2nd Jul 2021, 19:25
We have had 2: a 2017 and new Q7. Both my daughters. Excellent on the 2017 with 60k miles at trade in. I would never buy any late model BMW; a lot of warranty claims and issues. A bad pick. Audi though are really nice. I own a Porsche 991.2 Carrera Twin Turbo GTS. Very well built, and a dream to drive. The track is where you have the most fun with club members.
2nd Jul 2021, 21:37
The problem is that you purchased a very, very complex car as your first car. Like buying an older manor for your first house. Worse, Mercedes-Benz is nowhere as good (or great, even) as the ancestors which made its name so hallowed at the time. Had you bought a far simpler Mercedes (the rule is the same with any European car), like a basic 4- or 6-cylinder C-class or E-Class (and not anything with stuff like air suspension or Sensotronic brake control), your problems would have been more aligned to any modern car (usual electronic sensors, or if diesel the DPF).
3rd Jul 2021, 23:04
Many people buy old luxury cars cheap, then one major maintenance woe and it costs more to fix. Especially BMWs; the 7 series is a prime example. Keep them new for 3 or 4 years and get another.
8th Jul 2022, 06:33
The IMS bearing issues were with the Porsche 996, 997 and the Boxters/Cayman from the same era (NA engines). From 997.2 generation onwards they fixed this issue.
Also for the person who complains about the unreliability of the Mercedes-Benz S class. It is obvious he cannot afford the repairs or maintenance of a 100k Euros car.
Cheers!
8th Jul 2022, 18:00
Conflate much? The issue of whether S class Mercedes are expensive to maintain and repair has nothing to do with the ability of the owner to pay for said maintenance/repairs. Compared to more mainstream cars, they are expensive to own, period.
8th Jul 2022, 19:10
What about the guy (a few comments above) with the twin turbo Carrera? Definitely let that one go after the warranty is up. Out of pocket repairs will cost an arm and a leg.
8th Jul 2022, 23:38
It isn't about not being able to afford the "maintenance" of such an expensive car. It's that a car of that cost should be at least dependable, if normal or recommended maintenance is observed. A Lexus LS is also expensive, and surely if a component like an air conditioning compressor or gearbox solenoid breaks, it will not at all be cheap, but those parts are engineered and built well enough to not give issues for a reasonably long period of time. The older S-class generations, say, before 1992-ish (can't remember what that boxy model with double-glazed windows was called) were built like this way, durable, dependable, reliable - you bought the S-class if you could afford one, simply because they were good indeed.
9th Jul 2022, 22:09
Agree 100% with the last couple of comments. Remember, not to go off topic, but that's the main point the original reviewer was getting at - he had an ordinary VW Golf then "upgraded" to an Audi A3 and expected quality but did not get it - he got a slightly better car, but a much more expensive and problematic one. Not exactly great for the brand name or what you expect when you step up a mark.
As for the comments about the very expensive cars from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, of course their upper tier luxury saloons are very expensive to buy old or new and maintain, but again, a car that costs nearly 100K new should at least be reasonable in reliability even when older and with higher mileage.
Myself I have never had a car like that, closest I came was a BMW 5 series I had many years ago (regarded as an upper tier executive car 40 - 50K range) that gave me no end of expensive problems, so after being badly burned I went back to cheaper (but reliable) cars. Don't get me wrong, the BMW was a fantastic car, and I'm sure I was unlucky and got a bad one, but the general running costs and problems were enough to put me off buying "premium" cars for a while.
P.S - would love a Porsche 911, but totally understand that is pretty much millionaire club only ;) Remember, have fun whatever your budget allows you to drive. Good day gentlemen!
12th Jul 2022, 12:41
The Porsche 911 Twin Turbo Carrera is the way to go. Add rear axle steering, 18 way sports seats, Alcantara delete, sport steering wheel, PASM and ceramic composite brakes. I also own a torch red Corvette convertible Grand Soort manual 3LT. Power top. A coupe for safety. A slower car for top down cruising.
5th Mar 2023, 22:08
It's the European car parts industry that is to blame for most of the expenses of owning a luxury German vehicle. These companies just don't have the same quality standards as the Asian car parts companies - not that those are perfect either. Plus, for those who did wrench on their own cars, you know that Germans simply don't make simple designs (pun intended). Remove a window regulator and look inside it. It looks like a component ready to go on a space ship. Of course such complicated design has more failure points than a simpler, more robust design. Plus, it costs way more to produce. The German engineering school runs on complexity. The concept of Simplicity hasn't yet reached their land.
2nd Jul 2021, 16:29
Totally agree. They are (generally) reliable cars and wonderful when they work. But when something goes wrong... you are never looking at anything cheap, even if you know an "independent specialist" as the reviewer states.
Definitely not exclusive to this car as he also states - friend's Skoda Octavia had the injectors go bad and cost him £500. Dealer wanted more as always. Had a Ford Mondeo, and a Vauxhall Vectra and Mazda 6 that did the same. You can double that money for Audi, Mercedes, BMW and so on, if anything goes wrong on these modern diesels. DPF's are also common expensive problems. Makes you wonder if it is worth it, though modern petrol cars are getting more complex also, probably also dear to fix, though petrol engines run a little hotter, so are apparently less susceptible to these problems.