I don't know why people try to compare apples to oranges. They just have a different system. The whole complaint here is that it's expensive to repair. The repairs are made in the US so the higher rates are US labor rates. European rates might have something to do with the build cost but BMW, Mercedes, Audi are pretty profitable. Total income in Europe is lower than US though so there are trade offs to have lots of "free" services provided by the government. They bury you in the US for free too, those are known as pauper's graves and don't come with a headstone, just leave the body unclaimed at the morgue. Part of the higher labor rate at Mercedes would be some of the freebies you always get like a free rental, car wash, drinks etc so they need the higher labor rate to make up for it. Got a "cheap" free C class rental once at the Mercedes dealer, it was still a 40k car though.
Why are BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi so expensive to fix?
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If you think those are expensive to fix, you don’t want to know what the upkeep and maintenance costs on super cars
No which is why your comment was asinine. You, ironically a Canadian which has a similar euro-style social system, implied that the high cost of euro makes was due to their social system. The high cost isn't necessarily the parts although that's part of it due to low volume, but the labor to repair and that labor is in the US for the majority of people who visit this board.
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also german born so that's how I know - all my relatives keep me informed (not the internet)
thanks for the name callingBFD, my mothers side is from Schleswig-Holstein and I didn't call you a name. I labeled your comment as asinine.also german born so that's how I know - all my relatives keep me informed (not the internet)
Yet another derailed thread for no reason
Cadillac dealers work on Chevys, and the one closest to me has a nicer waiting room (with free drinks) than the Chevy dealer closest to me, and the labor rate is about the same.
Most derail way before 10 pages ...
Because people that drive those cars have $$$$ and can afford big repair bills.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2022
I don't have big $$$$ and can't afford big repair bills. I do my own maintenance and pay less for Mercedes parts than Ford and Japanese parts. My question would be: Why the high cost of mundane Ford and Japanese parts?
Because those parts never break?
(runs away)
Beats me. Labor charges? My vw once threw a code for an implausible sensor reading. Implausible in that it should not have occurred? so how did it occur?
Lots of potential electric gremlins, so being a parts swapper means swapping lots of parts until the actual problem is found?
Actually for Ford and other imports, I do wonder if high parts prices are more from changing the part model year to model year. GM would use the same part forever. Costs more to stock more parts.
No you don’t swap parts. That is why really good European mechanics run their own shops.
Lexus however is one of the best I've experienced - they replaced a cracked dashboard on a 10 year old car.
Lexus has brake fluid recommendation to change it every 3 years, using same fluid and components.
In Toyota there is NOTHING! I guess that is how they treat customers.
Thing is, most Toyota drivers would not be impacted by old/dirty brake fluid—they never drive hard enough for it to matter. By the time its ten years old, most are onto third owner, and just about to be wrecked, I’d wager.
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happens to be what I own lol the 335 N54 coupe. I'm the guy who bought the extended warranty and never used it--that is dumb. I'm not afraid to admit when I do dumb things. My buddy said hey you bought it for peace of mind and you wasted the money but you slept well. And isn't it ironic that today we brag when things break under warranty, instead of when they don't...I guess the stories are more exciting when things break...
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I bought a used LS430 in 2016, when it was almost 10 years old and had 80k. Guess what? I got it home, poked under the hood, AND THERE WAS ZERO COOLANT IN THE OVERFLOW NOR IN THE RADIATOR TO BE SEEN!!!
My mind was racing, blown head gaskets, I got ripped off!!!!!
It wasn't the case. Can you believe this car was dealer serviced its entire life, and NOBODY CHECKED THE COOLANT, EVER?
Because Toyota pink coolant is called SLLC and its first change interval is 10 years, 100k. It was gone from evaporation. That was almost 6 years ago the car never overheated and the temp has always been the same. I'll save it for another day, I got a complimentary multipoint recommending $7k worth of work hahahahahahahahahaha (it wasn't needed again I've had the car almost 6 years)
btw on the 3UZ-FE engine the coolant reservoir window faces backwards--it is viewed from the driver fender, looking forward. Also, in order to get to it, the plastic air intake must be removed. That's why nobody touches it.
But I do the brake fluid myself since it's hygroscopic and would rust the system from the inside out, as well as likely boiling sooner when old.
the invention of OBD-II makes technicians lazy.
Check code, replace part, charge customer, and hope the customer doesn't come back pissed.
It's not the old days of investigating a problem until the cause is pinpointed.
Here's a CSB:
My co-worker on his Jetta Sportwagen TDI, kept on pulling a code for glow plugs. Dealership pulled the code, replaced the glowplug, cleared the code... twice, at significant cost each time. Told him to try the mechanic I use (a VW TDI specialist, but actually a retired Toyota master technician), lo and behold, the problem causing the code was not the glowplug, it was a loose connection with one of the wires. Replaced the connector and problem solved at little cost and never came back.
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