The main issue is the use of cheap materials, lots of failure-prone plastic engine components which should be metal

In the past German cars build by engineers, now by accountant.

As someone who worked on CNC production in Bosnia. I can tell you our main export was German car manufacturers. So when someone tells you "German quality", theres a high chance your most reliable parts were made by some dudes in bosnia and not germans 😂

This video doesn't really say anything, does it?

The problem is predatory planned obsolescence engineering. Their cars are engineered to break down after the warranty ends. I will never buy another German car. Paid $1500 to replace a $50 part because so many other parts had to be removed to get to the plastic part.

Such a shame. German made was synonymous with quality. My family, and myself, have owned quite a few over the last 50 years. VW, Audi, Mercedes and BMW... we've had them all. These days, if you look up the driveway at any of our houses, you'll see Honda, Toyota and Mazda. No, they don't have the dynamic appeal of our old German cars, but they are reliable to a fault and ridiculously affordable to own and service. By the way, none of us are what you would consider "poor", either. But we all appreciate value for money, and German car manufacturers can no longer fulfil that requirement.

Recently had to change the battery on my 2016 Mazda 6. A friend stopped by and appeared shocked that I was replacing it by myself. He said "I guess you got the code from the dealership" "What code?" I asked.. He went on to explain that both of his Audis required a "special code" to the ECU in order to recognize the new battery. He was very surprised when my Mazda started right up after fitting the new battery. I'm a big fan of the overall simplicity of Japanese motors. Hope they stay that way and don't follow the footsteps of the Germans

German here. Take my advice and buy Japanese cars.

It's not just cars, all manufacturing these days is done with the mindset of shareholder uber alles. Back when companies were making quality products they were generally run by engineers who put the product first as opposed to job hopping BS artists with MBAs who parachute in to high powered positions, cut costs and sell the family silver to increase dividends and then move on to the next victim. A brand used to mean something - nowadays all a brand is is a marketing tool. Its completely unsustainable and its going to come crashing down one of these days.

My dad tells me the stories of when Mercedes quality and reliability was second to none back in the 80s. Now he doesn't even wanna look at a Mercedes any more. I am buying the Japanese Mercedes (Lexus) soon for its reliability and quality.

Old Mercedes Benz, especially those with diesel engines, were ridiculously durable.

My mother bought 2021 vw tiguan, in 2 year use engine vibrating harder than usual, when checked at the dealershop they said the engine mounting was need to be replaced I'm very confused because it damaged without the vehicle ever in accident

I can't believe Mercedes dropped so far behind Lexus these days, it wasn't like this in the 90s

My friends auto repair shop is full of mostly BMWs, then MB, then Audi. Over the past 20 years, they are DESIGNED ON PURPOSE to fail after 4 years and 60,000 miles. They make a lot of money in repairs. They are for lease only for the smart person. Owning them as a status symbol is a joke. Foolish purchase.

Every time I redline my brand new VW Arteon, the engine area starts to smell of melted plastic! You can smell it outside of the car..

Porsche: Well im still standing like i ever did. Looking like a true survivor feeling like a little kid.

They love using plastic, especially in the engine areas where heat cycles make it prone to failure.

It is absolute planned obsolescence. For example, Audi, you have to change the main engine chain every 100 000km or so. Where is the chain? At the back of the engine. So you have to take everything out to get to it every 100 000km. Where was the chain before in these cars? At the front of the engine so that you can remove it without taking the engine out.

My neighbour bought brand new Audi A8 for 130 000€ and after 2 months, when he put gas pedal on the floor to try the acceleration, the half axle cracked !!! What you think about this?

Why has DW video quality... gone bad? Pretty superficial journalism here, fits well with the subject. Companies just want more margin or worse products... Unfortunately this is the trend.

Overconfidence killed them.

They have been stagnant for too long

I imagine the cost of repairing things when something does go wrong is a factor as well. The air suspension on my parents E Class wagon went bang recently and it was replaced under warranty for over £1000

What AMG car is used in the thumbnail?

