[kadanaJ]

My old Mercedes W210 E220 CDI never really gave any major problems, although from what I've heard about that generation of Mercs, it seems I was extremely lucky.

It did have a number of repeated AC issues.

(sold the car years ago, and don't own any Germans now, so can't comment on the reliability of the new generation)

[issigonis]

>>>

As of now :

Eleven owners have had no problems, two have had problems.

Regards

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by issigonis

Eleven owners have had no problems, two have had problems.

On expected lines, I must say though most of these owners have owned pretty old and simpler cars I feel.
Wot say?

[jigbarai]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

On expected lines, I must say though most of these owners have owned pretty old and simpler cars I feel.
Wot say?

Why draw such an inference when it is no where indicated so ? When we are talking simple and absolute numbers, lets just stick to that!

Also, shouldnt this be radio buttons instead of checkboxes ?
Someone could go click away to glory here, no ?

[stanjohn123]

My Skoda is beginning to show a lot of problems now. It all started with the timing belt and now the engine has seized. Even the air con is starting to give problems.

As far as other German cars like Audi and Mercedes are concerned, my friends who own them have asked us to keep away from them as once they are out of warranty could dent our pockets in a big way due to many electrical and mechanical component failures.

The way i see it , its wiser to buy a brand new German car use it extensively during its warranty period and sell it off quickly after it.

[raj_5004]

We bought an Opel astra in 1996. It gave us no issues. We decided to buy another car in 2001.

We bought an Opel Astra Club again. why? because no other car had the build, quality, ride, comfort & aura of the Opel. It was truly German.

Did it give us issues? Oh yes, the club gave many issues. It even stalled twice on the road. But boy, I loved it & will continue to do so. This is what is special in a German car. I wont say this about the Japs. Honda & Toyota does not make me emotionally connect with it, Opel does. So if at all i get to choose between Opel or Honda/Toyota, it would be the Opel.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by pnredkar

My Opel Corsa has not broken down on me anytime. It's 7 years and 56,000kms old.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

We bought an Opel astra in 1996. It gave us no issues. We decided to buy another car in 2001.

We bought an Opel Astra Club again. why? because no other car had the build, quality, ride, comfort & aura of the Opel. It was truly German.

Did it give us issues? Oh yes, the club gave many issues. It even stalled twice on the road. But boy, I loved it & will continue to do so. This is what is special in a German car. I wont say this about the Japs. Honda & Toyota does not make me emotionally connect with it, Opel does. So if at all i get to choose between Opel or Honda/Toyota, it would be the Opel.

Completely agree!

I have a Corsa, 33k 5 years..
She's a doll, no issues.. sounds, feels and drives perfect!

[carradio]

just bought a Jetta 3 weeks ago. ThankGod so far there have been no breakdowns! :-)). Only done 200kms. But I have seen three Jettas that had a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. I asked the sales guy about this. His response was that they willl guarantee a five star accomodation free of cost. Is that assuring or what? but still went ahead with my purchase because of brand image. supposedly German - but actually Mexican. Even the TBHP site had mentioned about the unreliability of the Passat and Jetta. I think the main cause may be the fuel quality and engine oil levels.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Now this should be tricky.

If we are talking about German cars, do classic German cars also count into discussion in this thread.........?

If yes, i could contribute 2 of my ever beloved German VW's that has never left me stranded due to its build quality.

[lamborghini]

Personally, I think the reason for the high ratings for the last question are due to newer, less electronic, more affordable german cars.
Our garage has only European cars, out of which 2 have broken down on me, and 2 are doing well. One broke down due to a mechanical problem (which I cannot hold against the car completely, as it is the beater car of the house), and the other has had problems which I mentioned before.

I personally feel that a better topic would be regarding the whole reliability and service aspect of European cars (for eg: Fords sold in India are more European than American, and in addition to reliability, we should also consider how well the service center can deal with the mess, or if they are a problem area as well). These are two factors which are not given considerable input into our decision making process, but at the same time, are two factors which can make or break the brand.

There are many issues with high end cars reported on the forum, in terms of reliability.
Examples are:
- Our W211 E270 (which is claimed to be more reliable than other similar vehicles)
- GTO's C180 and C220
- Sahil's C Class and 525d
- S350's mercedes issues (which caused him to switch over to another brand, and even lay off germans for a while)
- Scores of Skoda threads
- Platzda Turbo's A4 3.0 - niggling issues IIRC

However, Mercedes tries to make up for this with stellar service from most dealers. Skoda A.S.S. is not helpful, even for their reliable models (was quoted exorbitant and varied prices for the head lamp unit for the Octavia L&K).
BMW A.S.S. may not handle repair jobs well (slight paint mis-match)
Audi dealers have been reported for poor service, late deliveries, etc. though my experience was superb with their sales staff.

At the same time, we previously only had Japanese cars, which too gave us issues:
- Toyota Corolla - delicate suspension, rattles (after 26/7)
- Mitsubishi Lancer - A host of issues with the suspension and poor craftsmanship
- Honda Accord - Very reliable, but the HU stopped playing CDs, and the electric seats failed twice. A friend's accord has a malfunctioning airbag light.

So at the end of the day, not all cars are very reliable, though there is no doubt that European cars may not be as reliable as Japanese and Koreans.
However, the brand value; diesel engines; safety; ride and handling combination, etc. typically tend to be better in Europeans as opposed to other countries.

Do note that we typically keep our cars for 7 years, with each of them clocking 60-80K before we sell them.

[An1]

As a European brand, why not include Fiat as well.. Although it may not be offering cars in league of BMW's / Mercs / Audi's but we can have a camparo between all European car marquees that way. Just my thoughts.

[lamborghini]

@An1: It makes sense to include Fiat, but compare it with its competitor brands like Hyundai, Ford, Maruti.
Our 2 fiats (palio and siena) served us very well. The Palio just had an ignition coil failure towards the end.