Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I drive a 14-year-old 3-series (and do a lot of the work myself).
It'll certainly be more costly to maintain than an Accord, and you can expect more frequency of repairs (especially after the 5 year mark), but it's not the ruinous outlay many people make it out to be. The problems with German cars tend to be related to the electronics and luxury features, so you'll encounter things like "some dash pixels went out" and "the radio cuts out sometimes" rather than "my car left me stranded on the side of the road". A good rule of thumb is, the simpler the car the cheaper it will be to keep (a 10-year-old S600 will be waaaaay more expensive to keep running than a 10-year-old C300). The GLC definitely skews cheaper so you'll probably be fine.
It'll certainly be more costly to maintain than an Accord, and you can expect more frequency of repairs (especially after the 5 year mark), but it's not the ruinous outlay many people make it out to be. The problems with German cars tend to be related to the electronics and luxury features, so you'll encounter things like "some dash pixels went out" and "the radio cuts out sometimes" rather than "my car left me stranded on the side of the road".
We've got a 2003 Passat from the days when half the parts in the engine compartment were stamped 'Audi' with those kinds of electrical issues- fix one and then another one pops up. 91K miles and the doors don't lock, the AC won't work, the windows don't roll up or down, and the sunroof tends to intermittently open itself. Combine the need to rewire the car to deal with some basic safety issues (for about 1,000 miles, we kept a hammer in the back seat in case the car locked us inside itself ) with needing new engine mounts and repairs would be more than the car is worth at this point. Spousal Unit is supposed to get rid of it before we make another insurance payment on it.
Bought a Subaru Legacy last week to replace it- while it's not an autobahn car like the VWs are, it's suprisingly spry at interstate speeds despite its reputation for being a bit unresponsive, and has a better cabin design and space use than most of its peer class. And when Subies break, it tend to be stuff where you fix it and is good for another 50-75K rather than the *bleep* whack-a-mole electrical system issues of the VW.
I worked on cars for twenty five years and then went on to something else. German engineering can be confounding at times to the extent that is can be very costly to maintain for the fact of their insistence on designing and building things with a seemingly intentional confounding complexity. That factor alone is a good reason to avoid the hassles involved in owning them.
Oh yeah, they're fun to drive, I now have a Mercedes 500 convertible that has tons of low end power and incredible handling capabilities---BUT, right now the latest debacle involves the stepper motor actuator arm, that's a little piece of that famous German engineering that allowed a terrible flaw to get by the quality types in the design cubicles. It will cost more than a grand to fix and I want to sell the car.
Sooo, if you want reliability, low cost maintenance, low cost purchase prices, then you will want to look at Toyota, but, if you want the thrills of speed and comfort, superior road handling, envy inspiring looks, not to mention the thrills of waiting in the automotive ER rooms, get the Benz and get ready to experience the wonders of owning a car built the hard way.
I worked on cars for twenty five years and then went on to something else. German engineering can be confounding at times to the extent that is can be very costly to maintain for the fact of their insistence on designing and building things with a seemingly intentional confounding complexity. That factor alone is a good reason to avoid the hassles involved in owning them.
Oh yeah, they're fun to drive, I now have a Mercedes 500 convertible that has tons of low end power and incredible handling capabilities---BUT, right now the latest debacle involves the stepper motor actuator arm, that's a little piece of that famous German engineering that allowed a terrible flaw to get by the quality types in the design cubicles. It will cost more than a grand to fix and I want to sell the car.
Sooo, if you want reliability, low cost maintenance, low cost purchase prices, then you will want to look at Toyota, but, if you want the thrills of speed and comfort, superior road handling, envy inspiring looks, not to mention the thrills of waiting in the automotive ER rooms, get the Benz and get ready to experience the wonders of owning a car built the hard way.
If a grand in repairs is a problem you probably should not drive any car. The cost of replacing a simple water pump on a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser is just over $1000.
My personal experience with German cars are that they tend to be needlessly complex. It almost seems like the German engineers have a directive to prove their ingenuity and superior intellect by coming up with new ways of doing old things.
unfortunately, that approach leads to difficulty when it comes time to fix one of those fiddly doo dads and you're local independent mechanic who happens to NOT be German or think like a German engineer takes a look and scratches his head because he's never seen anything like that or doesn't have the tool to take it off so he sends you to the dealer where the prices are higher and they do things by the book.
here's a picture of brake rotors that clamp from the inside ($950/pair):
Last edited by gunslinger256; 01-23-2016 at 01:52 PM..
My personal experience with German cars are that they tend to be needlessly complex. It almost seems like the German engineers have a directive to prove their ingenuity and superior intellect by coming up with new ways of doing old things.
unfortunately, that approach leads to difficulty when it comes time to fix one of those fiddly doo dads and you're local independent mechanic who happens to NOT be German or think like a German engineer takes a look and scratches his head because he's never seen anything like that or doesn't have the tool to take it off so he sends you to the dealer where the prices are higher and they do things by the book.
here's a picture of brake rotors that clamp from the inside ($950/pair):
For a DIYer, those Audi brakes were a pain in the ass.
HOWEVER... for a given rotor size and wheel, they outperformed conventional rotor/caliper setups by a significant margin.
1986 Chevy Astro Van with a V6
1991 735 iL with a V6 3.5L engine
1996 740 iL with a V8 4.4L engine
2012 Audi Q5 V6 3.2 engine
Without a doubt the 1996 BMW was the most expensive to maintain, purchase tires, mpg. Part of the problem was when the connector to the radiator cracked for instance, I had to buy a whole new radiator because it was all one piece. I've heard a lot of that has been changed. I kept that car for 14 years because I loved it. The long wheel base provided the smoothest ride ever.
I sold it & bought the Audi because I was moving to an area that made sense for the Audi. I miss my 740.
My daughter drives a MB & loves it. Not much maintenance so far.
I agree with buying & keeping a German car until the warranty is expired. Sell. Buy a new one.
For a DIYer, those Audi brakes were a pain in the ass.
HOWEVER... for a given rotor size and wheel, they outperformed conventional rotor/caliper setups by a significant margin.
I had a 91 200q 20v with those awful rotors. they stopped pretty good and still fit in 15" wheels.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