I have a 2024 GLS Benz wagon sitting in my garage with 2100 miles and a check engine lamp ( dealership said software issues and emission issues). I also have a 2011 BMW 335i with 70,000 sitting in my garage undriveable because to change the $18 abs sensor this car requires a $4,000 front axle replacement, since the sensor plug (something that is regularly serviced on all cars) is anchored to the axle by design on this car. In addition the Bmw has been leaking oil from cheap $15 rubber seals that require close to $3000 in replacement costs. In addition to this the 2G onboard telephone has malfunctioned and keeps calling 911 every time the car is turned on. This is an unknown cost as my dealership has no resolution since 2G technology is absolute and cannot be serviced or removed from the car. In addition to that all these issues (except the oil leak) have set off the check engine lamp which voids the car from passing inspection. I'm the second owner of the car from a certified CPO purchase and the car has always had proper servicing done timely at my local bmw dealership thru the extended warranty and about $8000 spent since 2017 when the warranty expired (water pump x 2, brakes, oil seals x 2, fan belts and pulleys x 3, coolant hose, coolant tank, washer fluid tank, key fob, battery x 2, fuses, daytime running lamps x 2, there more....). Even with careful ownership and money my BMW 335i became undriveable. The car dealerships make cars to last 3 years/40k miles tops before you will need to replace it

The last German vehicles I owned were the MB 83 240D and a GD300. After keeping both for close to twenty years, I never purchased another German vehicle ever. Their philosophy changed drastically from nineties, I switched to Japanese vehicles, namely Toyota and Honda and have never looked back.

It's a shame to see the quality of German cars fall so far. The Mercedes-Benz cars my parents purchased in the late 80s and 90s were so well built, so well engineered and reliable. I wouldn't even consider a German car these days due to the poor reliability/build quality. Once they get over 100K miles, they become money pits. I had a friend by a late 2000s BMW he bought for $12,000 with 100K miles that he spent another $12,000 on repairs to keep it going before having it towed to the junkyard.

Double overhead cam is not enough. You have to put 3 or 4 cams per cylinder bank to increase the probability of belt/chain failure. AND make sure to make them interference engines so that the repair price will be so high that the owner will be forced to scrap the car and buy another consumer trap.

I wouldn’t read to far into Consumer Reports. They listed Mini as high in reliability when in fact they are made by BMW with BMW parts so those “surveys” are flawed and have a lot of bias. Also, Americans and Germans are very different when it comes to vehicle maintenance.

Company owners greed, putting profits first, short-term scope of management caring only for bonuses, no long term reputation building.

I think it’s a combination between using plastic and making things complicated just for the sake of it, even if it’s not really needed. It may make things more ‘refined’, but is a major headache when something does break or fail down the road.

They're designed to fail and to keep failing in a cascade starting around the warranty period ending. This is confirmed with BMW engineers I have spoken to and my own experience. I used to be a massive BMW fan. I owned a dozen of their cars. That was ten years ago. Never again.

Here in the USA, VW has just replaced the old Mk7 Golf with the more 'electronified' Mk8. To say that the new one has been a disaster is generous. I had my daughter buy one of the last Mk7's deliberately due to this- we've been down this road with every new Golf since the Mk3 replaced the Mk2.

