While homegrown heavyweights like Ford, Chevrolet, and GMC are American favorites, the Europeans have also started to gain considerable attention. Today, many Americans are willing to look past the “Made in USA” tag if it means they get a better product. Thus, it’s no surprise that the U.S. has been importing so many foreign automobiles.
As data from Eurostat shows, the European Union exported over 5.4 million cars in 2024. That’s over €165.2 billion, or about $194.5 billion. When compared to 2019, that’s a 17.7% increase. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. and the U.K. were the top destinations for these exports.
However, something that often gets overlooked is the maintenance experience of foreign cars. It turns out that American and European vehicles often have a drastically different user experience when service needs arise. In this article, let’s explore why this is the case.
European Engineering Tends To Favor Precision Over Convenience
There’s a common stereotype that European cars are ‘over-engineered,’ but to some extent, it is true. That said, there is a segment of consumers who are happy with the tradeoff that complex design brings. For instance, the first thing an owner of a European car would notice is how tightly compact the engine bay is. This makes tinkering and regular maintenance a lot more labor-intensive than domestic brands.
So, in regions where bad weather conditions are common, maintenance can take significant effort. Look back to 2024 and how Hurricane Milton affected so many cars in Brandon, FL. Residents were frustrated with how parking lots were flooded, and the roads were like rivers. Countless car owners had to find reliable and speedy auto repair in Brandon, and those who had overengineered cars had to search extra hard.
As Bergman’s Auto Repair notes, sudden rain has the ability to seriously affect even American performance cars. If you’re lucky, the damage may only be limited to degraded rubber suspensions and poor heat cycles for tires. However, with high-spec European vehicles, water damage can be a lot trickier to deal with.
European cars tend to use relatively complex wiring that routes under carpets and even rocker panels. Water can get to those and start corroding the connector pins and ground points. Moisture can also affect the many overengineered conveniences like soft-close doors or adaptive air suspension. Addressing these problems requires considerable skill, which brings us to our next point.
High-End European Cars Require Extensive Training
Almost every mechanic is comfortable popping the hood of a Toyota and getting their hands greasy. However, the same cannot be said with many European models, which is a perspective from mechanics that can be controversial. One key reason is that European brands often want maintenance to be handled in a certain manner.
There are often courses that need to be completed, and these aren’t short or cheap. For instance, they often require anywhere between 300 and 400 hours of brand-specific training per model. Likewise, their training programs can range anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 per technician.
Let’s also not forget that such certification is usually meant only for a single generation of a model. This makes it unrealistic for many mechanics to service European cars. After all, how many models can you get certified for, and how often? If someone attempts to work on a car without proper training, they risk affecting its warranty.
Modern European Cars Are Chock Full of Complex Electronics
Another factor that makes maintenance tricky is electronics. Most people think cars are primarily mechanical beasts, but that’s far from true today. The number of electronic features, many of them being proprietary, makes easy service considerably more challenging.
Even if you have a garage stocked full of equipment, there would be a limit to what you can fix on your own. As Mordor Intelligence notes, European cars now use 5x the number of electronic control units when compared to a decade ago. As such, they require workshops to use a number of scanners capable of interrogating CAN, LIN, FlexRay, and Automotive Ethernet.
Thus, your best bet is to find a service that knows what it’s doing when it comes to European cars. A specialist, if you will. You might have to pay a little more for it, but it beats trusting someone who lacks the skills needed.
All things considered, there’s no doubt that some of the best cars in the world come from Europe. The level of craftsmanship, comfort, and performance you get from these vehicles is on another level. Even if you aren’t going in for the high-end models, you’ll still notice the overall quality is respectable.
At the same time, no car stays perfect without proper maintenance. If you do decide to own a European car, remember that it’s your responsibility to meet the higher care requirements. It’s simply one of the tradeoffs you make when you choose to get one of these cars.
