10 Ways German Cars Rule The Road

[MrH]

Wimmer, you need to take a statistics class.

[Onslaught]

If you don't want to hear about how Japanese cars are so reliable then don't post stuff like "10 ways German cars RULE THE ROAD."  Not my road my friend.
I actually don't hate all German cars. I can name off a few I'd like to own. But you spank your monkey to them too much.

[sportyaccordy]

I'm not saying that Japanese cars suck, but I'm just sick of all the people out there claiming that "nothing ever goes wrong on a Japanese car bla bla". All cars can have problems and even the most reliable car can have issues that the owner doesn't deem as a reliability issue because it doesn't affect the way the car drives etc.

Nobody ever said "nothing ever goes wrong on a Japanese car". ALL people say is LESS things go wrong with them than other countries.

Wimmer you need to get over it. The bottom line is, in the US, Japanese cars are heads and shoulders in reliability over the Germans, and that is not just my opinion, that is documented FACT. Please spare us the stupid Consumer Reports jokes and meaningless individual anecdotes (I have owned 2 Maximas and have friends + family that have owned about 7-8, none of us had the problems you had with your Cefiro and Maximas are not known for those issues)... the FACT is, the Japanese make the most reliable cars. ITs not something to agree or disagree with, it just IS. If you don't like Japanese cars, fine, but for Christ's sake please stop arguing FACTS.

[Onslaught]

Nobody ever said "nothing ever goes wrong on a Japanese car". ALL people say is LESS things go wrong with them than other countries.

Yea, the only thing to go wrong with my Miata is the clutch slave cylinder and the 2 gear synchro was getting a little crappy so I had a new one put in. And this is after well over 200K on the clock.
Now am I saying that a cheap little Miata is as nice as a BMW or MB? Fuck no! It's a cheap ass toy car.

Is it more reliable then most of those German cars from the same time? Yea, I'd say so.

[Raza]

Yea, the only thing to go wrong with my Miata is the clutch slave cylinder and the 2 gear synchro was getting a little crappy so I had a new one put in. And this is after well over 200K on the clock.
Now am I saying that a cheap little Miata is as nice as a BMW or MB? Fuck no! It's a cheap ass toy car.

Is it more reliable then most of those German cars from the same time? Yea, I'd say so.

From the same time might be a tougher argument.  I think late 80s/early 90s was probably their best era.  Mid to late 90s were pretty bad though.

[Onslaught]

Perhaps. I don't think all German cars blow up two years after you buy them. And as a dash stroker, German interiors give me wood. I just think it's hard to argue that for the most part, the Japanese make the overall most reliable cars.
I will admit that the gap has closed in the last few years however. Hell, even American car makers can put something out that's not a turd these days.

[sportyaccordy]

Is it more reliable then most of those German cars from the same time? Yea, I'd say so.

And the thing is, the shit that breaks on the expensive German cars is very basic. I should say the shit that broke on them as they got better. But MB & Porsche had major oil seal issues. MB had rust in the W210 shock towers. BMW had problems with cylinder liners and 3 series subframes. Audi had problems with sludge and turbo oiling. All of them had issues with rudimentary shit like window regulators and HVAC blowers. The Japanese slipped in the 90s too, no doubt, but not so overarching like this. Honda's transmission problems and Toyota's sludge issues were bad, but on a German car you might have a bad trans, failed oil seal, failed window regulator etc. etc. It was really bad.

[Onslaught]

You know sometimes they know how to fix something but just don't. I saw one transmission after another being put into the last gen Mazda 626 when all they needed was an oil cooler added.

Many times they will just "fix" something knowing it will fuck up again down the road. But by that time the car will be out of warranty and then the people are fucked and it's not the manufactures problem.
I've seen Ford do this many times.

[Raza]

Perhaps. I don't think all German cars blow up two years after you buy them. And as a dash stroker, German interiors give me wood. I just think it's hard to argue that for the most part, the Japanese make the overall most reliable cars.
I will admit that the gap has closed in the last few years however. Hell, even American car makers can put something out that's not a turd these days.

German cars have gotten a lot better as of the late 2000s.  Still, I wouldn't purchase a Mercedes again after being left stranded by two of them (one which was irreparable). 

I don't think there's an argument that German cars are on the whole as or more reliable than Japanese cars.  They may be better enough to be worth the loss of reliability or acceptably reliable, but as reliable is a different story.

[sportyaccordy]

You know sometimes they know how to fix something but just don't. I saw one transmission after another being put into the last gen Mazda 626 when all they needed was an oil cooler added.

Many times they will just "fix" something knowing it will fuck up again down the road. But by that time the car will be out of warranty and then the people are fucked and it's not the manufactures problem.
I've seen Ford do this many times.

It amazes me that manufacturers manage to have any design flaws at all these days. Everything in my old Accord worked. HVAC, windows, sunroof, lights... most of the shit is pretty fucking simple. And if you can't get it right, I don't think it's a big deal to copy the designs of someone who did. But what do I know, I guess.

[Onslaught]

As much as they say things are tested you'd think some of this stuff wouldn't slip by. How many fucking flashes did the RX-8 have in it's first two years!?

[cawimmer430]

BMW had problems with cylinder liners

I think that was actually due to Nikasil.


Nikasil was very popular in the 1990s. It was used by companies such as Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar Cars and Moto Guzzi in their new engine families. However, the sulfur found in much of the world's low quality gasoline caused some Nikasil cylinders to break down over time, causing costly engine failures.


Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikasil


Correct me if I am wrong but didn't US fuel at one point contain a lot of sulfur? I believe your diesel fuel still does!!!

[cawimmer430]

Wimmer, you need to take a statistics class.

Been there, done that. I don't like math!

[cawimmer430]

If you don't want to hear about how Japanese cars are so reliable then don't post stuff like "10 ways German cars RULE THE ROAD."  Not my road my friend.
I actually don't hate all German cars. I can name off a few I'd like to own. But you spank your monkey to them too much.

Fair enough.

[nickdrinkwater]

Japanese cars are awesome and I'd look to buy one for my next vehicle.  German cars are not what they used to be.

[GoCougs]

From what I can tell Nissan's, like Mazda's can be a hit or miss. I think the G sedans seem to be a hit in the reliability and build quality department.

The G is pretty much Nissan's most reliable and highest reviewed car. I think a good reason why is it's also sold (and built) in Japan so there is added emphasis on getting it right. And overall Nissan isn't quite to the level of Toyota or Honda but they're heads-n-shoulders above the Germans.

[Colin]

there is an awful lot of complete tosh and ill-informed drivel and prejudice in this thread.... on both sides of the argument.

Only one person has it correct.

This thread is going to just end up being an anecdotal nightmare.