"European quality" is it just a myth?

[smoo]

Originally Posted by Ausromeo

I had a 98 alfa romeo GTV before my BF XR8 ute. To be honest Im disgusted in the aussie products fit and finsih. Panel gaps, welds/folds, lack of paint, interior materials, and the little things that go wrong.

Ive only had experience with alfa's and bmw's but they are built so much 'nicer', not neccassarily tougher.

If you can work on a car yourself and wait for parts to arrive from europe, an alfa romeo is no more expensive to own then a falcon.

Ill be going back to something euro next time.

You are dreaming. Ask a mechanic or auto sparky about alfas. Not that a Falcon is comparable to an Alfa anyway. Who wants to muck around sourcing parts and specific factory tools do do a cambelt (sorry, belts, and the rest) etc on a daily driver. I'd love a 156 or 159 V6, but I hate working on cars, and that is the reason why I will always have a falcon in my possession.

[desGT]

Originally Posted by flappist

The only issue I have had with any of my late model falcons as far as "interior quality" is concerned is that I believe it is far to easy to scratch or mark many of the surfaces especially the silver/grey metalised plastics

As the owner of a FG (and BF before that) GT, I could not agree more. I cannot believe the cheapness of the interior plastic.

Don’t start me on the leather seats in the FG, with the fur coming through the holes, which has been “fixed” a number of times, but is still coming through.

My 2000 VX Commodore (s/c “S”) interior plastic leaves the Ford for dead.

Really, I would be happy to pay extra for plastic that could stand slight rubs (paid extra for leather seats – so why not?).

[Mr Hardware]

Like the old saying goes, well built and built to last are two different things entirely.

[Rodge]

My Mercedes-Benz turned 5 today. After a good birthday wash and clean yesterday it still looks, feels and drives like a brand new Mercedes-benz should. No plans to change it and that's the longest I've ever owned a vehicle.

I predict it'll still be going strong ten years from now so plan to keep it for at least fifteen years.

[SB076]

Quality is an interesting discussion and it all depends on someone's perspective, My parents have a VW CC, great car, but it has spent a bit of time on a flat top, especially in the first few months (electrical gremlins etc) Most would say the CC is a quality car, but my parents assessment would be different due to their experiences.

You might choose to buy the best quality brand but if you are unlucky and the car has a few issues, you will judge the brand differently than most.

[Ausromeo]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Thats pretty funny, someone who owned a 90's Alfa using the word quality.

They would have to have one of the worst quality reputations ever.

Just saying, it was built better then my BF and at 130000km still drove tight. By the 90's they were better built cars. The rust and electrical issues were solved. They are completely galvanised and even painted underneath, unlike most of my BF.

Mind you the GTV was $60000 when new in 98 compared to 45ish? for a BF XR8 ute in 2006.

[SB076]

Originally Posted by Rodge

My Mercedes-Benz turned 5 today. After a good birthday wash and clean yesterday it still looks, feels and drives like a brand new Mercedes-benz should. No plans to change it and that's the longest I've ever owned a vehicle.

I predict it'll still be going strong ten years from now so plan to keep it for at least fifteen years.

Benz's make a good car, however just to show another side of the coin, my grand father has always driven Benz's, but his last (S class) was a huge disappointment (brake failures, suspension failures, electrical failures it left him stuck a few times) So his perception of the brand is different

[Cheese3]

Originally Posted by desGT

As the owner of a FG (and BF before that) GT, I could not agree more. I cannot believe the cheapness of the interior plastic.

Don’t start me on the leather seats in the FG, with the fur coming through the holes, which has been “fixed” a number of times, but is still coming through.

My 2000 VX Commodore (s/c “S”) interior plastic leaves the Ford for dead.

Really, I would be happy to pay extra for plastic that could stand slight rubs (paid extra for leather seats – so why not?).

Thats one of the huge reason i own 2 AU's. say what you will about styling but its all the finishing touches and better quality materials they use that leaves modern aussie cars for dead.

[Yellow_Festiva]

No point arguing about apples and oranges, especially when the apples were picked in Tasmania and the oranges from Spain...

