German cars aren't as bad as everyone, including me, makes them seem. It’s not that they'll keep breaking down every other month—just that they require regular maintenance, the maintenance that can’t be done at your average shop, so they need to be serviced at the dealer, which inevitably costs a lot more money, making it seem like these cars are expensive to own. Okay, so that might force you to ask, "Why?" That is, what makes them inherently more expensive?
It's because German cars are the most technologically up-to-date cars. The Germans have been perfecting their automotive skills for a long time and was the country that patented the internal combustion engine, says Autoblog. They focus on producing cars that have so many comfort and luxury features that you sometimes don’t even know what to do with them. But the downside of that is the more things you have, the more likely something will short-circuit somewhere, necessitating a trip to the dealership. Even VW, the car manufacturer that’s not exactly ranked at the level of Audi, BMW and Mercedes, produces some extremely powerful mundane cars, so Volkswagen automobiles also end up requiring some trips to the place you don’t necessarily like.
20 Will Last: 2018 BMW 7-Series
If all the online reviews are true, you get the best luxuries at around $83K in the BMW 7-Series. Whether that’s the case for any given one individual is debatable and the topic for a philosophy student, but for our purposes, we’ll go ahead and look at the luxuries offered by the brand’s flagship luxury sedan.
Just like the Audi R8, the car provides its drivers with the ability to make selections on the infotainment system via hand gestures.
That’s pretty neat. Also neat is the automatic valet-parking system, which essentially allows you to move the car up and down with the press of a button on the key fob (it sounds like a tractor at that time, though). The best part is that the car won’t throw a fit regularly; reliability is available here (autobytel.com).
19 Will Last: 2010-2017 Porsche Cayenne
Here’s a German car that sits quietly in the corner until called for. The mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicle was launched in 2002 and continues on its intended trajectory. The second generation had various engine options: “S”, Hybrid, Turbo, Diesels, and S Diesel, but if you want something affordable that also wears a Porsche badge, you have to work on taming your mind (it gets expensive quickly). I went through a 2016 model year (nothing fancy, just YouTube) and the most striking feature was its busy cabin. I don’t want to call it congested, as it looks well-appointed, but the space in the center cabin can definitely be freed up. All said, people generally don’t complain about how their Porsche Cayennes keep breaking. The second generation has been reliable.
18 Will Last: 2018 Mercedes E-Class
Here we go, the E-Class. It’s a good-looking car right off the bat. Everything about the car gives an aroma of beauty. Whether it’s the top-notch grille or the smoothly falling roofline, everything reflects the beauty it is. And while some cars stop there—and of course, some don’t even make it there—this one has a posh interior, being a mid-size luxury car. It might not have what the S-Class has, but it still has enough to occupy your mind, including the seats that give you free massages; and let’s face it: you can’t possibly continuously use all the features available in the S-Class after the novelty wears off. All said, the car is also reliable, which is a very important thing for many.
17 Will Last: 2017 VW Golf R
You pay about $10K more for the Golf R, but that extra money brings a lot of things to it. It already had some of the good stuff being part of the GTI family, but then, it became even better. It’s just like the Ford Focus RS, except better, says Jalopnik, which I think we can generally agree upon. For one, it doesn’t look too catchy, meaning you're always less noticeable to the cops, which wouldn’t be the case with the RS.
With a 2L turbocharged I4 that generates near-300 HP and 280 lb-ft of torque, the Golf R becomes the car that draws the line between a VW and an Audi, leaning more towards the Audi side.
Bolstering that statement is the 4.5-second 0-60 time. And while VW has made plenty of appearances on the other side of this list, this one will actually last you for a while.
16 Will Last: 2018 Audi A4
Starting off the list is the Audi A4. Sure, the car had some problems in the relatively recent past, but the fifth generation comes with a hint of awesomeness to it. What that essentially means is that the car redefines the segment, without necessarily revolutionizing what the A4 stands for. The body is lighter and more rigid; the steering wheel has more strength to fight back yet remains submissive enough. And as for the exterior is concerned, it’s slightly larger than the outgoing model. The virtual gauge cluster and the comforts of the cabin are also well received. More importantly, the 2018 A4 received five stars for predicted reliability from CR. As far as safety goes, it returned the driver in five-out-of-five-star condition, if you get the drift.
15 Will Last: 2018 BMW 2-Series
This car looks muscular. With so many curves around the body, it looks like a pit bull that's been working out while being on a good diet. Or maybe that was just an artifact of the picture I saw. Nevertheless, the car is a good compact car offered by BMW.
The car has a seemingly low power output of 248 HP, yet it does 0-60 in just 5.3 seconds.
