skiwi

2nd only to the s-class....<ul><li><a href="http://www.autospies.com/news/What-Premium-Luxury-Brands-Truly-Can-Stand-The-Test-Of-Time-16507/">link thingy</a></li></ul>

Always Overcharged

there ids definitely a build quality not present in many marques

dimitristx

reaching high mileage rather than quality quotient that makes is last in such high mileage. It's almost a tautology--a car with high miles implies higher longevity! True, the two are inter-related, but the cause-effect might be slightly skewed: an older owner who keeps his/her Cadillac DeVille for a long time due to conservatism doesn't imply that a Cadillac DeVille is a higher quality vehicle than a Lexus GS300, for instance, perhaps that Lexus owners turn over their cars much faster.

skiracer

The total milage listed is based on the actual average miles on a car model at the time of scrapping. This will certainly reflect on the quality of the vehicle, but does not take into account how the typical vehicle is driven and maintained. For example, an A8 (on average) will be better maintained than a Ford Escort, and should last somewhat longer just based on vehicle owner demographics.

dimitristx

doesn't equate to an A8 or S430 well serviced by its owners, even if they both have 150k miles on the clock. There are probably several F150 or other trucks out there with 2x and 3x the miles we will ever put on our A8s; this doesn't translate to longevity high marks on my book, unless it's appropriately normalized by something like cumultive costs (NPV) relative to MSRP when new. Something that truly reflects cost to keep it in spick-span state over those high-mile periods.

One can go to Southern Europe and find numerous archaic Peugots and Citroens (or the occasional 2CV) that's polluting more than a 747, yet it's still on the road after having amassed 4x-5x the circumference of the Earth...

ex-a8drifter

the type of people who buy them new, take care of them well (either dealer or enthusiast) and most often than not, the second owner gets a great deal with the bulk of the initial depreciation already gone!

JimR

outside of a dealership, for many things people here do routinely, either themselves, or via indy mechanics.

gondar

speeds, with small valves, (which tend to cool well and not warp), add up to potentially long life. Wish the rubber was better, hoses etc.

Some types of cars simply self-distructed.
Chevy Vega and Citation, Olds Diesel, first and second generation Hondas, pre-1976(?) Porsches.
Rust, mostly

skiwi

but i understand the point.

the challenge for all dealers is that the newer cars require more sophisticated diagnosis techniques - analogous to those used in the it industry.

for example, in the d3 you have gateway processors whose job is to interface 2 other data buses. so, a fault could lie in one of 3 locations. very few traditional mechanics have the type of training required to get this sort of thing right. in fact few enough it professionals do either...

skiracer

I know that some troubleshooting on the D3 need to b done by techincians in Germany via network connection! Pretty hard for a shade tree mechanic to do that!