Lost you yet??? The only way you can really assess what car is better is to get the lot of them from new at the same time and treat then in exactly the same way and in the same conditions....

Where a car comes from means little... the owner / usage are the more important factors IMO.

Take my Festiva. Korean 'rubbish' yet mine was imaculate because I took care of it. Looked at cars with half the km and they had 4x the wear and tear. Was I the lucky one??? Scratched interiors, ripped seats, loose fittings / panels out of alignment etc etc etc......

I had a Citroen for a while, bought new with ultra low km. Was a mobile money pit but then again I can't say what the previous owner did or how it was treated.... it was a great design, let down by electronics and a shocking gearbox. Some research has found multiple owners have had my issues from new. Others say they never had 1 issue. I can say that parts cost more, and the quality of high usage parts was not where it really should be.

Who to believe???

My brothers 06 diesel Hilux has hit its used by date already, yet some of his mates have done twice the km with half the issues.... My sisters Audi with its electrical and gearbox problems etc etc etc. I wonder if it would have been a problem in Germany? Probably not.

European cars may or may not be better quality. The reason we hear so much about them is when it comes time to get a repair. We are at a geographical disadvantage straight up, as well as in a market that sees European cars as a niche. I also own a Fiat BTW, and it has it's own problems. But at 130k miles I can't really call it 'crap' when it has probably changed hands and countries of ownership several times.....

Taking random pics of cars to help an argument serves no purpose other than to provoke argument back and forth...

Then again, I will need the felt on the back seats of my '10 Focus glued back on for the 3rd time now.... something that really should have been fixed in the R&D. And I can assure you that that is a fault in the adhesive used as it's a common problem....

[RAPID_BA]

I have a pro and a con..

the pro for the euro car being a vw. Try remove a front bar on one and count the screws. I counted over 20. Try doing the same on a falcon.. Maybe 4.

The con for the euro, I had a vw drop a gearbox. not driven hard or anything.

But the euro cars steer better, just feel all right and precise. Jump in a falcon afterword and you feel the looseness.

[SteveJH]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

I have a pro and a con..

the pro for the euro car being a vw. Try remove a front bar on one and count the screws. I counted over 20. Try doing the same on a falcon.. Maybe 4.

Thats a con if it ever has to be fixed!!

The con for the euro, I had a vw drop a gearbox. not driven hard or anything.

Any car can destroy a gearbox, most E-series auto falcons for example? (mine included)

But the euro cars steer better, just feel all right and precise. Jump in a falcon afterword and you feel the looseness.

Different suspension tune due to being setup for different environments. Unless the Euro cars get a different suspension tune for Australia, they are tuned for high speed driving on super smooth European Motorways and Autobahns.

[The Outsider]

have an audi a1 that drinks oil.
gone through 6L so far.
the car is 4500km old.


thats euro quality right there!

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

Different suspension tune due to being setup for different environments. Unless the Euro cars get a different suspension tune for Australia, they are tuned for high speed driving on super smooth European Motorways and Autobahns.

I drive our (European) Skoda over both super smooth motorways and rough roads. Seems beautifully tuned for both. Go figure.

[aualright]

Originally Posted by Rodge

My Mercedes-Benz turned 5 today. After a good birthday wash and clean yesterday it still looks, feels and drives like a brand new Mercedes-benz should. No plans to change it and that's the longest I've ever owned a vehicle.

I predict it'll still be going strong ten years from now so plan to keep it for at least fifteen years.

I recently picked up an '03 clk 320 with low kilometres and it really is a step up from what I have had. I now appreciate the make more than ever.

The last new Ford I had was an 07 Territory Ghia and although a great car to drive, it was really let down by the cheap looking interior. Even the leather on the seats felt cheapish. Always expected better from a Ghia and I was ready to get rid of it after 3 years.

I find the AU XR8 I still have has better quality than later Fords, although lots of little things have not lasted such as the roof liner, electrics, and the driver's seat has not held up as well as expected. I'm only 85 kg and the driver's seat looks like it has been sat on by a sumo wrestler all its life. In terms of rattles and squeaks from the dash, etc....absolutely quiet except for that V8 rumble!

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