Why are virtually all European cars such low quality garbage?

[-Jrabbit]

All my Brit and EU friends firmly believe that American cars are crap. Despite never having driven them.
Makes me wonder how many of these "crap" Euro-luxury cars Oerdin has personally experienced.

[BlackCat]

All my Brit and EU friends firmly believe that American cars are crap. Despite never having driven them.
Makes me wonder how many of these "crap" Euro-luxury cars Oerdin has personally experienced.

I don't think it's that simple - both Ford and Chevrolet are pretty common in europe (ford > chevrolet), but that's because those companies has two different brand policies - cheap, bad assemblied oversized gasgusllers for the american market and reasonably high prized, high quality, not that big, low fuel thingies in europe. Both types of course manufactured in each part of the world.

I'm pretty sure that Oerdin are ripped off by local dealerships when he buys an european car and forget that the low cost of an american build car is because it's going to die in a short time and replaced by yet another.

[Dinner]

All my Brit and EU friends firmly believe that American cars are crap. Despite never having driven them.
Makes me wonder how many of these "crap" Euro-luxury cars Oerdin has personally experienced.

Technically, I have owned five European cars over the years though friends and family have owned more. I base the low quality comments upon all the quality rankings and long term dependability rankings as well as what the popular automotive press and popular car review channels on YouTube. Frankly, I trust Scotty Kilmer's opinions on reliability of automotive models and actuly changed which new car I decided to buy for my wife back in Nov 2019 because of his advice. It also influenced the used truck I bought as my work truck.

[Dinner]

I don't think it's that simple - both Ford and Chevrolet are pretty common in europe (ford > chevrolet), but that's because those companies has two different brand policies - cheap, bad assemblied oversized gasgusllers for the american market and reasonably high prized, high quality, not that big, low fuel thingies in europe. Both types of course manufactured in each part of the world.

I'm pretty sure that Oerdin are ripped off by local dealerships when he buys an european car and forget that the low cost of an american build car is because it's going to die in a short time and replaced by yet another.

Oerdin is a pretty savvy negotiator when it comes to cars who learned from an even better negotiator which is why Oerdin got 23% off MSRP on the last new car he bought (which my wife now drives). It is a Toyota Camry with an MSRP of $26,000 which I got for ever so slightly over $20,000. I really wanted to get below $19,998 because that was the price my father beat out of the Toyota dealer a month before as he negotiated the price for my aunt on the exact same model. He beat me by around $100. I still think I did fairly well.

[Dinner]

As for comparing American "gas guzzlers", sure, some are but many of the old models of American cars lasted and lasted and lasted. If you look at the old Ford Crown Vics from the early 2000's, which are the very definition of old fashioned full sized American gas guzzlers (which somehow still got reasonably decent gas mileage for having a 5L V-8) they would routinely make it to 400,000-500,000 miles before needing a rebuild. You routinely saw similar mileage numbers out of early 2000's GM models using the 3.8L V6. Those cars were ugly as hell and boats to boot but boats which never died and just kept going and going.

As I said, I prefer Toyotas and Hondas these days for a number of reasons with quality being near the top. Most European models start falling apart around the 100,000 mile mark and need massive repairs for sure by the 200,000 mile mark. Heck the three series I bought back when I was in my 20's was pretty, sporty, and fragile. Filled with plastic parts which failed and all seemed to cost $600 to replace and which had to be special ordered from Germany. The newer VWs I owned also fell apart though the old air cooled VWs I had when I was a teen actually were good quality.

One of my best friends has owned an Audi A4 (bought new), a Mercedes S class (bought used), and last year bought a new Audi RS 6. The A4 and the S Class both became money pits as they aged. I've teased him asking if his new RS 6 has started falling apart yet but he responds sardonicly that they are engineered to not fall apart until the day after the warranty expires.

[Broken_Erika]

My old bosses Toyota Camry nearly made it to 600,000km before its front end started to fall off. Probably would have made it to 800,000km if not for Hamilton's roads.

[N35t0r]

Technically, I have owned five European cars over the years though friends and family have owned more. I base the low quality comments upon all the quality rankings and long term dependability rankings as well as what the popular automotive press and popular car review channels on YouTube. Frankly, I trust Scotty Kilmer's opinions on reliability of automotive models and actuly changed which new car I decided to buy for my wife back in Nov 2019 because of his advice. It also influenced the used truck I bought as my work truck.

It's funny. In Argentina, regarding long term dependability, it goes something along Honda - Toyota - VW - PSA - Ford - GM - Renault - Fiat.

[Dinner]

VW has massive quality control problems in the US. PSA failed out of the market decades ago for being complete ****, same with Renault, same with Fiat. Fait tried again but has basically been but has basically been laughed out of the market. Fiat group sound something like 2000 car on 2020 and they are losing money badly.

[Dinner]

I remember my grandfather had an 1980's Peugot 405 and later a 505, I think, and both were complete pieces of garbage. The air ride suspension was complete trash and always had a leak. Both he bought from US dealers in the US and he picked the option to have the cars delivered in France. Basically, you got to roll a French vacation into your car loan; the first my grandparents took together and the second they let their youngest daughter (my aunt) take, then at the end of two weeks they shipped the car to the US.

That was about as good as PSA got in the US. Owners got used to not two month, not three month, but six month waits for parts to get shipped from France. In short order now onenorth cash would trade cash for a ****ty PSA car.

[BanditGaming]

All those luxury cars will be highly valuable antique once we all drove tesla cars in the future, like what the classic cars we have today, I'm sure of it.