In 2010, I made a decision that I thought would fulfill a dream of mine: owning a Volkswagen GTi. This car, a symbol of aspiration and desire, was chosen over the Civic Type R FD2, despite their similar price tags in my country. It was not just a car to me; it was a dream realized, a testament to hard work and dedication. However, this dream soon turned into a costly nightmare. Within just four years, I faced a slew of issues: premature oil leaks, electrical failures, an intake manifold leak, water pump failure, and prohibitively expensive replacements. These problems forced me to sell the car, a decision that weighed heavily on my heart. A decade has passed since then, and the landscape has drastically changed. Volkswagen vehicles have become a rare sight on the roads in my area, tarnished by a reputation so damaged that used car dealers are wary of accepting them, if they do at all. In stark contrast, the Civic Type R FD2 has ascended to legendary status worldwide, a testament to its enduring appeal and reliability. The infamous Dieselgate scandal further exposed Volkswagen, revealing a startling lack of integrity at the heart of the manufacturer. This was not just a matter of reliability or the normal wear and tear one might expect from owning a car. It was a matter of principle. To discover that a company could act with such disregard for ethics, transparency, and environmental responsibility was deeply disheartening. The essence of this experience transcends the personal. It serves as a powerful reminder to the world of the paramount importance of integrity in business. Companies wield significant influence over our lives, our dreams, and the health of our planet. When they choose to betray the trust of consumers and the broader community, they do more than fail on a corporate level; they undermine the very fabric of ethical responsibility. Let this be a call to action: to demand better, to hold corporations accountable, and to support businesses that prioritize ethical practices, transparency, and integrity. It's about more than just cars-it's about the values we champion in our communities and the legacy we leave for future generations. Shame on Volkswagen and any entity that forsakes its moral and ethical obligations. Let us learn from these mistakes and strive for a future where integrity is not just expected, but demanded.

As someone that owns a 2020 BMW 330i I can attest to this literally had replace the instrumental cluster due to a software issue and a water pump, coolant hose and a few other things because cheaper materials were used it sucks

The thing that I realised when I bought my Audi RS5 2012, that I thought I'm paying a premium amount of money for a reliable car that would save me enough in the maintenance side of ownership. But, it turned out it wasn't any different than any other car brand, actually it was worst. I lost so much on maintenance that I just couldn't justify the initial price tag. It was a rip off. Now I'm happy with a Korean, Chinese or Japanese car that is a fraction of the price without the unnecessary horse power, yet it will for sure be more reliable.

I alternate my daily driving between my 1981 280E and 240D. Original engines and transmissions. Simple and reliable. Mercedes quality died in the mid 80s.

It appears the Germans just figured out what we have known since the 2000's.

I had an MB station wagon and it was a nightmare 1. Persistent oil leaks 2. Turbocharger failed 3. Intercooler failed 4. Intake manifold had to be replaced 5. Air suspension failed on three wheels 6. Struts in passenger side wheel needed replacement 7. Radar failed and needed replacement, weirdly shutting down all electronics 8. Mystery electrical failure, shop replaced alternator, battery and some boards 9. Connecting rod broke, scrapping the engine.

which music is being played in the background please tell me

German cars have an awful reliability reputation here in the US. BMW has apparently learned their lesson but it will take another 20 years for them to recover. BMWs use of plastic parts for powertrains, Mercedes of over complicated electronics ....Volkswagen cheating ...i can go on an on. I have had Acura and Lexus brands for years and they are head and shoulders above the germans.

Dieselgate and a dead end focus on Crossovers and SUVs for profit. Decades of poor innovation and contempt from greedy executives

In my neck of the woods its always been known to get rid of your German car right before the warranty expires.

From Nevada. I own and drive 4 vehicles. 2018 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L V8 Crew Cab color: Cement, 2022 Lexus GX 460 4.6L V8 in Nightfall Mica Blue, 2022 Toyota RAV4 XLE Hybrid in Silver, 2023 Toyota RAV4 SE Hybrid in Cavalry Blue. The Lexus GX460 and two Toyota RAV4 Hybrids are built in Japan. The Toyota Tundra made in USA. I always use the highest octane top tier gasoline in all my vehicles. All my vehicles run perfect never have any issues.🤣🤣🤣

Easy: cars are no longer build by engineers, instead controllers have their thumb on everything. We know what we should do, but we aren’t allowed to. The freedom to engineer what’s sensible was reduced bit by bit, and now it’s meetings over meetings how to cut cost or how to „optimize“ even more. At one point this „optimizing“ cut into the longevity, and today it’s not only cut, it’s sliced. We know how to build cars and other things. We just aren’t allowed to do so. Regards from Germany. (i think i sounded harsher than i wanted to, but I’m a bit frustrated. Some cars are still great, and the design choices on the engineering side are often very innovative. I still drive one of our cars, and it’s even a fully electric one. Very reliable, nearly no maintenance necessary - a thing the BWL guys strongly dislike - if we get the chance to do better, to decide engineering topics on the engineering side, the cars will be what they were, and people would appreciate that, i think. Maybe it would be a little bit less profitable for the shareholders, but it the right thing to do - for the reputation and for the people driving and loving the cars!)

