As a young mechanic in the 70s working on older cars, we used to get loads of parts from scrappers. There were three scrap yards full of cars that were mostly from the 50s, 60s and the odd 70s. It was full of mainly English cars and there were hardly any beetles. I don't remember them being notoriously bad.
I wouldn't touch a VW beetle, it had a reputation for the air cooled engine to seize.
My mates scrap yard was full of them, you can learn a lot by working in a scrap yard.
I know. VW's required the owner maintain them, oil change, grease and valves adjusted every 3,000 miles, tune up at 6,000 or you will regret your negligence. The beauty of the VW was it was engineered to work on. But lots of folks didn't. We didn't have trouble running 100,000 miles before any issues surfaced. At the time Chevy's occasionally needed head work and re-ringing before then. The VW maintenance schedule wasn't unlike the typical US product of the time. So it wasn't much change for the DIY'er in the States. Every DIY'er had a stock of 30W oil, timing light and needed tools to fix something.
I suppose folks in the UK during that time period were spoiled by the hands off bullet proof reliability of their domestic products and didn't 'get' the air cooled Bugs' demanding maintenance needs.
As a young mechanic in the 70s working on older cars, we used to get loads of parts from scrappers. There were three scrap yards full of cars that were mostly from the 50s, 60s and the odd 70s. It was full of mainly English cars and there were hardly any beetles. I don't remember them being notoriously bad.
But then you didn't work in a scrap yard.
...I suppose folks in the UK during that time period were spoiled by the hands off bullet proof reliability of their domestic products and didn't 'get' the air cooled Bugs' demanding maintenance needs.
Not really most BL made cars were junk, I drove a Mk1 Cortina for 12 years.
If I'm dead honest, I've worked on all manner of VWs and I'm not at all impressed.
I'll stick with the Japanese. Whether it's cameras, TVs or cars, they are the global masters of mass production.
Sony >> Samsong
Seconded with emphasis!
I once asked a friend in Germany why my 7 Series BMW was such an expensive money waster compared to my no-problem Lexus and he replied that in Germany it is expected that you will build a relationship with your dealer and its service department no matter the brand. He was surprised I expected no problems from a crazy expensive flagship car. LOL
German cars... never again for this driver, but hey YMMV.
I have had enough of problem with my BMW E91 that made me go back to the Japanese manufacturer. The trouble started at as early as after 20000km when all four spark plugs and ignition coils were changed in the BMW mostly at my cost (600Euro/dollar) and again few years later same problem of misfire at 50000Km and even there the third cylinder spark plug, coil pack and injector were replaced at 700 Euro/dollar. Problem persisted and having got fed up with BMW dealer I did a DIY change of remaining three ignition coils at 75 euro total. All the previously replaced 5year old ignition coils were burnt out. Posted the photo at a BMW forum The car then ran fine without error codes but I had had enough of BMW unreliability. Got rid of it and got a mazda cx-5. Mazda is offering 10 years guarantee in Sweden and that swung the deal in its favour (instead of RAV4). Never again German cars.
Well quite the opposite with me, my BMW 2011 328xi has 144,000 absolutely trouble free miles on her. In fact I am just now having my rear brakes changed for the first time! Fronts lasted until 95,000 miles. My CX5 feels like it's 10 years old with only 60,000 miles on her and has cost me more in maintenance, nothing but oil changes on my 328 and I changed my own plugs. I was a Nissan guy for 20+ years and none of them made it past 110,000 miles without falling apart with expensive repairs so no more Nissans for me. Bad eggs come in all makes and models. I will say they it's funny how Audi is made by VW and they have a higher quality rating than Lexus!
" BMWs are notorious for plastic water pump parts, weird AC unit designs, and cheapo power window regulator parts to name a few. They don't skimp out on the engine, suspension, and brake components."
So true. I owned a '98 BMW 540iA for 9 yrs..... painful memory.
I got my money back from ext. warranty. Imagine that....
Cooling system, sensors, and actuators and regulators.... you name it. Been there, replaced them.
Engine/suspension/brakes gave me no issue at all.
Traded three times on roadsides.
xtrailman: Sorry, I was being tongue in cheek. Had a TR4A with IRS and OD for a while. That was the most reliable car I ever owned. I could always count on it to be reliably parked waiting for very expensive parts. Drove the Bug in it's stead.
Glad to hear your Ford held up pretty well.
Congrats. I too considered when I bought my CX-5, but that model year Tiguan was UGLY.
I had been driving a Ford Cortina Mk III with 1.6L OHV Kent and Holley 2-barrel carburetor when I was young. The 4-speed transmission was smooth and much better than our previous Holden Premier 3-speed column-shifter. The problem on our Cortina Mk III mainly was the rust issue but I still have very fond memories of it even today!Not really most BL made cars were junk, I drove a Mk1 Cortina for 12 years.