![]() | #451 | |
Senior - BHPian | ![]() Quote:
Moreover, it's usually easy to spot the difference between a brand new and used vehicle. Whatever the reason, it's all business for the trucks in any case. | |
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![]() | #452 |
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![]() | #453 |
Senior - BHPian | ![]() Because German cars are NOT relaible. I heard of a guy who had had it upto his head with these German cars and went back to Accord. I wonder if they are selling on the strength of European pedigree alone. |
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![]() | #454 |
Senior - BHPian | ![]() Possibly you're right. You see, we are, after all, a victim to our own perceptions and then of those that are imposed upon us by others. Some common perceptions (and maybe facts) about German Cars generally- 1. They are loaded with Gizmos, which CAN and WILL fail eventually. 2. They are over-complicated, which again leads to multiple failure points. 3. The vast majority of them are Automatics (market segment + customer preference), and hence they are also most likely to be seen on Flat-beds for even very mundane reasons. 4. A lot of their components are over-engineered, leading to high durability. The Japanese on the other hand, tend to be, just about adequately engineered, that works fine for 99.9% of use cases. 5. They may suffer from poor to average quality control during production leading to reliability issues. The Japanese seem to have perfected this game. 6. The spare parts prices are through the roof, that probably drive the reliability and maintainability perceptions further down. But, that doesn't mean that there aren't owners of German vehicles, who have had a peaceful ownership or owners of Japanese ones that haven't had a torrid one! Let's not generalize, irrespective of what the author of that link posted above, would have us believe! |
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![]() | #455 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Chennai
Posts: 68
Thanked: 29 Times
| ![]() Amazed to see this thread !. I have a contribution too. Snapped this Audi Q5 taking a 'savari' atop a flatbed. Probably going to the Audi Service center in Ambattur, Chennai. While at the signal, I noticed oil splashed all over the under chassis and exhaust of the car. |
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![]() | #456 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() |
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![]() | #457 |
Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,268
Thanked: 725 Times
| ![]() Today morning witnessed the unpleasant sight of a Black Vento (reg no. 7XXX) getting ready for the flatbed ride to the service center. This was right outside Sobha Developers office building. Sorry no picture as I was driving. There seemed to be no accidental damage whatsoever so looks like some kind of mechanical failure? |
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![]() | #458 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: BLR/Calicut
Posts: 40
Thanked: 15 Times
| ![]() My brother had a couple of such experiences with his VW Jetta. He lives in a small time town and there was no limits to his embarrassment when neighbors inquire about car's next visit to service station. The Jetta was recently sold after using for 2 years and this was one of the reason for the decision. |
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![]() | #459 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Pune
Posts: 1,557
Thanked: 1,266 Times
Infractions: 0/1 (5) | ![]() Sorry for repeat post but file couldn't upload for the first time. |
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![]() | #460 |
BHPian Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: New Delhi
Posts: 209
Thanked: 402 Times
| ![]() This afternoon I saw this beautiful Porsche Boxster towed in a flatbed truck. ![]() The problem IMHO is that German cars not properly field tested in environment they are going to sell and unlike Japanese and Korean cars which are developed keeping local conditions in mind |
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![]() | #461 | |
BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Chennai, India
Posts: 250
Thanked: 79 Times
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Most of my diving has been on automatics. Have owned two Honda Accords which were super reliable. Have seen many German automatics too and gearboxes were NOT failing commonly. | |
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![]() | #462 | |
Senior - BHPian | ![]() Quote:
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![]() | #463 |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() | ![]() Spotted last evening. Definitely not new and not an accident vehicle either. Appears to be a breakdown. ![]() |
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![]() | #464 |
BHPian Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Account closed
Posts: 315
Thanked: 970 Times
| ![]() Very interesting reading this topic because a few months ago our VW Polo was giving some starting trouble with warning signs that the 'Engine Control Unit' or ECU was not ok. A call to the Service Centre resulted in a forceful recommendation for the car to be sent to them via a flatbed truck (cost Rs 2,000). My mother was aghast at this and called up the sales guy (now out of the loop but very friendly nonetheless) to grumble about having to foot this added cost. He ensured they sent a driver + technician home who inspected the car and drove it to the Service Centre (cost Rs 250) and the problem as it turned out was a rat-eaten set of electronic cables/connectors (apparently common problem in our area). It's surprising how the service folks kept recommending a flatbed pickup without a well-informed idea as to what the issue was (unless the ECU error means only one type of problem). So yes I have to agree..there's a German connection with flatbed trucks and its not restricted to only high end Mercs and Audis. |
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![]() | #465 |
BHPian ![]() | ![]() One reason for this possibly is that the so called high end car workshops provide free flatbed tow during the warranty period. I had a case when an X1 refused to start, the problem seemed to be coming from a low battery and a simple jumpstart would have been enough to start the vehicle and send it to the service center However, the service advisor suggested I use their flatbed instead to avoid any kind of warranty related woes In the end , it did turn out to be a flat battery which they changed under warranty |
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