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-   -   Japanese or European cars? Whats your pick in India? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/17181-japanese-european-cars-whats-your-pick-india-5.html)

Opinions on this thread were not necessarily from experience. Instead they seem to be from perception, in many cases. How many that voted European actually own / owned Euro cars ? I know quite a few who posted here that have been repeat Jap car customers, but vouched for Euro cars, of which they have only heard/read/seen. :)
Experience is very different from perception.

No doubt, European Cars!
They have strong emphasis on Safety, Ride Comfort, Build Quality etc etc.

If it had to be my dream car (and I had the moolah to back it up), it would most surely be a BMW, Mercs or a flashy Italian sportscar.

But until then, I would rather prefer the puny, tinny, but practical Hondas/Toyotas and even the suzuki/hyundai over the solid, well-built, but impractical Opel's/Palio's/Octy's selling over here.

Surely, there is nothing to Beat japanese dependability and simplicity.
But the europeans take the cake in the desirable factor.

I would prefer to have one of each, nothing else..

Currently have an NHC and a Palio 1.6

European. Fantastic build quality+stonking performance+safety = higher maintenance/running cost. Pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Ok, let me put it this way. Karthik got ripped off at Skoda TVM, another guy got ripped off at Skoda BLR, no one really liked Nummer Eins and it's now shut down, Jaggu was made to run around by Ford, Metro Ford totalled someone else's car while "testing". With little or no respite from the law. That's European for you.

On the other hand, RNS once tried something fishy with Mclaren's (remember him?!) Zen, and because of the uproar on TBHP, it was replaced free of charge. He also got a lot of freebies, and a lot of help when his Zen was totalled. He ALSO got a huge-as.s discount when he bought a new Baleno, and trust me, it was pretty darn huge-as.s.

Assuming the Jap cars were as well-built (which I think they are), and the Euro cars were as cheap to run, whom would you rather live with?

It's Jap all the way for me. I dunno why? But they're my weakness.

And v1p3r! You're right! The europeans are experts to make things SUCK!!!
I'll only bet on japanese anytime. They're more comfortable with any country in the world and they also can meet up to the expectations most of the time.

thought we are referring to cars not overall experience wrt dealers also.

dealers are same everywhere any brand, depends on how much time and connection you have, plain simple

have been dealing with maruiti, honda and ford all show their color sometime or the other, ok let me say price also is kinda same when you look at a loner time frame, its just momentary perception that confuses most

Owning a car would include living with it, and unfortunately that includes dealers. I hope the Japs and Koreans treat me as well as they have so far, or maybe I'll be singing a different tune in a while.;)

I agree, Whitefield Honda is a pain to deal with. Have had experiences with them, and while they never tried to rip me off outright, they can be :Frustrati . Though now that they have competition, I hear they have pulled their socks up a bit.

thats not European thats a bad dealer you dealing with. So nothing like this happens at Japanese dealers ? but then what is this and it sounds that just because of this you have to go with Japs.

you cant dispute the fact that there are bad dealers available for every manufacturer. you want to hear horror stories of MUL and Honda dealers after 26/7 ??

EUROPEANS obviously

see guys basically japnese cars are not designed for indian conditions. i mean not road conditions but i refer to the physical condition of indian. japs are little chaps while we are bulgy. so whtever techs or fe a jap car gives its better to opt for a euro car for for our physical comfort

No, I have owned Jap cars for over 10 years before I logged onto TBHP. So one Mclaren and RNS, while impressing me, doesn't make me say moshi-moshi.

If European manufacturers are so great, why do I hear more horror stories from their dealers than Jap ones? Among all the Einsteins and Fermis sitting in Skoda and Fiat, has no one figured out that bad dealerships are hurting their sales figures?

Bringing floods into the equation is rather different. All the cases I pointed out, with the possible exception of Jaggu's, share in common the fact that the dealer messed up the car worse than it was when it came in.

Ah yes, Japanese cars are not designed for Indian conditions. Just like that tinny Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, which those puny fellows have the temerity to sell in the land of cheeseburgers. And guess what, they're the LARGEST SELLING CARS there!!!

Last I seen, Psycho, Khaadu, Sam, Amitoj, all big fellas, the right side of 6'2", seem pretty comfy in their Japanese cars.

Could you please back this up with examples? Please use cars that belong to the same category/segment.

It was a simple question. Jap or Euro. Why does it need to end up in a fight!!

Anyways, like a few others have noted here, I too would rather buy a car that fits my desired use the best. Whether that happens to be a Jap, German or Korean, it really doesn't matter.

My old M800 gave me 9 years of great service, only ever leaving me at the side of the road once in those 9 years. Our next car, the Opel, left us stranded 4 times. Once in the foothills of Khapoli, from where we had to tow it all the way back to town. My Skoda has literally broken the bank for the repair costs after the accident (though no mechanical problems at all in its 2.75 years).

At the time we bought the Octavia, the direct competition was the Corolla. We chose the Octi. Not because it was European, but because we just liked it better! Simple as that! And now after driving Euro cars for many years, I have got used to the heavier steering/brake/clutch feel, the roughness of their engines when compared to the jap's silky smooth motors, and the well made interiors compared to the others in their class. And, as I mentioned in this thread, I love their simple, understated looks over the comparatively flashy Japanese/Korean counterparts.

However, that said, the next car I am thinking of is a Jap!