In the mid 2000s I did allot of business all over Germany for several years on behalf of fleets who owned 100,000s of vehicles and were trying to reduce their perennial expenditure on replacement parts. Seeing the sheer size of the VW OE Teile / Original Parts building at Baunatal, Kassel was a revelation to me. I realised then that these cars were DESIGNED to fail unlike 1960s/70s/80s/90s German cars that were absolutely rock solid and 100% reliable. Similar to GM in the USA, when the accountants overruled the engineers then the end product and ultimately the Customer suffers. People will only tolerate so many failures. Every single brand new German car I owned had major parts failures. Just go back to making reliable and dependable machines - like the Japanese do to this day - and some customers may come back.

As someone who has a german car currently and a german car previously, I think the main issues seem to be rather baffling over-engineering that leads to ridiculous requirements for simple maintenance and repairs, an overemphasis on bells and whistles, but the main back-breaker for many will be the cost of replacement parts, unless you have some top of the line performance model like an M5 or AMG 65, it's very hard to justify why you're paying 2-3x for simple parts like coil packs over Japanese, Korean, and even American models.

If you want to own the car for 5+ years, or want to get a luxury used car! Get yourself a Lexus

I like that Audi ranks higher than Volkswagen, when they use the same parts 🤣

Hasn't affected my 1999 Audi S8. She still going nicely.

A merc guy explained it, saying “they used to build them and then price them, now it’s the opposite and quality has suffered” Edit: This is my last MB ever. I’m still under warranty but I’m purging it as soon as the warranties are close to expiration.

Had a 2017 A4 65000km Mechanically leaked coolant, oil, transmission fluid. No experts could fix it all they recommended was replacing everything.

This video offers 0 insight. Just showing some old clips and a couple of sentences from selected invidivuals

The Japanese embraced quality taught to them by Dr. Deming and continue to live by it (mostly). The German makers never really did and they have paid the price for their lack of vision.

JDPower has a conflict of interests between their surveys and their consulting part of the business working with manufacturers, so I don't know why you use them as source of information to quantify reliability.

Most German brands are still trading on their historical prestige and quality. Whereas in reality many of them are just overpriced for what they are and have very little in common with their esteemed predecessors (e.g. 1 series or A class these days compared to the quality RWD sedans of yesteryear). But people are vain and most know little about cars and will continue to lease/buy them on finance to keep up with the Joneses.

Before Dieselgate, German carmakers like VW were profiting significantly from diesel vehicles. However, as emission regulations tightened, they faced challenges and were resistant to considering alternative solutions like hybrids, despite Toyota's success with the Prius. The manipulation of emission tests was never going to be sustainable, and expecting it to go undetected indefinitely was idiotic. After 2016, while quality remained strong, weight issues led to some compromises as more and more assistance systems came into use. I'd suggest that a more balanced strategy, including full hybrids alongside electric vehicles, could have been a better approach for VW, Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche and would have made for a smoother transition. Instead, they've gone all-in on EVs even though the infrastructure isn't there.

One thing hasn't changed though. Spare parts prices are still obscene.

🖐 agree with video on MB quality decline. We have a 2022 GLE350 that has been ok but not great with a couple expensive under warranty repairs in first 2 years on road. Also have owned a 18 year old MB S350 for 5 years, solid as a rock and reliable with 100k miles on it. Plan was to purchase the 2022 GLE after lease ends this year but instead will return it. Likely replace it with Japanese (Lexus etc), as we don’t have the time or patience for unreliable MB.🔥🖐

As a co-owner of a VW Buzz, I am content with the product, but felt it could have been executed better, considering the price. It was more than twice the price of any vehicle we have owned before, at about €60 k. A heat pump would have been useful here in Norway, to help sustain range in the winter, for example. Many of my friends have owned German vehicles, but I see many of them transitioning to Tesla.

premium german brand have turned into a 'lifestyle' product rather than what it was before, cutting cost and profits seems the main interest nowadays

my a45s is kicking nicely in australia . Got bad road noise but you expect that in small package with massive wheels on it

My parents have an EQB250. The backseat is so stiff and uncomfortable, it feels like I'm resting against a coffin. The inside of the B-pillars exposes the car's paint... as if the car comes pre-vandalized.

