3 ms·

Used German cars are among the biggest money sinks on the planet aside from unaffordable exotics. Out of dozens of friends and dozens and dozens of Euro cars, n

by AmVess 12y ago

Used German cars are among the biggest money sinks on the planet aside from unaffordable exotics. Out of dozens of friends and dozens and dozens of Euro cars, not a single person has had an inexpensive to repair or own BMW/Mercedes/Audi/SAAB...new or used. And these are cared for vehicles, not rolling wrecks or the result of careless owners. My 95k Ford had 1 repair in the years that I owned it (a rarity for Ford)...a thermostat. My 70k miles Honda has had $0 in repairs since 2006. German luxury cars only make sense if leased from new (which 70% of them are). Used? Run far away, and run fast.

sejje 12y ago
I've owned several fords that all held up well: 1989 Ford Taurus: $450 car, required new battery terminals. Totaled it out fairly quickly--side note: head on collision at approx 45mph with no seat belt, walked away with scratches. Given 3300 by insurance people for the car only. 199X Ford Escort Hatchback: $500 car, zero maintenance over a couple of years. Eventually started stalling in neutral unless you revved it, I sold it to my sister for $200 and bought something else. Vaccuum hose had a hole, $4 fix. 1987 Ford Mustang: $3500 car, required a clutch immediately for $800. Drove for several years with no further mechanical problems (though it did have body issues), sold it for $2250. The decrease in value was almost wholly my own fault in causing & then neglecting the body issues. I had one lemon, but not a Ford. A 199x Pontiac Grand Am. $850 car, immediately needed tires & a water pump (making it a $1200 car). Broke down approximately 15 times for various reasons, mostly small problems or problems I learned to live with. I eventually got a noticed it would be towed if not moved from where I had it parked, and I decided it was prudent to let it be towed. Otherwise: 1996 Nissan Pickup: $3k car in 2009, still own it, has had zero repairs. Several things have failed: A/C, both front blinkers fell out of the truck, someone backed into the front bumper and misaligned the headlights, broken into & stereo & speakers stolen. Engine is otherwise perfect, though. I'm trying to sell it now, as I bought a Jeep Cherokee about a month ago. I would be incredibly surprised if I can't get $1500 for it, but I have someone coming to look this weekend at $2400 asking price. Maybe I've been lucky, but the total amount of repair fees I've paid over all of these, including the lemon, is somewhere around $3k I'd guess, vehicles overall costing me a couple thousand for the last 15 years of vehicles, usually with redundancy by owning 2 at a time. I own a motorcycle now, as well, so I have three levels. I did the easiest repairs myself. If I couldn't learn it in 20 minutes on youtube, I paid someone else.
kw71 12y ago
You can make it a good value if you are a diehard car hobbyist, but I concede that this is not most people. I am still holding onto a 21 year old mid-luxury BMW. I have spent countless hours working on it and probably have $2000 in parts in it (I have owned it for 9 years.) I am grateful that I have the free time, collection of tools and documentation, know some tricks about buying parts, and can figure out machines. I feel that I have obtained a great value considering what it will cost to get a newer car, in similar state of repair, that gives a similar experience driving. I would not enjoy most other car makes. People buy these German cars for some reason, and the reason is not ever to have a maintenance free automobile, or to never spend time or money fixing the car. You are going to expend some resources one way or another, but it does not have to be mostly money.
mathiasben 12y ago
that hasn't been my experience, I drive a '99 benz station wagon with 140K miles that I have had for 4 years. It's only required routine maintenance tasks such as filters, belts, brake pads/rotors, tran fluid, tires, engine sensors and oil changes. I will NEVER buy a new car ever again. When I was young, dumb and still in college I bought a '99 Mercury Cougar off the lot and it was constant problems from day one and completely unusable at 80k miles.

by AmVess 12y ago

sejje 12y ago

I've owned several fords that all held up well: 1989 Ford Taurus: $450 car, required new battery terminals. Totaled it out fairly quickly--side note: head on collision at approx 45mph with no seat belt, walked away with scratches. Given 3300 by insurance people for the car only. 199X Ford Escort Hatchback: $500 car, zero maintenance over a couple of years. Eventually started stalling in neutral unless you revved it, I sold it to my sister for $200 and bought something else. Vaccuum hose had a hole, $4 fix. 1987 Ford Mustang: $3500 car, required a clutch immediately for $800. Drove for several years with no further mechanical problems (though it did have body issues), sold it for $2250. The decrease in value was almost wholly my own fault in causing & then neglecting the body issues. I had one lemon, but not a Ford. A 199x Pontiac Grand Am. $850 car, immediately needed tires & a water pump (making it a $1200 car). Broke down approximately 15 times for various reasons, mostly small problems or problems I learned to live with. I eventually got a noticed it would be towed if not moved from where I had it parked, and I decided it was prudent to let it be towed. Otherwise: 1996 Nissan Pickup: $3k car in 2009, still own it, has had zero repairs. Several things have failed: A/C, both front blinkers fell out of the truck, someone backed into the front bumper and misaligned the headlights, broken into & stereo & speakers stolen. Engine is otherwise perfect, though. I'm trying to sell it now, as I bought a Jeep Cherokee about a month ago. I would be incredibly surprised if I can't get $1500 for it, but I have someone coming to look this weekend at $2400 asking price. Maybe I've been lucky, but the total amount of repair fees I've paid over all of these, including the lemon, is somewhere around $3k I'd guess, vehicles overall costing me a couple thousand for the last 15 years of vehicles, usually with redundancy by owning 2 at a time. I own a motorcycle now, as well, so I have three levels. I did the easiest repairs myself. If I couldn't learn it in 20 minutes on youtube, I paid someone else.

kw71 12y ago

You can make it a good value if you are a diehard car hobbyist, but I concede that this is not most people. I am still holding onto a 21 year old mid-luxury BMW. I have spent countless hours working on it and probably have $2000 in parts in it (I have owned it for 9 years.) I am grateful that I have the free time, collection of tools and documentation, know some tricks about buying parts, and can figure out machines. I feel that I have obtained a great value considering what it will cost to get a newer car, in similar state of repair, that gives a similar experience driving. I would not enjoy most other car makes. People buy these German cars for some reason, and the reason is not ever to have a maintenance free automobile, or to never spend time or money fixing the car. You are going to expend some resources one way or another, but it does not have to be mostly money.

mathiasben 12y ago

that hasn't been my experience, I drive a '99 benz station wagon with 140K miles that I have had for 4 years. It's only required routine maintenance tasks such as filters, belts, brake pads/rotors, tran fluid, tires, engine sensors and oil changes. I will NEVER buy a new car ever again. When I was young, dumb and still in college I bought a '99 Mercury Cougar off the lot and it was constant problems from day one and completely unusable at 80k miles.