Compare that to the base Mustang, which has more horses and lb-ft of torque but still lags a little in the 0-60 time. Even if you compared the upscale versions of this and the Mustang, you're still left with a better 0-60 in the BMW 2-Series. So overall, it’s a good car and gets a good—four out of five stars—predicted reliability from CR.
14 Will Last: 2018 Audi A4 Allroad
While the “A4” name is also present on the sedan, the Allroad is a whole different can of worms from the sedan. The station-wagon look that it exudes is sharp and rugged, but it also gives the powerful look of an SUV. The interior of the A4 Allroad looks similar to the A4 sedan, and the only difference is that the Allroad is roomier, meaning you have more space to enjoy the items that you wanted to place on the seats and, for sure, in the trunk. Much like the sedan, this one has an excellent ride and handling; the same goes for the litany of standard features. A major difference is that this one is a bit pricier. Another similarity is that CR gave it the same score for predicted reliability.
13 Will Last: 2018 Porsche 911
Here’s another one. I see a decent number of these on the roads—at least more than the Cayenne—despite not being any cheaper than the Cayenne. If anything, it cost about $30K more. The 911 is just one quintessential sports car made by the Germans—and no, its satellite navigation won’t keep taking you to Poland (Jeremey Clarkson once made a retort along those lines about German cars). There are several trims available, but in any trim level, you’re always equipped with an engine and a body that'll allow you to do well on the track. It’s an RWD, so even if you’re not on the track, your driving experience will be more refined. Adding on to all that is the fact that it got four out of five stars for predicted reliability, per CheatSheet.
12 Will Last For Sure: 2018 BMW 3-Series
This is probably one of the most known cars from BMW. In fact, the 3-Series is the bestselling model in its line of cars, generating about 30% of the sales. The performance version that debuted in 1986 has become iconic, and the standard 3-Series itself has earned various awards throughout its lifetime. Just to give you a concrete example, C/D placed it in its “Ten Best list” 22 times, from 1992-2014. Atop, Grassroots Motorsports called it the “second-most important performance car built during the previous 25 years” (wikipedia.org). And if you hadn’t noticed, I’ll point out that no model year of the 3-Series made an appearance on the other side of this list. It’s one of the most reliable cars from a German auto manufacturer. Not surprisingly, CR gave it a four out five stars for predicted reliability.
11 Crumble: 2010 Audi A4
As much as I like Audis, I have to say that some of these cars need to get better. I just googled “problems with Audi A4,” and right off the bat, there was a list that enumerated some problems with the Quattro AWD.
That’s right—repairpal.com lists these as some of the common problems: failure in the vacuum, oxygen sensor and catalytic converter; possible failure of the digital display instrument cluster; and finally, failure of the ABS control.
You might be thinking that only one of these things might afflict your car, and it could very well be; however, don’t be surprised if more than one thing in your car gives you a headache. CR urged drivers to steer clear from the 2009 and 2010 model years due to reliability issues (cheatsheet.com).
10 Crumble: 2013 VW GTI
These cars are some of the best cars out there. And unlike your average cars that look average, this actually boasts a powerful engine; the current GTI is equipped with 227 horses, which is pretty good—or at least good enough to give you a 0-60 time of 6.4 seconds. That’s not exactly that powerful, but if that’s what you thought while standing next to it at a red light, you had better be careful. It’s a sleeper car. In addition to the decent engine, you're provided with sharp handling, a feature that made the car what it is today. Now that I've praised it, let’s take it apart—kind of. CheatSheet stated that the ones from 2012 and 2013 suffered reliability issues, particularly with the engine cooling, the GTI brakes, and the suspension.
9 Crumble: 2013 VW Tiguan
First of all, that sounds “heavy” and exotic. “Tiguan.” Say it—"TEE-gwan.” The name emerged after it won the contest by German car magazine publisher Auto Bild. It’s a combination of the words “tiger” and “iguana.” And then, the car looks bold and handsome. It has that authoritative look to it with its length and plain exterior being neither submissive nor extremely plain, if that makes sense.
The car had sold so well over the last decade that it's been in production since; however, some model years weren't the most reliable.
Take the 2011 and the 2013 model years, for instance. They had a decent number of engine, electrical, and other powertrain problems, says CheatSheet. While the 2012 model year seems to have learned from the previous model year’s blunder, that was only marginal and, even then, short-lived.
8 Crumble: Any VW Phaeton
The Phaeton was essentially your German Buick. Sales never started off strong, and the car had the biggest market share in China. Successor VW Phideon (did they just make Phaeton sound “Chinese” with this, so to speak?) is solely aimed at the Chinese market. Built with the intention to outperform the prestige of the dominant two at that time—Mercedes and BMW, sorry Audi—the car ended up only being a disappointment to the company and the public alike. One of the plants was built with a capacity to build 20K cars in a year, but the public only wanted 6K a year (wikipedia.org).
