Mercedes and Audi Maintenance? used

[lincolnboy]

How crazy overpriced is the maintenance on Mercedes and Audi? I hear or have heard in years pass that maintained or even repairs are $$$$.
Possibly looking at getting a C63 AMG wagon in June. ( if I can find a used low mileage) maybe in 10 years look into a used Audi RS6 Avant wagon.

[red89notch]

Well, you would probably have the only C63 wagon in the country so there's that.

[BP]

My thought process on those cars is that if you can't afford a new one you sure as hell can't afford a used one.

With the C63 they are pretty reliable but repairs like an engine replacement are triple what it'd be for a C300.

I'd avoid any kind of used Audi without a warranty.

[svauto-erotic855]

Owning a German car made after about 2,000 that isn't under warranty is a really bad idea. I've been down this road many times and finally gave up. Older German cars were designed to last your entire lifetime if you felt like keeping them. The newer ones are designed from the outset to fail and Mercedes is the worst of the bunch.

[Gasser64]

I keep hearing everyone say "german trash". Probably good idea to stay away.

[Trip McNeely]

Who was the dude on here that kept owning these expensive used German cars because he got them on the cheap and kept being underwater on them? His follies are well documented on here. Just read his threads before you buy one. That would be enough deterence.

[Labora]

Who was the dude on here that kept owning these expensive used German cars because he got them on the cheap and kept being underwater on them? His follies are well documented on here. Just read his threads before you buy one. That would be enough deterence.

He had some nice stuff, but he was also doing repairs himself. I can only imagine the bill for all that labor if you aren't the type.

[prostock1]

it's not the routine maintenance, because most late model cars have Condition Based Service. Things are done as the car determines they need to be done.

The actual cost of repairs is what is so damn outrageous.

Just about any repair under the hood of a BMW these days, it's almost needed to remove the engine to replace parts.

The Labor and Parts are off the charts to repair most late model cars.

AND I DO MY Own LABOR......... SO GLAD I'm NOT WORKING at a DEALERSHIP anymore

[Gasser64]

Someone can probably remember - Didn't those german companies admit to having a certain philosophy? One of planned obsolescence. One of em said something like "If our customers can afford our cars, they can afford to take it to the dealership to have it repaired". This was in response to being asked why so many high priced parts go bad. Why they couldn't match Lexus in reliability. Basically they knew their customers were wealthy, and they thought it was ok to milk them. Because they were wealthy. So they purposely built them to be less reliable and need dealership maintenance. Been years since I read that but someone will probably remember.

So in other words, you get a used one and you are totally screwed.

Here's another guy who does a fair job of pointing it out:

[prostock1]

WTF has happened to Scotty's voice ?

[svauto-erotic855]

I had a customer give me for free a BMW M5 with a couple of miles over 40,000 miles on it. It's on its third engine and that engine is bad. I took it apart to find that it continuously eats rod bearings. They made the tolerances too tight and instead of using Babbitt bearings they used aluminum bearings. There's not enough oil flow through the bearings to carry the heat away and all of the bearings had heat damage. There are also five individual modules on the car to control fuel pressure. 5; that's not a typo.

[71chevellejohn]

Who was the dude on here that kept owning these expensive used German cars because he got them on the cheap and kept being underwater on them? His follies are well documented on here. Just read his threads before you buy one. That would be enough deterence.

LaserSVT

[lincolnboy]

Well, you would probably have the only C63 wagon in the country so there's that.

Not the 2021. I would stick with a low milage used one, if possible some under the mileage warranty. To where I'm not loosing much more value. This would be for the wife and its main use would be home and work travel.

[Stephen]

I’d stay away unless I already had extra cow skin rugs in the closet

[red89notch]

Not the 2021. I would stick with a low milage used one, if possible some under the mileage warranty. To where I'm not loosing much more value. This would be for the wife and its main use would be home and work travel.

I guess I wasn't clear enough, there are no C63 wagons in this country. The C class wagon hasn't been imported since 2005 or 06 and none of those were AMG.