When you constantly batter your component suppliers to reduce prices, while always looking to increase your own profits, something is going to give. Usually overall quality and reliability.

I worked in the german auto industry and can say to you the main reason for quality issues nowadays stem from overregulation by the government in terms of environmental protection and the growing complexity with all the electrical systems added. First we have the environmental protection: This led to downsizing engines and the addition of turbo chargers. A lot of pressure into an aliminium block since we also have to do weight reduction. Less weight, less fuel, less carbon. The same goes for a lot of other components now made out of plastic for the sake of weight reduction. The result, components under huge stress, which are not sturdy enough. Also the components only have to last a car's lifetime, BMW defiens that as 15 years. Second cars got more complex: Ppl now want their cars to have Apple CarPlay, parking assistance etc. This introduces more electrical modules. A lot of more elements to care about and which can break. Easy equation, if for example 5% of your components can break within 10 years and you have 100 components in your car, 5 will break. If you have 1000 components, then 50 will break. That's the basic of things. Management decisions to cut costs by reducing research and devlopement and quality of materials can be a part of it, but are not the major problem. The 2 aspects I listed above have more of an impact. Hope you guys understand now.

It’s true, I have a 50k e class Mercedes 2020, 40k miles, and it’s garbage. So many issues, many of which Mercedes won’t cover in the extended warranty - the steering wheel material worn through, headlight unit failed, sat nav software issues, strange noise from brake pedal. NEVER AGAIN

My 2018 BMW I3 has proven to be the ultimate economy car. It costs one-fifth as much to operate as my old combusted vehicle and has needed less service than any car in my forty-year driving career. So the concept and the hardware is good, but the software is a nightmare. I've been working in electronics for decades, but it took a half-hour to figure how to tune the radio to a station. The navigation is equally guarded by mystery and if any of the ten parking sensors fail, it will blank the rear-view camera and drive you nuts by incessantly plucking a viola.

GM is doing better now.... Hilarious...

$14,000 gearbox that lasts well less than 100,000 km is a big kick in the balls for anyone...

Have owned BMW and now VW, middle of range vehicles for last 10 years. I have found my main issues have mostly always been electrical/electronic failures. Even had an entire door harness fail and need replacing. This caused the car unable to be locked and threw a check engine/immobilization errors. Real pain and expense to diagnose.

GM is a role model for disaster. Went from the biggest corporation in the world to being bankrupt.

They became too complicated with more things that can go wrong

Our one experience with a new VW Jetta that costs us $35,000 (Au) was a dismal disaster. Never again. A rolling break down 🤬

German here. After 20 years of driving Volkswagens, I switched to Dacia 8 years ago. I don't have a problem with paying more for better quality, but I have a problem with just paying more.

I've never owned a Benz or BMW and cannot speak from experience. My neighbor has a "Range Rover". Now there is a vehicle where you get to know your dealer service advisor very well, according to her.

I owned a 2016 BMW 750L. great ride, great looking and lots of power. When the odo got to around 45 k miles the lights started to come on. Warranty now gone. Most every time I brought the car in to the dealer the bill was usually 1800.00 dollars. First fluid leak sensor. 1700.00 dollars. The next light was for a fuel leak sensor,1800.00 dollars. The run flats were constantly getting bubbles in sidewall, 400.00 a pop for tires. New battery 530.00 dollars. Just before trading it in for a Lexus 600H ,the best vehicles on the road! I had to do a brake job, complete, new rotors and pads 2800.00 dollars. This pos turned into a money pit! Never again will i own a BMW!

I still drive a Mercedes W124 model 1990. Still very reliable and in great condition.

This video says a lot but explains nothing, I stopped taking it seriously after they failed to mention that Mini, a BMW owned brand, ranked 3rd in the consumer report.