The Audi A8 and the Phaeton shared the platform, and in fact, Motor Trend praised its handling and driving.
But with an average exterior, the public wasn’t going to believe that. Forget the dislike of the public; even VW stopped production in 2016.
7 Crumble: 2014 VW Jetta
If there’s one car that VW is famous for, it’s the Jetta. The compact car has been in production since 1979 and seems to be doing well even now. In fact, it was April of 2014 when the VW reached a total of over 14 million total Jettas sold; to no one’s surprise, it’s the top-selling model of VW. With a simpler yet firm front design, the car looks a little different from the other compact cars. While the lineup has been doing good, not all the years have been smooth. There were some reliability issues with the 2010 model year and then again in model years 2014-2016. The problems were with the audio, the interior, and some power equipment, says CheatSheet. In 2011, some of the vehicles from 2009-2012 were even recalled.
6 Crumble: Any New Beetle
I think this has more to do with uncontrolled sentiments rather than reality. There was a quintessential Beetle that people liked, but its popularity led to some decisions by the company executives that were heavily guided by avarice. Many of the commenters on Jalopnik have complained of the terrible driver seating position. And then, there was even a review titled, “If You Want A Fun New Beetle, Buy A Classic One Instead.” Well, there you go. The handling, the ride, and the reliability all seemed to be evergreen and painted with the most refined strokes possible. But when you read what that reviewer and other drivers of the car have to say about the car, you start seeing that the New Beetle isn't exactly going to make it in the future.
5 Crumble: 2015 Mercedes GL
Finally, a Mercedes. It seemed like VW and BMW were being picked on, but worry not—here’s a Mercedes. The flagship of Mercedes-Benz's SUV line of cars, the GLS-Class is a decent-looking car, but it’s a little pricey. The base price starts at about $70K, which can, unfortunately, easily add up to close to $90K with some optional gadgets, widgets, and comfort features. Some of the past model years haven’t done too well, though. Take the 2013-2015 model years, as an example, for these are associated with reliability issues, according to CheatSheet. Some issues are somewhat okay; the seeping engine oil isn't the end of the world, but it’s hard to justify when the shifter decides to not shift gears (repairpal.com). That’s not what you want for $70K. Nope.
4 Crumble: 2015 Audi Q7
Here we go with another Audi. As good as these cars are, the later years of the first generation started wearing down. But Audi did drag that generation for 10 years, much like what GM is doing with most of its lineups. These cars are some of the best SUVs in the world currently, having a reasonable price of about $50K with a respectable amount of horsepower. For those who desire more power, the optional 333 HP 3L supercharged V6 is something to consider.
The current generation offers not only room and comfort but also agility, says C/D. But that wasn’t the case in 2015, which on the contrary, had issues with the brake, the audio, and the “general body,” says CheatSheet.
I don’t even know what the issues with “general body integrity” entail, but they won’t be anything good for sure.
3 Crumble: 2012 BMW X5
At the penultimate position on this side of the list is the BMW X5, a car notorious for problems and high maintenance costs. Just to give you some idea, while a Toyota Highlander would run the maintenance bill to $1.6K a year, the BMW X5 would cost a little more than twice that amount. The last few years of the previous model years were absolutely abysmal in terms of reliability. CR gave it a below-average rating, citing problems in the electrical and the cooling systems. J.D. Power and Associates had only more negative things to say, stating problems with the engine, too, which, all combined, led to it getting a lovely two out of five stars. While improvements were made, the early years of the next generation in the 2013 and the 2014 model years still struggled, says CheatSheet.
2 Completely Crumble: 2012 BMW 5-Series
And if BMW X5 was the penultimate car, here’s the most unreliable car from BMW. Some websites, such as themotordigest.com, list every single model year as a failure, which despite being an exaggeration, is a fairly close representation of the reality. Whether it’s 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015, or some years in the middle, the car had a lot of troubles. And when the issues span these many model years, drivers start questioning the ability of the company, which is exactly what happened with BMW. How long were people going to keep driving a car that kept having trouble with its electrical system? How long were they going to live in the anxiety of it breaking down at some point next month? And the maintenance costs weren't insignificant either. This lineup really tarnished the company’s reputation.
1 Will Last: 2018 VW Passat
Starting off the list of cars that'll last you a decade is the VW Passat. Sometimes, German cars are a hit-or-miss-type deal. Someone else’s works out, but yours doesn’t, as it starts giving you some trouble after a few thousand miles. You wonder what you needed to do to make sure things were all set on yours. You regularly go to the dealer to have it maintained, and you also look after the car personally, but you still run into electrical issues and don’t know what to do. Well, that’s what might've propelled you to get the VW Passat, as it seems to have its issues under control. The 2018 Passat is one of the cheapest and one of the most reliable (predicted reliability, per CR) German cars.
