Is it worth buying a german car as a secondary?

[chordz]

I currently have a civic rebirth 2012, which i use as a primary car, for family etc, but I am planning to buy another probably within the range of 3m.
Wanted to know if it iss worth buying an imported car, specially germans, BMW, Mercs, Audi? I am not planning to use it as a primary car, since the one i already have has no issues, mechanical, electrical etc. and probably would be fine for the next couple of years.
The secondary car would probably be used in the city for short trips, and once or twice (in a year) for travelling outside. I am probably one of the few ones who actually rate comfort over fuel average.

According to the recent videos on the pakwheels channels on YT, i have heard Suneel sir mentioning that in the current financial conditions, these are good value for money. But I am not sure

What do you think are the drawbacks, and what are the pros?

[affanhaq94]

Short answer: no, it's not a good idea.

Long answer:

Germans know how to set up a car for comfort along with a solid ride. I've owned many older mercs in Canada including a w140 diesel, w202, w201 and my last was a w210.

Never had a BMW or Audi so I cannot comment on those.

With German cars, you have to remember that they are a lot more complex than your typical Japanese or American car. Especially with all the technology in cars of late, there are A LOT of things to go wrong.

When I owned any one of my Benz's, there was always something wrong every 2-3 months. Mostly electronic.

I still love them and would own one again, but not here in Pakistan. With the price of maintenance and cost of parts, I would steer clear away from any German vehicle. As soon as I switched to something Japanese, it was kind of nice not having to deal with something breaking every 3 months lol.

If you want a luxurious second vehicle, find a well maintained high end Toyota or honda......a nice accord, mark x or crown would be my personal choice, but there's probably other good options out there too.

Buying a second hand German car is always a nightmare. Buying a second hand German car IN PAKISTAN will be even harder.

Unless it's been maintained tip top with a binder full of service records, don't do it.

[chordz]

Thanks for getting back so quickly
I have had experience with mercs mostly in the arab emirates, and honestly i agree with maintenance part. Watching old Top Gear as well, I remember they use to mention how difficult it is to maintain these cars, specially if you get them second hand. In terms of reliability they were always second to japan imports.

I did consider Accords, mark x but it really really difficult to find them in a reasonable condition or it could be that I got very lucky with my rebirth, and i am now expecting something similar.

I also expect the parts availability of these german cars would be scarce in Pakistan, and being someone who previously owned an out of market car (Lancer 96) in the country, i dont want to go through it again.

[affanhaq94]

Yes exactly. We have a pajero as our 2nd car and so far alhamdulillah it's been reliable, however parts are scarce and very difficult to find.

That's exactly the problem with all used cars, it's very hard to find a good example. Patience is key in finding a well maintained example.

I really want a mark x or crown one day. But the prices have just sky rocketed and it makes no sense to spend like 30-50 on a hand me down 18 yr old car.

There's a reason German cars are cheap when used. They always require more maintenance and break down a lot. Yes you get tons of car for the money, but it hurts your wallet in the long run

[capsat]

They always require more maintenance and break down a lot.

am not sure what is more required then a regular maintenance by dealership for an Audi or BMW.
BMW 750i & Audi A6 being 2 cars i have kept for more then 175000 km collectively. Required nothing but maintenance as per schedule, is taken care of.

Tyre change is once every 35000 kms does not count as maintenance it is mandatory in UAE.

in Pakistan - keeping JDM is pricey because source of parts is scrap yards, and buy a new o2 sensor from UAE is dream for a Crown / LC / Lexus owner.

in short in Pakistan best bet - Top of line PKDM Corolla or Honda is best choice.

[affanhaq94]

2 reasons. Depends on the model, and drivetrain. Some are reliable.

However, the OP is not buying new.

We do not know the maintenance history nor the type of driver the previous owner has done.

Secondly, you simply cannot compare a BMW 7 series to a Toyota Corolla. Have you seen the number or computer modules in the 7 series? Lol.

Generally speaking, a corolla or other simple Japanese car will be A LOT more reliable than a BMW 7 series or similar.

There's a reason why country's like ours around the world have a majority of Japanese cars. They are much more reliable in the long run with a lesser maintainence cost throughout their life.

