Quote:
Originally Posted by jlc45
Crazy German engineering. I believe the German approach is to make everything as complicated as possible. If you compare maintenance tasks on a "Japanese" vehicle to similar tasks on a BMW, you will probably agree. The Japanese seem to take the more elegant approach. I can change the plugs on my V6 3.5L Acura TL in ten minutes. (Also a very sweet running engine.) I once took out the transmission and clutch on a Plymouth Sapporro (made in Japan) in 10 minutes. (On a hoist, I admit! And RWD.)
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I've been dealing with German cars for decades. The German see themselves as master mechanics who carefully disassemble whatever thing they are working on and lay the parts out on a white sheet of paper. They also wear white uniforms in a germ free sanitary environment!
They are obsessed with maintenance insisting that it be done on a very strict schedule. They'd like to give their American owners a severe flogging for not adhering to it.
German vehicle do have some admirable qualities compared to other countries. BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes have excellent coach work. I have cars decades old without a squeak or rattle.
The Germans are also very brilliant engineers due to their excellent technical universities. The mechanical systems of engines and drive trains used in their vehicles are very sophisticated and complex demonstrating their engineering prowess.
But they fall short in areas that the Japanese exceed at. Things happen that never happen in Jap cars or even American cars. Someone on the forum mentioned they were having problems with the second gear synchronizer. In 1970 when I finished my doctorate, I rewarded myself with a 2002! Guess what I had trouble with?
Oil leaks, mechanical problems, electronic or electrical disaster can often be traced to poor quality control and shoddy parts. Some of these things would be a little easier to swallow if it weren't for the lofty price of these cars. What would be inexpensive repairs on other cars, often have frightening prices on German rides.
These cars frustrate owners in other ways. For example, repairing the leak on my DCT involved a $5 gasket but 10 hours of labor. Nearly all manufacturers, except the Germans, today build engines, transmissions, and 3rd members that don't leak oil.
