re: Are German cars worth the maintenance headaches and associated costs?

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You can always have bad luck, but I find that people drastically overstate the "German cars have high maintenance costs" BS

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It’s not even bad luck. Even with good luck, you’re stuck with $300 oil changes, $800 batteries, $1000 tires, $500 cabin filters, the list goes on.

You can dodge a lot of it for a couple years, but eventually you’re getting a $5-10k maintenance bill.

Ask Warren Buffett what he thinks.

No. Bought a Tiguan for my daughter. It burns oil and smokes profusely after idling for a while. Volkswagen refuses to admit there is a problem. It seems that the engine in the tiguans is known for this and they just change their definition of normal oil consumption in order to not have to replace engines. It's all over the Internet. I'll never own another one and I'll probably get rid of this one

I have a 2014 SL550 bought in 2014. It’s 12 years old and I haven’t had any issues yet. But, it only has 42K miles as it’s a garage queen. Great car.

“Considering getting rid of one or both of my Honda/Acura and driving a B8.5 Audi S4 or S5 for a few years while I'm still single and childless”

Little long but trying to give you honest feel of my experiences.. give this some serious thoughts before deciding.

Pros and cons.. fwiw have owned Audis for a long time .. still have an a7 in garage I need to get out..

Here is my experience.. Also I have switched from Audi to Honda for my interstate/dog/commuter and now from Audi a7 to a Lexus ls500 for my wife’s city car

Audis claim is exactly what they are… a performance sporty suv or car( use to drive the q5 as my highway and dog car).. had a6 and a7 for city..

They are beautiful cars imo.. the sport back is distinctive ( came over on their a7)… they were not sure Americans would like it.. we did.. now everyone is imitating it….they drive smooth.. they are zippy.. they are fun…they are a good sport car that is also a adult car.

Ok why did I leave them.. once out of warranty … yikes!!!!!!!!!!.. .. dealer will rape you for maintaining it.. need to be darn sure you get a certified mechanic to do anything.. I mean anything!!!… change the headlight. .. over a grand I recall.. change the oil.. some monkey will screw it up and next thing you know your on side of the road….

Why am I getting rid of the a7 ( it is beautiful and a great car)… but my German car mechanic was talking to my wife and explained to her( she puts about 1500 miles a year on it)… your car has low mileage.. is maintained but getting aged.. you need to decide.. cause one of these days you are going to smell burn oil.. you are going to bring it in and I am going to tell you the plastic stuff associated with your oil system fill cost about 10k yo replace.. ( she asked him.. what would you buy.. he said go get a Lexus)

The maintenance is significant after warranty.. I like to keep cars a long time.

Fwiw .. the s5 is nice!…

15 or so years ago, a friend's wife owned an Audi, and I recall him complaining about $200 oil changes. Maybe doing your own maintenance would reduce your cost, but I can easily see that same oil change being $300 now.

Just something to keep in mind as you decide . . .

Why not get the sportiest Acura, whether SUV or car. Id love a TLX

Would take over any German car

We’ve owned 5 Porsche’s and they’ve been very reliable
All cars can have mechanical failures
Oil change $175.
We’ve also owned ford, Chevy, Jeep and I think Mazda - years ago. Even jaguar and Audi.
With very limited mechanical issues.
So I guess we’ve been lucky