sir_eccles

I have a mechanic friend locally, says he really loves his customers who have VWs. His kids are going to college.

Michael

I disagree with that. Japanese and European cars are made in the US to the same quality as in their home country. That is why Japanese and some European cars are rated highly all around the world but if you look at the previous link, the best VW did for quality in the UK was a rank of 22 and only 2 VWs were in the top 100.

Bob

I disagree with that. Having temped as a welder for a parts company that made parts for a couple of Japanese manufacturers in the UK that made parts for the EU and the US market.

The US parts had lower tolerances before parts were either meant to be scrapped outright or be repaired before getting shipped and there were differences in materials used.

These were wheel arm type parts, steering columns, fuel tanks and exhaust systems.

Michael

If the European parts for Japanese cars are of a higher quality than parts made for Japanese cars for the US market and Japanese cars for the US market are fairly problem free for 200,000+ miles and rated for quality at or near the top in almost every country, why don't Europeans buy very many Japanese cars since they are so superior to cars made for America?

Also it doesn't make much sense since if it was discovered that inferior parts were put in American cars, the chances of lawsuits are great if accidents occur and the reputation of Japanese cars along with sales will fall significantly if the public finds out.

S Folinsky

On VW's:

FWIW, the name "Variant" has never been used in the US. Via Google and Wikipedia, it appears that the Type III sold as the "Squareback" in the US was the Variant in the UK. I am the owner of a new TDI SportWagen which is sold as a "Jetta" in the US, but it is called the "Golf Variant" in Canada and elsewhere.

The place of manufacture sticker on the car shows the engine and transmission as being from Germany with the assembly in Mexico. The Golf's and Jetta's are also assembled in Puebla. Took a look at the "NMS" Passat which is manufactured in Tennessee. But again the TDI engines and transmissions are German.

I have often rented cars and over the past few years, the US name plate cars have improved dramatically. I have not been impressed with the Japanese name plates.

BTW, most cars have a steering wheel sensor which mechanics have named the "yo-yo" after the toy. A GM yo-yo is under $100. Well, the Beemer's yo-yo went bad. BMW does not stock them in the US. Special order from Germany to be air-expressed, cash-up-front please. Cost? Would you believe $600?.

Michael

BMW, Mercedes, and VW use thin rotors and according to the manufacturer's manual, the rotors have to be replaced when the brake pads are replaced. Cost $1,500 instead of typically $200-$400 for most cars.

When the repair bill is only $600 for my BMW, I feel very fortunate.

S Folinsky

Funny, replaced the pads yesterday and the rotors were fine. The cost for parts and labor was $600. You are correct that the rotors cannot be turned. About every three set of pads, the rotors have to be replaced, but that is under a $1000.

I avoid dealer service like the plague.

Nutek

This ++ (And I DO dealer service).

Michael

I quoted the dealer cost. Then I went searching for another place (Big O) and they said the same thing but would use OEM parts for $1,200. I said the rotors don't need to be replaced and he said that BMW requires rotors to be replaced but as I continued to argue, he showed me a very slight groove on the front rotors but when I checked the rear rotors, there wasn't any groove. I then told him to only replace the front rotors and he refused until I said I was going somewhere else and then he said he'd replace only the front rotors for a total price of $900.

Before I had the BMW, I had a Toyota Supra and a Nissan 300ZX and never paid over $200 to replace the brakes. So it appears that even OEM pads plus replacement for the BMW 3030CI is very expensive.

markonline1

Because the majority of them are boring snore wagons!

Michael

No more boring than the Fiats, Peugeots, or Citrons.

Pulaski

Fiats are not at all boring, ..... they require constant attention and visits to the service garage to keep them running, and there's the ongoing excitement of trying to work out if you can get to your destination without the assistance of a tow truck!

In fairness I will admit to owning an Alfa 164 previously, a 3litre V6, but only the 12v version. It was I think the "nicest" car I have owned so far. It was smooth, comfortable and handled very nicely, and accelerated very well, even up steep hills. It had a rebuilt engine and gearbox, so those never gave me any problem, but it developed a hydraulic leak, which stopped the clutch working, so it had to be carried to the shop for repairs. I also "invested" £1,000 in labour to have the dash removed to enable the AC system to be "unblocked" - apparently there was a broken valve that was stopping all airflow.
We're just coming up on 200,000 miles since we had the brake pads replaced on our Accord. About two years (50,000 miles) ago we were "advised" that the pads were going to need replacing "soon", but the Accord has been through two state inspections and four x 10,000 mile services since then, and the state of the brake pads hasn't even been mentioned recently.

markonline1

I would say all three of those manufacturers produce cars that are far more entertaining to drive than the equivalent Honda. Those 3 brands, shitroen especially, are pretty poor on the reliability though (although I've heard Fiat are far better than they used to be).

markonline1

I thought it was impossible to fail the driving test over here, especially at the Seaside office where I took my test where your skills are tested by driving a couple of blocks of quiet residential roads, but apparently not!
Seaside DMV driving test ends with crash | Local News - Home

Pulaski

So what else did he do wrong, apart from the crash, to cause him to be failed? Surely you can't be failed for just making one mistake?