When I hear Audi and BMW, I think of timing chains failures, guide failures, vanos issues, modules failing. Etc and etc.

Had two mercedes diesels in Canada. Gl350 and a w164 ml320 CDI.

I will list the failures I had in just 3 months ownership of the gl350.

Bluetec system heater, swirl motor flap seized, turbo inlet seal failure causing swirl motor to fail, injector failure, air suspension faults, air compressor failure, traction control fault, diesel fuel system leaks apart from wear and tear items like wheel bearings etc.

The w164 was a lot more reliable, except that had the intake seal leak and swirl motor seized as well.

Googling will show these as common faults.

You won't find these types of complex issues on a corolla per se. Not to say it wont have faults

[Xulfiqar]

100%

Pakistani people rely on scrap parts and only do breakdown maintenance - meaning when the thing will stop working is when they will bother to get it fixed, forget servicing anything.

and for maintenance - speaking as a shop owner who has a ton of clients with these brands - fixing the symptom usually means a failure in the near future. Fixing the cause solves issues long term.

e.g. if one air suspension bag fails I always process replacing the pair on the axle because the bags are like tires, both have aged exactly the same, one failed, the next is near too.

With electronic issues, I see a lot of other shops wont actually try to solve the problem by splicing and sealing due to time constraints and labour cost but in Pakistan the problem is backwards, lots of time and cheap labour but missing brains and working knowledge. You see "lektrishanns" try to use nitto tape in engine room wiring loom on twist joints (fail repair).

Most other things like e.g. a bad evap temp sensor etc is easy and cheap elsewhere but not in Pk, People in Pk dont even know that they need to change the BASF G48 coolant at 10 years anniversary, for them they read "long life" and assume its "life long" because lafz idhar ho ya udhar aik hi baat hai.

So in Pk you see these basket cases of cars which are hopeless - and add to the fact that the dealer wont sell you TD parts or special order parts because 99% of these are gray market imports (JDM, UKM auction write offs)

and why compare to toyota corolla? - compare them to VW aircooled beetle - super simple, nothing much to go wrong. Zero electronics - even the fuel gauge is mechanical.

[mjaffrani]

i owned a BMW E30 1990 316 excellent card but part are really expensive i fortunately was able to buy used parts from Ebay.co.uk very cheap and was able to maintain it. power window switch new was for USD 100/ OEM but i got 4 switches for USD 100/ on Ebay plus rare parts are also available but our bad luck is they dont accept Pakistan issued credit cards.

Anyway if you have someone who can purchase parts for you in UK and ship them to Pakistan than its a good bargain. i also have 1965 VW and it run perfectly but for parts we need to ship them from US CIP1.com German car technology is far ahead and you need an expert to maintain it. i even upgraded by BMW engine from 1600cc to 1800cc BMW engine no alteration at all ECU and fittings were same. this engine was imported from UAE and was in perfect condition. if you are found of classic cars and ready to search on net and local scrap market than go ahead. There were numerous mechanics in Karachi for Mercedes early 2000 i had a 1963 fintail but sold it in scrap as couldn't manage it was parked for couple of year than sold it to a collector for peanuts

[Xulfiqar]

The problem is that getting parts into pk is the problem, the duties on them will exceed parts cost.

And then the currency parity will kill you.

And finally if you are owning a classic and rely on mechanics to fully take care then its a death spiral for the owner.

[chinyoti]

I have never owned a German car but keep having eyes on an Audi A4.

What I have learned is Pakistanis garage their German cars.

If regularly driven they break down less.

[Xulfiqar]

Thats not just for german/euro/american cars

Its for all cars, this is why if you see a low mileage high age vehicle for sale, its trash, move on

[pwuser165901455619]

While in general I would agree with your stance, the question comes to my mind is that, ‘if the German cars are so bad, why are they so popular and expensive and considered status symbol world over’. Matlab kuch to acha hoga in mein

[affanhaq94]

The drive, ride quality, general feel of the vehicle, over-engineering, technology, status symbol etc. etc. etc.

All comes at a price. While its all nice and fancy, it comes at a price.