I am half German and work in R&D … with a bunch of Germans. This gives me the presumption to be able to generalize how German engineers think and why this results in less reliable gear (not only cars) in the so called real world. I also had the pleasure to work with a handful of Japanese, Italian, Taiwanese, Chinese and Russian scientists and engineers, yet let me limit this answer to the two you mentioned.
German and Japanese engineers have one thing in common: they will engineer the shit out of every detail. For EVERY BLOODY component! Thus what they build will fail exactly how and in the circumstances they predict it will. So why the difference in reliability? Are the Germans worse at their job?
No. But they do have a fatal flaw: they are German.
Let me explain.
Germans love rules. They follow those rules. German engineers expect people to follow their rules.
When Japanese engineers go on to design a product they ask themselves: “How will the customers use it? How can I prevent failure if they abuse it?”
The German engineer: “I made this machine and it has to be used in this particular way. If the customer abuses it and it fails it is his fault, not mine”.
And so it is. For most German products, if you use them exactly as the manual states and within the conditions it is designed for it is probably going to last indefinitely. Go outside those limits and you can expect it to fail.
Japanese products on the other hand are going to take a beating well outside specs and ask for more.
I owned two Mercedes 560 SECs. Both burned out the heater blower motor. Not my fault, I think you’d agree. Price to fix? $800 - each. My 20-year old Lexus? Heater blower motor still operating, thank you…
[COLOR=rgb(20, 20, 20)]In my 2000 bmw m5, it requires a gymnast master mechanic to replace some engine parts due to location and size of hole to reach them.
In my 2007 Acura or 2009 Lexus, my 13 year old could do it with a couple of YouTube searches.
I love my 1999 Carrera cabriolet. That said, a brake job lasts 20k and costs 5K, clutch, same. maintenance, drop the engine. Just bought a second Honda Accord. First is 22 years old and still rock solid; black paint has failed. No major repairs except a new transmission replaced after 10 years by Honda. If you want ultimate performance, buy German. If you want ultimate value, buy Japanese.
Oooh, I love your answer! I had a 420 SEL.Then bought a Lexus later. After owning the MB for 16 years, she started to need work here and there after rebuilding the transmission, then the chain tensioner broke and caused an engine rebuild. Plus, many more. I had to literally give her away. My trusty 19…
*There is another part which should not be overlooked: I worked a long time in the automotive industry with German as well as with Japanese designers. Germans set new standards and dare to innovate. That is why many worldwide accepted automotive standards have been set by German car makers (in particular Daimler, Audi and BMW). They work together in a pre-competitive cooperation. The first 5 years, when using innovative products, are risky and lead nearly always to unexpected failures. Once these parts are debugged then the other car makers start using these. When innovating it is impossible to foresee everything. i.e. German carmakers are debugging the components the Japanese are using several years later. Germans innovate, while Japanese are risk averse. That is resulting in the differences observed.
*Yep, I think it’s a lame cop out. The Japanese engineers humility is more noble than the hubris of the Germans if you ask me. But German cars also have a certain something, call it a soul, that Japanese cars all seem to be missing in my experience.
Those rules they give aren’t even practical, they are meant to lower cost of maintenance for the very first few years of ownership. They then throw in every new tech and improve the tech as they go along. The worst part is how they over price spares such that a spare of a ten year old model may cost more than the value of the car. Let’s just say they have a lot of money and therefore are more inclined to having fine things over sustainable longer period ownership