[hnlmorg]

You’re going to struggle to find any car manufacturer that you can trust then because they all cheat.

And this subscription trend is exactly that, a common trend these days. It’s far from unique to VW.

Public transport (in the UK at least) cheats the system whenever they can too. So you’re probably best sticking to push bikes.

[jqpabc123]

It’s far from unique to VW.

I have found that there are very few absolutes in life --- so use your best judgment.

In my judgment, European manufacturers have jumped on this bandwagon more than most. Probably out of desperation and necessity --- they can't compete solely on price.

As another example, Mercedes vehicles seem to be good for about 3 years before the planned maintenance (aka gouging) really starts kicking in. I've known people with $10K bills for the scheduled maintenance from a dealership --- for a 3-4 year old car that seems to be running just fine.

"Mercedes-Benz is one of the fastest depreciating car brands in the world!"

https://yourgreatcar.com/do-mercedes-hold-their-value/

[SoftTalker]

For used car buyers this is a boon. You can pick up a nice older E class for a few thousand dollars if you know a bit about what to look for and what to avoid.

[jqpabc123]

Yes, this might make sense if you could do the maintenance yourself --- but this is not at all easy or even possible in some cases without expensive/specialized electronic tools --- and this is all by design.

Something that should be simple like changing the battery is actually an intricate process on some models involving all sorts of resets and nonsense. A mistake can "brick" your car. I know someone who did this and had to have the car towed to the dealership where they were subjected to a good ole fashioned ($$$) reaming --- all for a dead battery.

https://www.mercedesmedic.com/mercedes-battery-replacement-d...

For me, a 5 year old Mercedes is just not worth the headache --- and again, this is by design IMO. If you choose to buy one for basic transportation, my advice is make sure you have a backup vehicle.

[SoftTalker]

Yes this is more and more true of any car. And yes I'm assuming you can handle at least routine maintenance and repairs yourself. My newest is a W211 which is about 20 years old now. Reliable drivetrain, pretty easy to work on overall, most electronic systems can be at least read if not managed by a generic scan tool such as a YouCanic.

You can find them cheap enough so that if they have a major failure you just scrap it and find another one. If they last a few years, you have a comfortable solid car for way less than making payments and depreciation on a new one.

[jqpabc123]

With all due respect, your experience is kinda out of date.

A lot has changed over 20 years. Just as an example, a lot of new Mercedes are now being equipped with Renault engines.

https://cartriple.com/mercedes-models-with-a-renault-engine/

[SoftTalker]

I'd never consider any of the cheap classes. Most of those are not available in the USA where I am anyway.

E or S class only for what I'm talking about. And S are generally too complicated unless you can find one that's been really well kept up.