Why the UK obsession with "German" cars?
Discussion
A few years ago a relative had a sudden onset illness that required carers/rehabilitation team to visit them at home a few times a day to help with their recovery.
I visited daily to help with the day to day running of the household and keep everything going as it should be.
The ages of the carers etc were varied with some older than myself and some younger. I was in my mid 30's at the time.
At the time I tended to change my car quite frequently so had a few cars over the time.
I owned a older Mercedes C class & older BMW 3 series that both attracted a few comments that went along the lines of "who bought you that" or "how did you afford that".
The BMW seemed to attract the comments from the older people while the Mercedes attracted comments from the younger.
When I swapped the BMW for a much newer Honda all the comments stopped despite the Honda being worth the same as the Mercedes & BMW put together.
Some people don't see the car they just see the badge & the perceived quality of the badge rather than the quality of the car itself.
I will drive a car that suits my needs. If that's a Honda, Skoda or Mercedes.
I visited daily to help with the day to day running of the household and keep everything going as it should be.
The ages of the carers etc were varied with some older than myself and some younger. I was in my mid 30's at the time.
At the time I tended to change my car quite frequently so had a few cars over the time.
I owned a older Mercedes C class & older BMW 3 series that both attracted a few comments that went along the lines of "who bought you that" or "how did you afford that".
The BMW seemed to attract the comments from the older people while the Mercedes attracted comments from the younger.
When I swapped the BMW for a much newer Honda all the comments stopped despite the Honda being worth the same as the Mercedes & BMW put together.
Some people don't see the car they just see the badge & the perceived quality of the badge rather than the quality of the car itself.
I will drive a car that suits my needs. If that's a Honda, Skoda or Mercedes.
was speaking to an audi tech the other day...he says mechanically they're utter garbage in terms of quality and reliability... only drives jap stuff himself.
apparently it doesn't help that a lot of the "modern" VAG engines are in fact very old blocks, with all the new tech bolted to the outside.
apparently it doesn't help that a lot of the "modern" VAG engines are in fact very old blocks, with all the new tech bolted to the outside.
My Prospective Son in law bought a 320D Xdrive on a lease deal, Nice car. Then he left his job and went to Uni for a few years so decided to terminate it and buy a Petrol 325i Coupe E92 model. Much Prefers it despite it being a 2006 model and not 2014. Drives better. Nicer engine etc. They seem to have lost some of their charisma in the drive to dominate the market.
ChasW said:
If you had the misfortune of experiencing anything BL built during the troubled period from late 60s through to 80s then you would appreciate why foreign cars were perceived as better. German cars' reputations were, IMO, largely a result of Mercedes producing well built reliable cars. That is not to say BMW or Audi were inferior. You only had to travel around the Med and North Africa to see which marques were universally popular with taxi drivers operating in harsh environments and seemed to last for decades.
In my experience (and admittedly this doesn't go back to the 60s!) of places in North Africa, it's old Peugeots and Renaults still reluctantly plugging around, much more than anything German.designforlife said:
was speaking to an audi tech the other day...he says mechanically they're utter garbage in terms of quality and reliability... only drives jap stuff himself.
apparently it doesn't help that a lot of the "modern" VAG engines are in fact very old blocks, with all the new tech bolted to the outside.
Jap stuff has the actual reliability that the German stuff sells on but doesn't really have any more.apparently it doesn't help that a lot of the "modern" VAG engines are in fact very old blocks, with all the new tech bolted to the outside.
As for old blocks, I think that is pretty common and not a problem, its a big lump of metal and they change the materials, coatings, pistons etc, I dont think blocks are really where the development is these days.
J4CKO said:
designforlife said:
was speaking to an audi tech the other day...he says mechanically they're utter garbage in terms of quality and reliability... only drives jap stuff himself.
apparently it doesn't help that a lot of the "modern" VAG engines are in fact very old blocks, with all the new tech bolted to the outside.
Jap stuff has the actual reliability that the German stuff sells on but doesn't really have any more.apparently it doesn't help that a lot of the "modern" VAG engines are in fact very old blocks, with all the new tech bolted to the outside.
As for old blocks, I think that is pretty common and not a problem, its a big lump of metal and they change the materials, coatings, pistons etc, I dont think blocks are really where the development is these days.
For me it's things like 0-60 in +/- 4 seconds (though 50-70 is the deal breaker) with enough room for two large dogs in the back, an extremely comfortable ride and 4 wheel drive.
Or a mid engined V8 with off the scale grip and the best manual box I've ever driven.
...amongst many other things.
I should also point out that I have bought 7 new cars built in the UK in the past 16 years. (Caterham, Aston, RR) Not a German fanboy!
There are 'some' good reasons to buy German.
Build me an RS6 beater in the UK and I'll buy it.
Or a mid engined V8 with off the scale grip and the best manual box I've ever driven.
...amongst many other things.
I should also point out that I have bought 7 new cars built in the UK in the past 16 years. (Caterham, Aston, RR) Not a German fanboy!
There are 'some' good reasons to buy German.
Build me an RS6 beater in the UK and I'll buy it.
Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 16th February 12:41
Agent XXX said:
People that think german cars are of a 'superior quality' to others are deluded t*ats
I have been driving company cars for over 30 years, doing anything up to 80,000 miles per year when I was younger.From memory I have had, and all for around three years at a time, Ford, Peugeot, Vauxhall, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Nissan, Saab, and Volvo.
Looked on as an overall package, based on reliability, build quality, resale value, and whether I actually like the look of the thing, my last cars, and my current car have been Audi.
Based on my personal experience of them, I think that German cars are of a superior quality, not to all, but to most.
I do not know you, as you also do not know me, but I would like to thank you for calling me a deluded t
t. I hope it made you feel good.btom said:
Image/perceived quality appears to be all and the Germans have very cleverly ridden the zeitgeist focusing on handling when that was meant to matter in the 90s/00s and now on soft plastics and infotainment systems.
Yep and nearly all buyers can't tell the difference between perceived quality and real quality and the fact they're not remotely related to one another. It's fair to say the public have been hoodwinked into thinking they're buying real quality. I've worked in the auto industry for nearly 40 years and German "quality" is no better generally than anyone else's but their marketing is way superior. Another factor is German cars are artificially cheap for what they are. The Euro has seen to this, and if it were to collapse tomorrow, you wouldn't be able to afford a new German car.
Adenauer said:
I have been driving company cars for over 30 years, doing anything up to 80,000 miles per year when I was younger.
From memory I have had, and all for around three years at a time, Ford, Peugeot, Vauxhall, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Nissan, Saab, and Volvo.
Looked on as an overall package, based on reliability, build quality, resale value, and whether I actually like the look of the thing, my last cars, and my current car have been Audi.
Based on my personal experience of them, I think that German cars are of a superior quality, not to all, but to most.
I do not know you, as you also do not know me, but I would like to thank you for calling me a deluded tt. I hope it made you feel good.
You like the look of Audis?From memory I have had, and all for around three years at a time, Ford, Peugeot, Vauxhall, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Nissan, Saab, and Volvo.
Looked on as an overall package, based on reliability, build quality, resale value, and whether I actually like the look of the thing, my last cars, and my current car have been Audi.
Based on my personal experience of them, I think that German cars are of a superior quality, not to all, but to most.
I do not know you, as you also do not know me, but I would like to thank you for calling me a deluded t
t. I hope it made you feel good.Bet yer missus is a stunner
No, this is why people think German cars are better...........
'Aspiration........raised'
Nealio said:
ChasW said:
If you had the misfortune of experiencing anything BL built during the troubled period from late 60s through to 80s then you would appreciate why foreign cars were perceived as better. German cars' reputations were, IMO, largely a result of Mercedes producing well built reliable cars. That is not to say BMW or Audi were inferior. You only had to travel around the Med and North Africa to see which marques were universally popular with taxi drivers operating in harsh environments and seemed to last for decades.
In my experience (and admittedly this doesn't go back to the 60s!) of places in North Africa, it's old Peugeots and Renaults still reluctantly plugging around, much more than anything German.white_goodman said:
It's something that often comes up in other threads but it seems that every man and his dog wants a new VW/Audi/BMW/Mercedes ..
That may be your perception; speaking for myself it's not the case - there's five cars in the family fleet at the moment - two Italian (Fiat), one American (Jeep) and two Japanese (Toyota/Lexus).I've no desire to own a 'German' car - I wouldn't rule them out, but none of them fitted the brief that we had for the cars at the time.
NAS said:
I am not British so meant what I said when I said that I find it interesting.
Ford (in Europe) and Vauxhall are German and have been for a very long time. On the continent, they are seen as German. Not in the UK. I didn't know they were actively marketed as British, and have been reading UK (CAR, Top gear, EVO etc.) magazines for the last 20 years. I don't recall a specific reference in any ad to them being British.
As a Brit I'd certainly never have considered them to be British. It's odd however that I don't really associate them with a specific country the way I would with say BMW or Crysler, despite Vauxhall actually having been a British company originally. Ford (in Europe) and Vauxhall are German and have been for a very long time. On the continent, they are seen as German. Not in the UK. I didn't know they were actively marketed as British, and have been reading UK (CAR, Top gear, EVO etc.) magazines for the last 20 years. I don't recall a specific reference in any ad to them being British.
C70R said:
TooMany2cvs said:
C70R said:
When the 'best of British' in the early 90s represented a Cavalier or Sierra
The equivalent Germans were better built and more reliable by far than their Brit counterparts
But the Ascona/Vectra and Sierra _were_ German, as were the Astra/Kadett and Escort.The equivalent Germans were better built and more reliable by far than their Brit counterparts
RizzoTheRat said:
the way I would with say ... Crysler
Do you mean the current Dutch-Italian-American company, the '90s German-American company, or the '70s Franco-British-American company...?RizzoTheRat said:
despite Vauxhall actually having been a British company originally.
But not really since the 1920s, and not one bit since the early '70s.Edited by TooMany2cvs on Thursday 16th February 13:39
Monkeylegend said:
Dog Star said:
Monkeylegend said:
(Mercedes)... R230 .... lack of depreciation.
Oh god, my sides are splitting
Have some more....
I bought a 5 year old MKII Golf back in the day. It wasn't a bad car, but the MB2 Civic that replaced it was head a shoulders the better car. The Golf wasn't in the same league.
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