I dont have all these problems.

The only thing which has already been fixed by the dealer is rattle, I brought to dealer and they installed insulator inside driver door, then rattle is all gone.

my point is, take your car back to dealer im sure if it's certified there will be ways cover under warranty and fix all you can.


regards your "cheap" material analogy, i dont take it because i've been in a bmw 3 series and thats cheap. Audi is a diff story.

 

I still believe the vast majority are really enjoying their G's. I certainly am, enough to buy a second one. I liked my xS, but I love my 6MT.

 

Even though the car is seven years old, several of those repairs are pretty substantial. I think its a crap shoot anyway, regardless of the brand. I owned a BMW prior to the G.....that was an incredible money pit.

 

I agree with WannabeSport. I had a new 2012 xS sedan for ~17,000 miles and it was the biggest rattle trap and the materials seemed cheap looking. I had similar issues with the 7AT lag. Anyway, I dumped it 3 weeks ago for 14 S4 6MT and couldn't be happier. IMO the S4 is well worth the additional money, especially when you look what you are getting and the great resale values the recent model has had.

 

Germans scare me! And their cars too!

Seriously, Id love to give Audi, Mercedes or BMW a try but since I keep my cars longer than the length of their warranties I cant see buying one. I have no doubt they are nice cars and fun to drive but to OWN seems like another story. If I could afford to sell them before the warranty is up would also be a different story.

No, they wont rattle, but you'll get to start replacing electronics up the wazoo, etc. Hell I know someone with a 8 month old 911 thats just about to be lemon lawed because they cant fix the issues on it. So it happens to all of them, regardless of how good they started off.

 

Why the hell is there such a misconception with german cars that you can only keep them until the warranty is up? If you MAINTAIN the car and not just wait for it to break, the cars last and last and last. They aren't disposable vehicles. They are a piece of engineering masterpiece that need to be maintain thoroughly. Yes, you will pay a little bit more for the maintenance, but maintenance intervals are 2-3X longer than a typical Japanese car due to their parts and everything being so beefy. You do 7-10k oil changes vs 3-4k. But it is all in the maintenance.

Do your research, inspect the car, and be knowledgeable. It makes owning a car like this that is engineered to a certain spec on every possible thing that much more reasonable. You just cant think of it like a Toyota and not do anything to it. Because when it breaks, it is going to be expensive. Preventative maintenance and it is a LOT less likely to break.

 

^^^ Reputation is earned, it's serious business. It's not like people dislikes owning a car because it's German, and loves it because it's Japanese. Reliability studies happen to confirm that, go figure.

 

While I havent personally owned a German vehicle, I have close family members who have. Close enough that I know what needed to be fixed, most of the time.

2 of them had VW Jettas, the newest being an 03 VR6. Both of them had issues with: window regulators, starters. One of them had the seat heaters go nuts, and crank up to a higher level than was ever felt, all with the **** in the off position.

Friend of mine from work had an 08 M3. Within the first month of ownership, they ended up replacing practically all of the suspension components because they couldnt figure out why the car felt "floaty" on the road. Then, literally the day before the warranty expired, the check engine light came on. He was smart enough to call them and tell them, because when they gave him an appointment a week later they tried to put him on the hook for the $10K bill for fixing it. Luckily he referred to the fact that he called BEFORE the warranty was over, and they covered it.

He has since replaced the M3 with a '13 911S. After 6 months of ownership, its on the verge of being lemon-lawed, because they cant figure out why the power folding mirrors tend to fold WHILE DRIVING.

Ive owned Japanese cars for the last 14 yrs. The worst was the stupid transmission debacle with the Honda/Acura (and to their credit they pretty much covered it all, multiple times). Looking past that, Ive done nothing out of the ordinary to any of them. No electrical gremlins, no suspension weirdness. Just normal wear stuff.

Ive been reading that Mercedes has come a long way to rid themselves of the history of expensive repairs happening too soon. With the way Infiniti went with the Q50, I might have to look at Mercedes (or Lexus, since Ive never owned one). But its going to take a lot of convincing for me to do so. Lukily Im not in a rush, so we'll see what the future brings. I have no doubt that they are excellent cars in the first few years, and most likely much better than their Jap counterparts. But I dont keep my cars just a few years, so Im more interested in long term reliability. Mercedes' improvements haven't been out there long enough to prove it yet, IMHO.

 

In general:
German cars = great to drive, unfortunately aggravating to own.
Japanese cars = not as engaging, but easy to own.


Over a 10+ year cost of ownership, its a no-contest in favor of the Japanese!

