.

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by 87maniac

It's Lexus for me.

Done with the Germans, once out of warranty,
you're left with a depreciated unfixable POS.

I will keep a car 8-10 years and trade it in with 150,000-160,000 miles on the odometer.

I will pick up a 2-3 Year old CPO with 100,000 mile warranty. I have yet to be burned with an unreasonable repair.

Fortunately in Southern California there are a lot of great Indy Shops who keep maintenance costs down.

[jcommin]

I like German cars. I have owned 2 MBs, 2 VWs, 1 Porsche and 1 BMW.

Both MBs were totalled - that is the universe telling me not to own another one. I currently own a 2019 VW Jetta and a 1983 Porsche (original owner). I have no desire to buy any more cars. I like German styling. My only gripe is repair expense out of warrenty.

[Bob Kontak]

I'll keep my 81 911 because I know it and like it. That takes time.

My 2004 RAV4 just turned over 220k miles. I replaced the alternator last night. Aside from oil, that's it for maintenance for the last 20k miles. I don't even know this car (after 50k miles) but it just goes. If I had to or could do, I would like a Highlander or a 4Runner for the longer wheelbase but no interest in German as there is a learning curve.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

I am not going to say a lot here, Id like to hear your opinions first, but I think, that what originally drew me to European cars is long gone.

Still like them, and when I'm ready to get rid of my aging 150k E90 3-series, I'm planning to get a used German SUV. Yeah, if you listen to the hype, the roads should be littered with broken-down European cars, or the courts full of owners filing bankruptcy from the repair bills.

The reality is VW sells around 10 million cars a year worldwide, slightly less than Toyota, and I sincerely doubt it's because everyone's cool with pushing and towing their cars everywhere or replacing them every 3-4 years.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

LOVE my 2007 328i, 237K miles and going strong, gorgeous car that is very fun to drive. 85 VW Cabriolet, love it, and all the 911s of course, and still love W124s, amazing cars.

[widebody911]

[HardDrive]

I love my Mercedes. Dependable as my wifes Lexus? No. Don't care. Doors close like a bank vault. Excellent ride. Seats fit me like a glove.

Yes, I still love German cars.


(And with that....my transmission will take a dump tomorrow.... lol)