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Thread: German Luxury Performance Car Reliability

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by flipstah View Post
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    Oh good to know! I was looking at those for a daily winter
    The electric water pumps were also basically wear items.

    I'd avoid that car.

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    I've owned an M2 and the current X3M Comp and I haven't had a single warranty issue with either but I also haven't owned either long term. The M2 in particular is a pretty bulletproof vehicle as there are few major issues and many owners have gone high mileage without issue. I believe the Germans for the most part have improved to the point where they are no less reliable than most mainstream brands outside of Toyota but out of warranty you have to live with the fact that parts and service will be more expensive, especially when you get into the high performance or more exotic models. On another forum a poster listed the warranty repair receipt for a water pump on his 2019 911 and it involved removing the rear bumper, spoiler, exhaust system, and dropping the engine. Water pumps are typically one of the items that fail over time so you can imagine that fixing that out of warranty would be quite the expense.

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    We've been relatively lucky with ours *knock on wood*

    2015 BMW X5 3.5i - This car was 2.5yo when we bought it, which had already depreciated >45% from new. Crazy. It ended up being cheaper than a new highlander and with 1.5 years of warranty + free services left, so we figured why not. It's at 88km now and zero issues beside regular maintenance. No record of any warranty repair work from previous owner as well at the dealership where it was serviced, but we bought a 3rd party extended warranty for until 2023 just in case.

    2009 BMW 335i Cab - We have this car for almost 4 years now and no major issues beside the convertible top would occasionally get 'stuck' and we would have to manually adjust it a little bit before it can fully open or close. This might be because we don't drive the car often and the previous owner only had to top down once a year at most, and the car is only driven during the summer occasionally and never seen rain or snow. Other than that, some minor electrical issues like if we try to close all the windows at ones, sometimes the passenger side window would go back down after it reaches the top.

    2013 Porsche Cayenne S - This car has been a bit more problematic. The 'seconds' needle on the dash clock fell off. Minor electric issues with seat adjustment at startup. Air suspensions would completely fail during cold winter (<-30C), rendering the car completely undriveable. After every car wash the warning light for burnt light/marker would come on for a couple of days.

    2016 VW Golf R - including this since it was made in Germany. 2 warranty repairs during my 3 year of ownership. First for a bolt on the door hinge coming loose, and second for a headlight bulb burning out prematurely.

    2013 Merc GLK350 - No major issues during the first 4 years, then the in-laws bought it from us and all downhill from there. Powered trunk won't open (repaired twice), blind spot monitors broke, rear windshield wiper motor broke, and some other electrical stuff. Enough issues that we probably won't consider a used Mercedes in the near future.
    Last edited by RX_EVOLV; 07-27-2020 at 09:55 AM.

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    I recently bought 2012 e550 coupe. Car has been great so far but only time will tell. I have only had Japanese cars in the past so reliability is definitely in the back of my mind.

    Regarding warranty - some manufacturers allows you to purchase extended warranty as long as the bumper to bumper coverage has not expired. Might be worth looking into if you wanted to buy a 1-2 year old car.
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    Quote Originally Posted by flipstah View Post
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    An alternator getting vibrated to bits. That's a new one.
    Mine went twice on my HPF M3. The HPF kit did some funky shit when it was running on battery only and no alternator. Dumped fuel like a motherfucker, rolling coal top down.
    Originally posted by SEANBANERJEE
    I have gone above and beyond what I should rightfully have to do to protect my good name

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    My opinion, with BMW in particular, is its not that they are any more or unreliable than most other vehicles maybe even on the side of being quite reliable. However when things do need to be fixed they are very expensive to fix.

    Expensive to fix =/= unreliable

    Porsche is similar.

    Or you can buy Italian, which is both expensive to fix AND unreliable. Haha
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
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    fact.
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    I only got burn real bad on 2010 S4. Thermostat shit show means I got a new engine 6 months in.

    After that, it's basically thermostat/waterpump every 1-2 years. Ditched that shit and been with MB since.


