PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars!

[svsantosh]

Today morning I saw a White VW Jetta being loaded onto a tow truck. This was in Hosur (30Km south of bangy) on the GQ (just outside the ESI hospital in the industrial area). No pics, was alone & at the wheel...

[abk]

Here's my Bimmer (E39 540i) on the flat bed. This happened more than couple of months ago. Actually this is the second instance of it on the flat bed as I decided not to get the repair done in the first garage where it was towed to initially. The finesse with which the car was pulled up and loaded on the flat bad was mighty impressive. Not a trace of sweat expended! The reason is a failed alternator at 2 AM on the pitch dark US30. However, it would not be fair to blame BMW for it. There were tell-a-tale signs of alternator not working well. I ignored the low battery indicator for a li'l long. When the Bimmer broke down i was actually driving to Wal-mart to get myself a voltmeter to check whether it is the battery that has conked up or the alternator not being able to provide adequate power for the battery to be continually recharged. Had i been diligent enough to stock a pair of jumper cables then could have avoided the US $120 towing expenses, which unfortunately at that time my insurance did not cover

Btw - those of you who are not aware the bimmer batteries have this visual colour display which indicates the health of the battery. Unfortunately, even after the alternator replacement the colour continues to be black which indicates the battery isn't healthy. Wondering now whether it is the battery or the alternator isn't still not delivering enough power. The steering continues to be tight, an indicator of alternator malfunction.

Nevertheless, the sheer joy of driving such a monstrously powerful bimmer with galore of electronic controls is second to none. If i had money i'd only buy a bimmer

[drdeepudev]

Yesterday I had a chance to use the flatbed service for my Linea due to clutch failure. Happened around 5.30pm in the evening. The vehicle has clocked 20,000km. The service was free of cost as we were covered under Fiat First program.It happened in Cochin and the car was taken to Concorde motors, Cochin.Pictures are not so clear.

[rajakumar]

Saw a ANHC on a flatbed tow truck near Windtunnel road signal on Old Airport road around 5:45pm. No pics.

[sidindica]

progressive activity sedan.

[jkdas]

I pass by Tata, Skoda, Toyota, VW showroom daily on my way to work.Only VW has a fat bed displayed outside their showroom 24x 7

[Daewood]

BMW 3 Series named UK's most reliable car - Yahoo! Cars

This report says BMW-3 series is the most reliable car in UK !!!, followed by Honda Accord.

Qualitywise are the german cars sold here in India inferior than the german cars sold in europe/USA ?

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Daewood

BMW 3 Series named UK's most reliable car - Yahoo! Cars

This report says BMW-3 series is the most reliable car in UK !!!, followed by Honda Accord.

Qualitywise are the german cars sold here in India inferior than the german cars sold in europe/USA ?

Actually, European cars are better suited for European conditions. The cold climate and the clean environment helps a lot. But India is a country which is tropical in nature i.e. it's very hot. Plus, it's dusty and the roads aren't too good. Not to mention the inferior quality of fuel. This is why European cars find it hard to cope in our conditions. This is just my understand of the topic.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Actually, European cars are better suited for European conditions. The cold climate and the clean environment helps a lot. But India is a country which is tropical in nature i.e. it's very hot. Plus, it's dusty and the roads aren't too good. Not to mention the inferior quality of fuel. This is why European cars find it hard to cope in our conditions. This is just my understand of the topic.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Japan is also cold, clean, dust-free but Japanese cars cope very very well in Indian conditions. Then why not European cars?

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Japan is also cold, clean, dust-free but Japanese cars cope very very well in Indian conditions. Then why not European cars?

Well, Japanese cars are built entirely differently. Their engines aren't designed for supreme power or out-right performance. They are made to be economical, environmentally friendly and most importantly, reliable. In fact, they can take quite a beating. These engines can be flogged for lakhs of kilometers. Besides, most Japanese cars are sold in south-east Asia where the climate is predominantly tropical.

[EARTHed]

A Skoda being towed!

[carboy]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Thats true, a good compilation of pictures to point out the obvious.
But lets not rush to conclusion and bash German cars. The reason majority of the German luxury cars breakdown is because of cramming unwanted gizmos in the car.
Do we really need all these gizmos?

Don't get it. For the time being, even if we ignore GTO's post about mechanical posts, why should we not bash german cars even if they breakdown because of the unwanted gizmos. Did the Japanese or the Koreans put those unwanted gizmos in the German cars to spoil their reputation?

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Well, Japanese cars are built entirely differently. Their engines aren't designed for supreme power or out-right performance. They are made to be economical, environmentally friendly and most importantly, reliable. In fact, they can take quite a beating. These engines can be flogged for lakhs of kilometers. Besides, most Japanese cars are sold in south-east Asia where the climate is predominantly tropical.

So maybe the German should only sell their cars in cold, clean places. Don't you think it's unethical of them to do otherwise.

Anyway this link below proves that they are unreliable even in the US.
Car reliability, most reliable cars

However, maybe US is probably not as clean as Europe. Also lots of places in US which are not as cold as Europe - so that's probably why they are unreliable in the US also.

[n.devdath]

A point to ponder:

What percentage of these German cars sold have broken down on the road? Also, what do the owners of these cars say? Will they continue using their car even after it has broken down on the road and repaired or will they want to sell it and switch brands?

Wait, lemme start a new thread on that point now.

[DRC]

I went through this thread from the beginning and am confused....

Is this thread about flatbeds? german cars or electronics vs mechanicals.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to read.

I just Want to express my opinion on the third subject, Why do we always tend to harp on electronics for most failures? My observation is most of the times the mechanics and users do not understand electronics or make an attempt to understand it.
In my opinion, electronics are as robust or even more than the mechanical systems. Just that not every one can understand them well.

When you buy a new car, one small road side fix the dealer tells you about is to change a flat tire. And the buyers earnestly ask for it. But isn't replacing a blown fuse even simpler. But dealers want the owners to flatbed the car to dealership to replace a fuse.

Even in the service station, you would see mech engineers or auto engineers attending to the electrical/electronic issues which is not their core skill. Hence the repai cost is also high because you end up replacing complete assemblies and that too based on guess work.

Coming back to german Vs japs...I just think japs electronics rock. They have mastered the art. How many electronics companies can you name from Japan and Korea vs Europe?

[EARTHed]

Originally Posted by DRC

But isn't replacing a blown fuse even simpler.

Is electronics all about a fuse? Nothing else(electronics) can go wrong?