In the states you can buy a beautiful Merc in most of the production classes 5-7 years old with 75k miles for well under $20k. They are beautiful but man what a POS! It will cost you as much as you paid for it with even a short list of repairs which are guaranteed to happen soon after driving it away. That smile soon turns to anger.

Easy answer: they put cheaper Materials. Poor plastic, to raise marginns.

German cars haven't been ''Reliable'' since the 80's SMH LOL

As a youngster I had the 2002, beautiful. Later on the E30 convertible, straight six. The attention to detail of both cars was second to none, torch in the glove box, in its charging port, spare fuel in the boot, in a specially designed container. The only issue I had was the central locking in the E30, otherwise both cars started and would run like clockwork.

Leased a BMW i3 “concept” car in 2021. It’s been to the dealer 1 time, in coming up on 3 years (end of lease😔) and THAT visit for service was only because it popped up on the screen saying it was time for them to look it over. The next I see is schedule for June 2025…long after I’ve given it up.

Accurate, in Australia it's purely a status symbol, everyone knows they're bad cars. BMW it seems are the best of a bad bunch, of course I drive a Toyota and the Korean cars are seen as the inbetweeners

A lot of people in the US Buy Lexus over Mercedes Benz and BMW based solely on reliability, even if the German cars are beautiful and fast they also have a well deserved reputation of being delicate and expensive to maintain. People also remember diesel gate and choose Honda, Mazda, Subaru and Toyota over VW.

Outstanding work as always @DW

I'd spotted a decline in dealership care and quality too. Problems include a national dealership I used would 'forget' to collect my car after a pre-arranged booking. Things like that cost me a days work. Others included them telling me what my next car should be! It got so bad that I've switched to using another manufacturer and one who isn't German. I'd tried contacting HQ with my dealership problems and even they couldn't be bothered - Arnold Clark if anyone is reading. My new car from another manufacturer is superb. Quality is very good and the dealership is awesome.

The increased outsourcing of components and systems suppliers since the 1970s led to the loss of quality in the end. The OEMs are just writing requirements and integrating products of others with ever increasing process and bureaucracy requirements. Focus on quality of the end product is less important and not even possible when you're not actually building the components.

This is not new. It's been many decades since German cars have been highly reliable. Perhaps an additional problem is the focus of US dealers and consumers to lease new German cars. It is a fact that leasees do not maintain their cars properly so they suffer more wear and tear in a short time. Buyers of those cars encounter more problems than other car brands and cause German brand reputation to suffer even more than deserved.

The same applies to the design aspect. Most of the contemporary ones have lost much of their charm and appeal compared to the past.

All my Audi, Mercedes Benz and VW has been an utter reliability nightmare, never again. Besides the deep pocket pain, the frustration and danger is just unforgivable. You can’t pay me to own these.

With fatigue simulations, manufacturers can now design their parts to fail precisely when they want them to. Knowing this, we must look at what manufacturers still design their cars to last past their warranty.

Thought I upgrade from Ford to VW group but you guys really spoiled the party 😅😅😅

we have to 20 year old benz,both over 200000 km and thy are still working. i think they are still reliable but all the sensors and tech in high end are all sensible components. i guess a problem is that efficiant engines are running on pretty high pressure on the components

Auto manufacturers should listen to their engineers, and mechanics who fix their cars, instead of just shareholders.

Made in Mexico 2016 Jetta Sportwagen with 100K begins to pump gas out of the gas tank. I find its a known issue, VW regional customer service basically tells me there is no option nothing they will do and replacing the gas tank is $6K. Never buy VW

Don't trust Consumer Reports. They destroyed the Suzuki Samurai sales during the 80s or 90s by falsifying the Elk Test in the US, an otherwise excellent quality value vehicle.

4:10 Seriously?? I understand where the news is coming from but MINI (owned by BMW) is #3 and not highlighted? Seems a bit biased reporting to me.

WWII German tanks are a good analogy: All the latest gizmos and the best in the field WHEN they were running....but far too often they were down for maintenance and/or repairs.

The problem is that the finance department overrules the engineering department