I mean I hear what you are saying, but then you tell me you have two Japanese cars in the driveway.
I was toying with the idea of buying a used BMW or Audi someday, when I looked into it I was discouraged. My friend has an expensive BMW, big heavy car with a V-12, he told me that when his brakes need replacing he just can't change the pads, the pads and rotors come as one now, very expensive brake jobs. Parts and service very expensive. Unreliable translating to expensive trips to the dealer.
I was taking issue with the CR and JD powers position that claims german cars are as unreliable as american cars, they aren't. Germans typically sell only their luxury models in the U.S. I'd buy them if they weren't so danged expensive but my wife and I put a lot of miles on vehicles and I can't afford to wear out a $50K car every five years. I've also been around long enough to know that I come out better financially if I buy a toyota camry and drive it for 300,000 miles than if I buy a chevy that dies after 150,000 miles, hence the japanese cars in the driveway.
Your friends BMW is a perfect example of what I was saying about expensive maintenance on german cars. Brakes are a wear item, sooner or later they're going to have to be replaced. That expensive brake job is another reason I don't have a german car, I can replace the brake pads on a camry for $12. If your friend bought a $70K V12 BMW then it would seem intuitive that maintenance on it was going to be expensive.