    2016 C450 only had rear brake pad (premature wear due to vectoring) and battery replaced under warranty. Car was solid.

    2020 GLC43, only infotainment has locked up and rebooted on me once so far. And the 9sp sometimes get rough in Comfort mode for no god damn reason. Not huge deals.

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    You need to decide on a make first, then you can start getting picky about which models and years are better/worse. Some models will have issues that are well documented and fixable, before they cause problems.

    For eg. I have an old CLK55 AMG that is touted to be one of the most reliable and cheapest to maintain MB of the last 20 years. Its still an MB though, so there are issues of course, but in COMPARISON to other models of that vintage, its very decent.

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    Quote Originally Posted by buster View Post
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    the germans will never be as reliable. I've found mine to be fine, but all the brands have had catastrophic problems with some models. And they are more expensive to maintain on a regular basis as well.
    x2.

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    I've had a few Germans and I personally don't recall ever having massive issues. Sure a car or two had to be sent to the shop for this and that work but I've never worried about reliability when buying a car that's going to be under warranty for several years.

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    Quote Originally Posted by shakalaka View Post
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    I've had a few Germans and I personally don't recall ever having massive issues. Sure a car or two had to be sent to the shop for this and that work but I've never worried about reliability when buying a car that's going to be under warranty for several weeks.
    Ftfy
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    A bit of a theme in this thread: “bought a German car, it wasn’t too bad, only needed warranty a few times.”

    The real joy of Euro ownership comes when you get the out of warranty bill. 2014 X5 comes to mind a friend just sold. Prior to selling it he got a bill for the valve cover gaskets, an electrical fault in the ECU causing random misfire and rear window regulator. Bill was north of $10k. Another friend with a 2013 X5M went through 3 in Colorado through Lemon Law. Finally gave up and walked away.

    For the record I really like E39, e46 and E9x M3’s. But that’s the last BMW I would touch. MB seems better in later years but, again, you need to know what to look for in the used market.

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    I mean I have had more warranty recalls on my Sierra in the last year than I have had cumulatively on my German cars lol
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yolobimmer View Post
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    I mean I have had more warranty recalls on my Sierra in the last year than I have had cumulatively on my German cars lol
    First year of the new model? For German stuff, you just have to be more careful with used stuff. For me it’s only certain models, full service records etc. and then find a good Indy shop or get good with a wrench.

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    I would argue that, anytime you buy a serious money vehicle out of warranty (say, over 25,000$) on a Euro vehicle - you have to be a) at least familiar with common issues (eg. vehicle specific forum) and b) have a shop or a mechanic ready - otherwise its just a roll of dice based on MY, make and model.

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    This thread fucking rules BtW.
    Such an excellent resource of people's real issues and non sugar coated experiences.

    Please give the OP some +Rep along with me!
    Last edited by ThePenIsMightier; 07-25-2020 at 08:11 PM.

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    What helped with the purchase as well:

    I’ve only bought from a trusted dealership like Distinctive Collection or MB for my used cars so that helps give comfort that they’ll take good stuff and be (relatively) good to you if shit hits the fan. Usually came with service records, Carfax, and no pressure tactics.

    So that may help strengthen your purchase decision, OP. Best of luck!
    Doing It For the 'Gram

    I ain't worried 'bout it right now..

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    Quote Originally Posted by flipstah View Post
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    What helped with the purchase as well:

    I’ve only bought from a trusted dealership like Distinctive Collection or MB for my used cars so that helps give comfort that they’ll take good stuff and be (relatively) good to you if shit hits the fan. Usually came with service records, Carfax, and no pressure tactics.

    So that may help strengthen your purchase decision, OP. Best of luck!
    Whatever mental tactics help you sleep at night

    M3: $1.50-$2/km... didn’t even get around to the rod bearings

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    @Gman.45

    Do it and you’re off to a good start lmao
    Doing It For the 'Gram

    I ain't worried 'bout it right now..

  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by flipstah View Post
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    @Gman.45

    Do it and you’re off to a good start lmao
    What could possibly go wrong?


    Thanks for all the posts so far, a lot of good info and data and consider - as per the OP, still have a bit of time to make my mind, any/all advice is read, considered, and appreciated (still).

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