Question Of The Day: Do You Ever See Yourself Buying A Used European Car… Without A Warranty
The slings and arrows of European parts and service can be a real eye opener.
Strong Euros (for now). Weak dealer service networks. A penchant for complexity and electronic doo-dads. European cars may be fashionable among those folks who are seeking a step up in prestige and driving excitement. But they often cost a heckuva lot more to maintain as well.
Enthusiast forums can often be the sole source of solace and salvation when a European car begins to deteriorate. As for longevity, these vehicles can require a strong DIY mentality once the brief honeymoon period of no repairs is breached.
Independent shops? They may not have the software updates or the unique fixes of the dealers. The ones that don’t specialize in the vagaries of that model may not know the ultimate answers to a complex problem. While the ones that do specialize can charge you dearly for the privileged information and convenience.
Dealerships? Pricey no matter what. Even those who are supposed to represent ‘The People’s Car’ can still charge upwards of $100+ an hour in labor. As for parts, often times the one needed may cost a multiple of other sources. Let’s not even mention the unexpected software update that can often add upwards of a four figured sum to the cost of ownership.
No car is perfect. But European cars have a reputation for a reason. Would you buy one used, at market prices, without the golden parachute of a warranty? Even for a year or two? If so, what would it be?
More by Steven Lang
Comments
Join the conversation
I've only driven European cars (French and German) my entire life since I am European and live in Europe. I've never had any major issues with those cars. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s I worked for a wood company that required me to drive all over France, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland to negotiate deals with forestries and private firms, land owners and such. During this period I drove mostly Renault and Peugeot company cars (Citroens were considered to expensive) which I kept for two to three years. Because of the amount of driving I did, I put close to 50,000 km on these cars in just the first year (they were all diesel by the way for fuel mileage). I never had a problem with any of these cars. I did all the basic maintenance myself and the dealerships replaced worn out parts when needed. Once again these French cars were very reliable. They never failed to start and they never broke down on me either. Yes they were cheaply built, had mismatching interior panel gaps and they were loud at speed but they were comfortable, spacious and above all RELIABLE. There are very few problems that came up here and there but they didn't affect the way the cars drove. Most of the time the biggest problems were rubber seals which quickly wore off and of course rust. All these cars suffered from rust issues so after three years of driving them you could see the rust slowly accumulating on them. One of the cars from this period I still own today, well my son does. A 1982 Peugeot 505 Break diesel. This was the last French company car I had and I loved it so much that I bought it when it came time to turn the car back in. It currently must have about 340,000 km or more on it and in the mid 1990s I had the car professionally restored to prevent more rust build up. The German cars I've owned were/are very reliable. This includes my Mercedes 230E W123, Opel Ascona C and my ex-2010 VW Jetta 2.0 TDI. I recently bought a 2012 Citroen DS3 coupe and I look forward to many happy years with it. Here in Europe we're happy with our European cars. We also maintain them well and we keep them for longer periods to. The average European keeps their car for 7-10 years according to a latest study from the Swiss Tagesschau. If our cars were as unreliable or expensive to fix as people claim they are we wouldn't buy them. The fact that we continue to buy our European cars indicates that we're happy with their quality and their reliability.
If European cars are so terrible, how come I see so many used ones offered with major mileage on them - even Jags! How'd they get that far?