 

Several years ago I had a BMW 540i. I liked the way it looked and handled.
When I bought it I figured on keeping it a long time. I had it less then a month before things started to go wrong. It seemed like almost a weekly occurrence after that.
Friday would come around and my co-workers were heading to the local watering hole and I would have to bring the car in for one thing or another.
At first it didn't bother me that much, but after several visits it got really annoying. It was always taken care of by the warranty so it didn't cost me anything but hours and hours of my time.
I kept thinking after this trip to the dealer maybe all will be well for awhile, but it never was to be.
It was a multitude of things that went bad.
Any time I left town I always took another car, because I was afraid of being stuck on the road with the BMW.
After owning a car like that, reliability tends to move toward the top of your list when shopping for cars.
Tom

 

It does not sound like you've ever owned one of these masterpieces of engineering. As the past owner of a 2003 530iA that had been meticulously maintained since new I can tell you the massive expenses I incurred had nothing to do with maintenance gaps. The car was beautiful and did not have one rattle, but in the space of my last year of ownership (70,000 miles on the car) I spent over $3,000 on repairs(not maintenance) (in 2009). The repairs included replacing rear ball joints, an overly complex PCV, fuel pump, headlight levelers, several sensors, and a second OEM battery. To avoid another $700 in repairs I pulled the rear door panels off myself to repair water leaks that were regularly soaking the floor boards. Although not fixed, a number of pixels on the dashboard quit working (which would require another $1,000 to fix), and there was a recommendation by a good BMW mechanic to replace the cooling system prior to seven years of age because of the risk of catastrophic failure. The recommendation was substantiated by members of one of the BMW forums. The final straw; it started using oil; 1 quart per 1,000 miles. Thank you - NOT for German engineering. I might say the car was problem free until its sixth birthday....and then it went to H***

 

Our 02 745 Li was a masterpiece of engineering but once 80k miles hit it turned in to a master piece of crap. Transmission started spooling up during deceleration and would clunk into 2nd gear violently (best case scenario was about $1500, worst case about $8500) the passenger side seat belt tension sensor needed to be replaced (which involved the whole assembly at about $1500). The front suspension bushings were starting to go (another $500). Trunk lift motor stalled halfway open and trunk would occasionally open on its' own without warning (another $1200). Headlights began to flicker intermittently (another $800), Drivers seat message motor worked on & off, didn't get a quote for that repair. And the I-Drive & Navigation hard drive unit was very problematic, don't recall the particulars but it was another nice chunk of change.
Lesson learned, I'll never have an out of warranty BMW in my garage again

 

^You should have done your research on the 02-03 745. That isn't a good car to own. Even a BMW person will tell you that. Bad example of german reliabily. They aren't all like that car.

The entire rest of the world must be clueless then, because VW and other euro brands are immensely popular everywhere with nobody complaining about issues quite like america does.. I only know one person close to me who owned a german car that had issues and it was my uncles 2003 E class (back in Mercedes hay day, yay...) and yes it was indeed a POS.

My parents have a 07 550i with 60k on it and the only thing it has needed is a battery.. My other friend has driven his 07 A4 to 120k and only had one small engine leak and regular maintenance. I just don't buy that they are complete junk.

I think it just depends on what group of people your in and again as well. German car enthusiasts understand the cars and what it takes to keep them running so smoothly and that is probably why they put up with the higher maintenance and will tell you they aren't as bad to own as many say. Japanese car enthusiasts are brain washed because regular people buy them after a Toyota and expect it to run without changing the oil for 40k, no.. I have had enough experience so far with family and friends german cars to realize that they are more to own in regards to maintenance, but honestly, it is worth it. My current G has made me so fed up with this entire brand that I think it may be time to try something else. Give it a shot, if it sucks i'll buy a Mercedes. If that sucks, i'll buy an Audi, if that sucks i'll get a Lexus. But i dont get how you guys can back Infiniti and their poor choices with regards to power trains and build quality.. Hell, half my illuminated kick plate doesn't even work. How do you mess up a kick plate?

 

0 problem wit my bmw. 0 problem with my g37 as well.

porsche is one of the more reliable luxury brand.

 

^Case in point. Reliability ratings are usually just stuff you heard from Jim who heard from Bob who knew a guy named Jeff whose sister Jillian's cousin named Beth had a 2003 Mercedes and because of that car every german car is written off as a colossal hunk of junk.



Not entirely accurate, but damn near how I feel most of the time when people bring up german car reliability LOL.

Obviously yes there are cars to avoid from german brands (Toureg with air suspension or V10 engine, Phaeton, 02-03 745i, VW Beetles gen 1, any VW with the 1.8t from early 2000s as examples), but good research and a strong service history plus a trusty indie mechanic who knows his **** and it really isn't as bad as many people would lead you to believe. A good example. My dad's 550i needs brakes. Ordered all four corners, with pads and new sensors and it came in under $500 for the parts shipped. My indies shop is gonna throw them in for 100 bucks. Obviously this is not BMW dealer pricing haha.