Why the UK obsession with "German" cars?
Discussion
EazyDuz said:
Not any bigger than a lot of BMW's. Not expensive to run, road tax on a 17 plate is cheap after first year, fuel economy 25-32 if you drive slow, doesnt need servicing often, a 2 star NCAP is safe enough.
I'll concede most of that, except the NCAP rating - that is not good enough for a brand new car & is no better that cars 15 years old.Badge thing
This country is obsessed with material possessions it's all about brands and badges.
German badges are in as are iPhones, Ralph Lauren etc. Why you would spend £80 on a polo top is beyond me but that makes some folk feel confident to step out their home.
I like decent cars but don't lease a German motor just for the sake of it. I run whatever I can get away with for work but wouldn't lease a German car.
Friend of mine is wrong way round now leasing a top s line on 10k per Anum on a 54k now and just turned two years old. He didn't 10k to get to his month budget. Now 14k passed its 40k service as can't afford to service it.
All about aplreances if you ask me. Some will have a car as they want a decent car but a lot just need it for status.
This country is obsessed with material possessions it's all about brands and badges.
German badges are in as are iPhones, Ralph Lauren etc. Why you would spend £80 on a polo top is beyond me but that makes some folk feel confident to step out their home.
I like decent cars but don't lease a German motor just for the sake of it. I run whatever I can get away with for work but wouldn't lease a German car.
Friend of mine is wrong way round now leasing a top s line on 10k per Anum on a 54k now and just turned two years old. He didn't 10k to get to his month budget. Now 14k passed its 40k service as can't afford to service it.
All about aplreances if you ask me. Some will have a car as they want a decent car but a lot just need it for status.
Many cars aren't even made in Germany.
Some Audis are made in Czechoslovakia, the BMW Z3 came from the USA, the Honda Civic and MINI are made in the UK, my own Fiesta is made in Spain, the Mondeo in Belgium.
Modern Honda motorcycles are increasingly made in Thailand.
It's all about the badge and as observed, "what others think" - who in their right mind would buy an ugly BMW otherwise? Not me, for sure.
My niece started off in a new leased Peugeot 107 but, as soon as she could, leapt into a leased BMW and cannot understand why I am totally unimpressed by her ugly little car.
I hope that Brexit brings about a clearer recognition of where cars are actually made and that those made in the UK sell more. That may be wishful thinking but I am surprised that some companiesd aren't making more of it, in their advertising.
Some Audis are made in Czechoslovakia, the BMW Z3 came from the USA, the Honda Civic and MINI are made in the UK, my own Fiesta is made in Spain, the Mondeo in Belgium.
Modern Honda motorcycles are increasingly made in Thailand.
It's all about the badge and as observed, "what others think" - who in their right mind would buy an ugly BMW otherwise? Not me, for sure.
My niece started off in a new leased Peugeot 107 but, as soon as she could, leapt into a leased BMW and cannot understand why I am totally unimpressed by her ugly little car.
I hope that Brexit brings about a clearer recognition of where cars are actually made and that those made in the UK sell more. That may be wishful thinking but I am surprised that some companiesd aren't making more of it, in their advertising.
I've owned a number of cars. Mainly Japanese because I used to be under the impression they were the best built and most reliable cars. Then I bought an old BMW 3 series (E36 325i). It had done 130,000 miles but I was buying it in the interim before saving for a newer car. I'd had higher mileage cars before and generally had loads of issues, but this particular car was £800 so I guess I could put up with the odd slow electric window or other minor problem.
I had no problems at all with the car. It had obviously had a hard life, and there were some small areas of bubbling under the paint in the very corners of a couple of panels but it still drove like no other car I've driven. Since then I've driven a ton of German cars and owned one more 6 cylinder BMW and I honestly can't see myself in anything else short of a Porsche. My current car has done 110,000 miles and you wouldn't guess. It still drives a hundred times better than my old Subaru, Mazda or my MR2. There are no vibrations, no rattles, no clunks. The steering has the same response as it did when I first got it. Going on the Audis and VW's I've driven, I don't think that VAG cars are quite up to this, and I've not driven a Merc so I can't comment on those, but I'd trust my 1 series to do another 100,000 miles without too much maintenance. I can't say that about any of my previous cars.
All cars from all countries have the odd issue now and again, and some models are worse than others it's just that in my experience BMW's seem to handle age and mileage better than a lot of other makes, especially Japanese cars.
If I wanted a car to buy new and run into the ground, I think I'd get the best value out of a BMW.
