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We own a Lexus and a Mercedes. The 2011 Mercedes ML350 is ridiculous to maintain- it takes 9 quarts of very expensive Mobil 1 ESP Formula M for an oil change (costs about $150 all in every 8,000 miles), and requires a $750 transmission and gearbox flush at 40,000 miles or else they say that the transmission will die before 80k. Ours has only 45,000 miles on it and right before the warranty expired, it needed the ignition switch replaced (over $1,000 because they had to replace a lot of internal junk too) and a NOX sensor replaced (again over $1,000 because why not). Our warranty just ended so who knows what fun is in store for us.
The Lexus just needs a synthetic oil change every 10,000 miles (usually around $40 all in) and really nothing else. The Lexus also uses regular gas instead of premium, which is nice. It hasn't needed a single repair in nearly 40,000 miles.
I've also previously had VWs and Audis and have to agree with the OP- I was hit with many expensive repair and maintenance bills. Even if I did the work myself, the parts were still ridiculous. The Toyota/Lexus brand has been very refreshing in that regard.
I know a guy who got a BMW 750 basically for free, with 55K miles..and had to unload it because he couldn't afford to keep it on the road...he was making $80K a year.
You are paying for status and flash with German cars.
I know a guy who got a BMW 750 basically for free, with 55K miles..and had to unload it because he couldn't afford to keep it on the road...he was making $80K a year.
You are paying for status and flash with German cars.
My wife's cousin has a 750... opposite experience.
She traded a Lexus for it and has no regrets.
The guy you know is a fool. I'd be leery of any car that was free.
I've owned many such luxury cars and never darken the door of any of their dealerships.
I have an independent mechanic with decades of experience fixing everything under the sun.
His answer to whether he can fix or perform maintenance on "insert marque here"... "It's a car."
Then he fixes it right the first time.
Anyone can do an oil change or brakes. Don't even need to be a mechanic... just need a few tools and a YouTube.
We're talking major work, not oil changes. Ex: Timing belt replacement, vacuum systems surrounding single/twin turbos, dual clutch transmissions, etc. Both the stealership and the shade tree'er can do the same job, but in the end German vehicles generally require more intricate deconstruction processes and this naturally leads to higher labor costs. You can try to debate this and then I would accuse you of never performing major surgery on said vehicles.
We're talking major work, not oil changes. Ex: Timing belt replacement, vacuum systems surrounding single/twin turbos, dual clutch transmissions, etc. Both the stealership and the shade tree'er can do the same job, but in the end German vehicles generally require more intricate deconstruction processes and this naturally leads to higher labor costs. You can try to debate this and then I would accuse you of never performing major surgery on said vehicles.
I have an indy that probably knows more than the monkeys at the stealership have forgotten.
He's been in business for over 30 years.
You don't stay in business that long by being incompetent and ripping people off.
Other side of the coin... the MB dealership here. They have a horrible reputation.
They lost one brand due to not meeting standards and another due to outright fraud.
So go ahead and flush your money if you wish. I'll stick with my guy.
I have an indy that probably knows more than the monkeys at the stealership have forgotten.
He's been in business for over 30 years.
You don't stay in business that long by being incompetent and ripping people off.
Other side of the coin... the MB dealership here. They have a horrible reputation.
They lost one brand due to not meeting standards and another due to outright fraud.
So go ahead and flush your money if you wish. I'll stick with my guy.
I work on my own Porsche/Audi/BMW/Toyota/Ford. They're not difficult to work on, they just take more time to perform the same job. Hence the increased labor costs.
Here's what you can do. Get a labor quote for a timing belt change for Ford, Chevy, whatever have you.....and then compare it to the quote for the same job on an Audi, or the timing chain tensioner replacements on a BMW/Mercedes. Same shop.
I can't blame you for thinking the labor is identical, as you don't do the work. I can however tell you German autos are more complex and the increased labor leads to higher maintenance costs if you're paying for the work to be done....by anybody.
I'll see your Mercedes and raise you my Land Rover.
Great specs and performance, esp. 4WD, but my god what an unreliable money pit. That I still miss incredibly, idiot that I am.
But yeah, German cars are better than most in the specs but have that rep of unreliability. That, and shorter factory warranties when compared to many US and Japanese (and certainly Korean) vehicles.
Also, knowing your way around a vehicle as a do-it-yourself mechanic when it's out of warranty and older is probably almost required, if you don't want to hemmorhage money on big repairs after 10 yrs or 100K. Or be the luckiest man on the planet and know someone.
The kind of guys that spend their weekends in their garage maintaining their 1970's Mercedes diesel sedan, for example.
I work on my own Porsche/Audi/BMW/Toyota/Ford. They're not difficult to work on, they just take more time to perform the same job. Hence the increased labor costs.
Here's what you can do. Get a labor quote for a timing belt change for Ford, Chevy, whatever have you.....and then compare it to the quote for the same job on an Audi, or the timing chain tensioner replacements on a BMW/Mercedes. Same shop.
I can't blame you for thinking the labor is identical, as you don't do the work. I can however tell you German autos are more complex and the increased labor leads to higher maintenance costs if you're paying for the work to be done....by anybody.
Mercedes brake job was actually easier than a Miata brake job.
There are people on C-D saying they were quoted $800 for a Mercedes brake job.
Last time I got an oil change at the Chevy dealer the guy next to me was quoted $250.
Still outrageous, but not $800 outrageous.
There's only one explanation for this...
You have a Mercedes, you can afford to pay so they charge ripoff prices.
If they're robbing people on brakes, logic says they're robbing people on other work as well.
They won't get an opportunity to rob me. I don't do business with thieves.
The flaw in this logic is there is no material trade off gained. Now something like the new 911 GT3 RS and its normally-aspirated 500 hp 4.0L 8,800 rpm engine - you're not gonna get ~200k miles out of it like you would like a Civic or Camry, but there's a reason and a logical payoff for those willing to write that ~$185k check. However, there is ZERO excuse for a 328i or A6 or C300 to not be as reliable as a Lexus IS350 or GS350.
Except; if you've driven the 328i & the Lexus, you would know that there is a vast difference in the way they drive, feel, handle, etc. That's your "material difference".
If that does not matter to you, then the Lexus is indeed a superb appliance with which to transport your body from place to place.
Disclaimer: We own a BMW 328ix wagon & a Lexus RX350.
Hey guys, we can swap anecdotes all day every day but our experiences with a car here or a car there.
I've seen the rate pages (you can too if you want to search department of insurance databases) for insurers selling vehicle service contracts and BMW in particular is consistently near the highest rate group. Jaguar is worse though, Mercedes a little better.
Results will vary greatly by vehicle type, ESPECIALLY if it's a new design in it's first model year or so. (yikes)
Anyway, that's what those insurers think and they're basing rates on thousands and thousands of contracts for such brands instead of a handful of personal experiences.
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