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Cars: Audi, BMW, Mercedes

Bas V

Bas V

pfm Member
I just returned from a great holiday in France. Unfortunately this has been the the third year in a row that my Volvo (V60 D6) broke down while in another country. So it has to go. But after driving Volvo for over 10 years I wonder where I should go. How reliable are (petrol) cars from the well known German brands; any good or bad experiences? Looking at A4, 3 and C from around 2017.
 
We've go several Mercedes currently (A-class, C-class and SLK) and no problems so far. Prior to that we had a C-class Coupe which had issues with the gearbox but it was a good few years old at that point. We also had a BMW 1 class that was pretty much problem free, and prior to that we had an A4 that had a few problems but wasn't too bad. My main car is a C-class estate and I like that a lot.

The main difference between them was that the Audi dealers were awful, the BMW dealers were pretty good but the Mercedes dealers have been a good bit better.
 
There’s so much tech in cars now that they’ll all fail at some point. Get one with the least electronics is my advice if you want a car that’s reliable out of warranty. I wouldn’t have thought a Volvo would be any worse or better than the German trio. My car has all sorts of radar and gizmos…a minor front end shunt could write it off.
 
I’ve had all the German brands. I now only buy Japanese made cars (except my VW California where I don’t have much choice). There is a big difference between flashy looks and touchy feely dashboards and underlying levels of engineering and build quality which provide reliability.
 
Volvo were the most reliable for me of all the brands. But then my last Volvo was 2008. The only reason I moved away was cos they stopped doing the petrol T5. It did 235000 miles and never let me down.
 
MVV said:
Volvo were the most reliable for me of all the brands. But then my last Volvo was 2008. The only reason I moved away was cos they stopped doing the petrol T5. It did 235000 miles and never let me down.
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Since 2010 they’ve been owned by the Chinese Geely group.
 
Ponty said:
I’ve had all the German brands. I now only buy Japanese made cars (except my VW California where I don’t have much choice). There is a big difference between flashy looks and touchy feely dashboards and underlying levels of engineering and build quality which provide reliability.
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I've gone the other way - used to mainly have Honda's (and still do for motorbikes) but haven't had one of those for a few years now. They were all (a couple of Accords, a couple of Jazz's and a a Civic) great for reliability but the Mercedes are much nicer to drive and own in my experience.

The best way to appreciate the reliability of any of the German or Japanese brands is to own a Ford for a while. We've had a few, most with serious reliability issues (my sons Fiesta, while nice to drive, is on its 3rd gearbox and our V6 Mondeo was an absolute nightmare - although also a nice car to drive) although the biggest difference is just how bad the Ford dealers are (and I've tried a few).

I've never owned a Volvo though although I did get close to picking a 240 Estate as a company car many, many years ago. I was probably put off them by driving a friends 340 a few times - that was truly awful.
 
@Bas V

Do you have any well regarded specialists for any of these makes near you? I wouldn’t want to be relying on the main dealers unless you’re lucky to a decent one near you. That would be a main factor in my choice. I’ve three Merc specialists near to me. Two are excellent, one used to be but has now learned how charge big money while cutting corners. It really matters.
 
I really don’t like the looks of Japanese cars, so that’s a no-go.

Service of my Volvo is absolute premium. It’s just the reliability of my car is horrible…
 
I've owned several brands.

Most reliable have been Japanese.

Nowadays, you could easily consider Korean brands.

What's your budget OP?

The worst for reliability have been Italian.

German cars in the middle. When I sell my VW, I'll be returning to Japanese. Maybe even Lexus (can't stand the CVT transmission though) or Infiniti. For me, I'd want a automatic and petrol.
 
Bas V said:
I really don’t like the looks of Japanese cars, so that’s a no-go.
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I’m the same. And the interiors are a real turn off for me too. Or, once a car that I can like falls into my budget, it has also fallen into drug dealer/gangsta territory.
 
BMW 1 series presently. 2.0 litre petrol version. No problems and a nice drive. We’ve had BMW’s over the years since my first 3 series in 1988. Only bad one was a 2011 120D that at 86k miles dropped an engine. A known fault with a particular series of engine that since supposedly has been redesigned.
 
The models you mention are very important to those companies so will generally be pretty reliable.
No comparison to Japanese IMO for a driving experience and safety.
Tony's point about dealers/service could decide which of the 3.
 
I've had several from Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Mixed experiences.

The most reliable were the most complex, Audi Quattros. Nothing, literally nothing, went wrong with 4 of them.
The worst failure was an Audi A4, cam chain failure after 18 months. Catastrophic!
The most surprising fault was a BMW where something fell off inside the gearbox/ bell housing, less than a month old.
The most satisfying have been Mercs. 2 minor faults with 4 C class estates. Current one, C200 with all the bells and whistles is just terrific.
The most fun was a loan car, BMW330i last summer. A month of joy.

Not a fan of Japanese, despite admiration of their build quality. A Lexus is a Toyota in a posh frock:)
Korean cars have come on in leaps and bounds. Hyundai would be worthy of serious consideration. i40 estate.
 
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