Just heard this on the radio.

Guess what country's cars come bottom of the reliability tables?

I guessed France........it's Germany.

So much for the myth of German engineering.

 

God i hate it when i hear "its german s its reliable"

No car is more reliable than any other car regardless of which country comes from!! It just depends on how its been looked after.

I work in a bodyshop and have owned 30+ cars of all varietys and i stand by that statement!

 

I think it's fair to say Jap cars are more reliable than most.

Older Kraut stuff was always pretty decent but the post 2000 stuff is generally nowhere near as good as they once were.

 

I remember reading somewhere a few weeks ago the Audi Rs6 was the least reliable

 

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/565...erman-clunkers

 

My MK7 Golf GTI was sh1te. Sold it with 12 months. Gearbox issues, and Entertainment system with a mind of it's own.

 

Most reliable car I've ever owned was a MK2 Polo. Closely followed by a N13 Sunny.

80's cars are more reliable when cared for. So long as the tin worm doesn't eat them first. However that was then this is now....rust would be the main demise of most stuff from the 80's. Its electronic and mechanical failure that makes cars from 2000 onwards uneconomical to repair.

Nissan tax killed the sunny, Nissan parts both genuine and non-genuine, even second hand are the most expensive of all directly comparable makes. A dozing taxi driver killed the Polo That Polo was rat-look before the trend even existed...it'd be worth a fortune to some Vdub-hipster fanatic.

 

My old e36 B.M.W. was the most reliable motor I owned,went to France and back on numerous occasions it was only replaced because the rear arches collapsed.
Don't know much about the new German stuff,i hear Merc are pretty decent.

 

They say the German cars suffered a drop in quality post unification in the 90's

So best would be a late 80's MK2 Golf 16v, or the BMW 325i (with sports pack)

 

Was it Opel did them down?
Or Vauxhall as you know it.

 

LOL, possible. I'd have to look at the figures in detail.

But I DO know that the old "If only all things were as reliable as a Volkswagen" adverts are no longer true

 

you must not have owned Lada

 

True say, wouldnt want to either

 

My daily driver is a Merc CLK 320, and it has never missed a beat in 4 years of ownership. I'm probably risking the engine exploding by saying so.

 

Most reliable car I've had is the MK1 Seat Leon FR+tdi. Never missed a beat and apart from oil servicing, cam belt and tyres, It never needed anything replacing. Had 2 of them now and both were brilliant. The only expense was the dual mass flywheel...that is expensive when they wear out.

Worst one was E46 320cd m sport. That thing constantly had problems. Beautiful car and very nice to drive but very expensive to fix.

 

Wonder where Lotus are on the list...?

 

Had a Renault 19 16v for a few years which had a good hammering. We also It never missed a beat. Worst car I had for reliability was my Astra GTe which I got rid of after a year as it was so much trouble.

Driven SEAT's for passed 7 years and they have a 100% reliabilty record.

 

I suppose it really depends on what you deem as reliable

once a car is out of the warranty period - anything that starts and drives (safely) from A to B is reliable in my eyes

 

Worst for me was a MkIII Escort.........sadly, finances dictated it was also the car we kept the longest, then.

Most reliable: Citroen Xantia. Yep...really.

 

Have to say, 3.5 years with my Boxster didn't see me going to the dealer with any issues.

Alpina - new DMF, clutch and steering column within 12 months of being new.
911 Turbo - cost a fortune in repairs in 2 years.

 

my brother swore by them - would pick them up from Ebay (collapse suspension usually) an easy fix if you know how

and ran several of them for years - very comfy capable cars

 

I'd love to swap my EJ20 for a PD130 if the conversion was viable.

 

Superb tow car too.

 

yeah, in fact he used to use it to ferry his Firebird around for track days

 

BMW 2002 - Bullet proof .
Didn't miss a beat during the winter of 1979 - Then took it to Oz , again never missed a beat in 40 c heat.
Regularly used to drive Geraldton to Perth - 460 kms in circa 3 1/2 hours
I sold it to buy a pile of Ford ****e - Telstra .
Then bought more Ford ****e Fairmont Ghia

 

VW Corrado - Owned 13 years - Absolutely f**king dreadful reliability
Skoda Octavia - Owned 8 years - Very poor
Skoda Fabia - Owned 9 years - Very poor
VW Polo - (Wife) Owned 4 years - Poor
Ford Sierra - Owned 4 years (190k miles) - Very good
Honda Civic - Owned 4 years - Excellent
Subaru Impreza - Owned 3 years - Excellent

Plus a few others here and there

My belief is that German accountants have German engineers and designers by the *****. Their cars are designed to be very satisfying for 3 years to ensure repeat new purchases and a steady flow onto the used market. From 4 years old onwards they start to disintegrate, ensuring a plentiful revenue stream for the rest of its life. The last thing Wolfsburg wants is the automotive equivilent of the ever-lasting light bulb !

 

Good point.

 

Strange that point is being made as I believe it was Audi that first started manufacturing for an exact service life of their car parts and engineering parts that would fail just out of warrantee.

That said I caned the life out of my Audi for 4yrs and apart from a 20 quid water pump it was faultless, but that was 30yrs ago.

 

they say that this can be traced back to the early 90 - when the engineering teams would design the car and tell the accountants what to sell it for

now, as you say, the other way around

apparently the way to tell is how the ashtray opened - pre early nineties the mechanism was a work of art - with sublime damping as it silently opened

now - click bang open