[Edit] Also, show me a hatch from another manufacturer with an interior as nice as my 1 series, and I bet it'll be another German car.
I had no problems at all with the car. It had obviously had a hard life, and there were some small areas of bubbling under the paint in the very corners of a couple of panels but it still drove like no other car I've driven. Since then I've driven a ton of German cars and owned one more 6 cylinder BMW and I honestly can't see myself in anything else short of a Porsche. My current car has done 110,000 miles and you wouldn't guess. It still drives a hundred times better than my old Subaru, Mazda or my MR2. There are no vibrations, no rattles, no clunks. The steering has the same response as it did when I first got it. Going on the Audis and VW's I've driven, I don't think that VAG cars are quite up to this, and I've not driven a Merc so I can't comment on those, but I'd trust my 1 series to do another 100,000 miles without too much maintenance. I can't say that about any of my previous cars.
All cars from all countries have the odd issue now and again, and some models are worse than others it's just that in my experience BMW's seem to handle age and mileage better than a lot of other makes, especially Japanese cars.
If I wanted a car to buy new and run into the ground, I think I'd get the best value out of a BMW.
[Edit] Also, show me a hatch from another manufacturer with an interior as nice as my 1 series, and I bet it'll be another German car.
Edited by MarJay on Monday 20th February 19:33
LuS1fer said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Yeh, damn that EU legislation that stops buyers from asking...
Not a question of that. If we end up with import tariffs, it may be a highly relevant factor and buyers will have to actually decide if that badge is worth it.All those people managed to walk into BMW dealers and come out with an X5 or Z3, or Merc dealers for a GL, ML, R class without actually twigging they were buying a US-built car, not a German one, didn't they? (Well, OK, not that many GL or R class buyers, but ykwim)
JonChalk said:
I'll concede most of that, except the NCAP rating - that is not good enough for a brand new car & is no better that cars 15 years old.
If you have a family its not an ideal car. However with good road awareness and knowing the limitations of your car, crashing isn't exactly a likely thing. Either way a head on at 60 you're gonna die whether its a 1 star NCAP or a 5 star.Willy Nilly said:
There are no Audis, or anything else for that matter made in Czechoslovakia.
Outside of Germany, Audi produces vehicles at:Aurangabad, India since 2006
Bratislava, Slovakia, shared with Volkswagen, SEAT, Škoda and Porsche (Q7)
Brussels, Belgium, acquired from Volkswagen in 2007 (A1)
Changchun, China since 1995
Győr, Hungary, (TT and some A3 variants)
Jakarta, Indonesia since 2011
Martorell, Spain shared with SEAT and Volkswagen (Q3)
San José Chiapa, Mexico (Q5)
It's a remnant of the old bulls
t outdated British class system where everyone wants to be better than everyone else.
Recently took a trip to the Canary islands and like much of Europe most cars were a mix of old and new hatchbacks. Only saw an old BMW 3 series the whole time.
Do most people need anything more than a 5 door hatchback?
t outdated British class system where everyone wants to be better than everyone else. Recently took a trip to the Canary islands and like much of Europe most cars were a mix of old and new hatchbacks. Only saw an old BMW 3 series the whole time.
Do most people need anything more than a 5 door hatchback?
Superflow said:
If people can lease German or French at £299 per month, then most will go German, as purely down to image and the slick marketing.I drive a German car but i bought it for it's engine, not it's badge.
Surely if you were buying a car for its engine it would be Japanese or american?? unless you like 4 cylinder diesels!!!It's about time this nonsense was put to bed. I understand people prefer certain cars over others, it's perfectly reasonable. However, when did it become the norm to constantly whinge about German cars, if they as poor as some of you are making out they would be out of business. The fact that they stil make affordable RWD cars with decent engine options should be reason enough to understand the attraction? It's quite amusing how stress testing some of you are about other people's car choices.
yonex said:
It's about time this nonsense was put to bed. I understand people prefer certain cars over others, it's perfectly reasonable. However, when did it become the norm to constantly whinge about German cars, if they as poor as some of you are making out they would be out of business. The fact that they stil make affordable RWD cars with decent engine options should be reason enough to understand the attraction? It's quite amusing how stress testing some of you are about other people's car choices.
True but white FWD diesels ??????powerstroke said:
True but white FWD diesels ??????
What do you expect, it's 2017, this is what the market demands. BMW have been making the Mini for ages, would it stop me buying another M car or whatever, of course not. Why the obsession to pick fault with one make or another and not focus on the good stuff? It's all very odd.
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