Small cars, big problems? It all comes down to maintenance, says TÜV SÜD
Small cars, big problems? It all comes down to maintenance, says TÜV SÜD
Even though the TÜV Report 2012 documents that the average rate of defects rose by a mere 0.2 per cent to 19.7 per cent throughout Germany, this rate still means that almost one in five cars fails to pass the TÜV roadworthiness inspection at the first attempt. In the category of compact cars typically chosen as second cars, the rate of defects rises particularly rapidly in the age category of five years and older. Are these cars of poorer quality? A glance at the figures shows that lack of servicing and maintenance combined with short-distance driving are mainly to blame for the high failure rate of compact cars in roadworthiness tests. Regular servicing would have a major impact at low cost. The 2012 TÜV Report will be available from TÜV SÜD service centres and retailers from 16 December.
From 16 December 2011 available from all TÜV SÜD service centres and from retailers: the 2012 TÜV Report | The purchase of a second car is based on different criteria from those applied to a first car. Prestige, horsepower and comfort do not play a major role. The feature most people look for in a second car is low cost. Is the lower level of quality to blame for the fact that typical compact cars frequently fail the roadworthiness test? The figures in the 2012 TÜV Report paint a different picture. In the category of three-year-old cars, many of the compact car brands which are very popular second cars are still among the high-reliability cars with low defect rates, such as Mazda 2, Ford Fusion, Opel Agila or Smart Fortwo. In the age category of five years or older, the rate of defects rises drastically – a clear case of inadequate servicing. To take examples from the current TÜV Report: between the ages of three and five years, the rate of defects detected in the Ford Fusion doubles to 6.1 per cent. In the Smart Fortwo, the rate of significant defects found by the TÜV testers triples from 3.6 to 10.6 per cent. |
Commenting on these results, Jürgen Wolz from TÜV SÜD says: "Car owners' attention to servicing and maintenance drops drastically as the car's age and number of owners rises. Regular servicing and maintenance would be a major plus for maintaining the value and roadworthiness of the car, at relatively low costs."
Poor servicing – poor rates
The fact that roadworthiness testing reveals an above-average deterioration in compact cars over five years old further indicates that the result is more to blame on a lack of servicing and maintenance than on poor quality. After all, roadworthiness testing focuses on typical wear parts including brakes, tie rods or lights: "These are the parts that suffer most from the typical use of second cars as vehicles for short-distance driving", says Wolz.
Use your second car for longer distances too
Buyers of used compact cars that have been used as typical second cars should very carefully inspect the brakes, front axle, exhaust and lights – the components that suffer most from short-distance driving. Brake disks corrode, hitting kerbs can shorten the life of a tie rod end, and fluid levels such as motor oil are checked less frequently because of the certainty that the car will at least make the short distance to school, whatever happens. In vehicles that only cover distances of under 10 kilometres and never drive on the motorway, moisture stays in the exhaust system and leads to corrosion. The lamp for the high beam is not needed within built-up areas anyhow. A short overview of the weaknesses of second cars reveals that in many areas these cars actually need more servicing than a family car that is driven over long distances. However, the list also proves that many measures can be carried out by the owners themselves "Use the 'family runabout' for longer trips at the weekend too. The longer distance ensures that the engine will get warm and the exhaust system dries out", explains Wolz. "Owners of second cars who regularly check the levels of motor oil, cooling water and brake fluid make a major contribution to road safety.“
The TÜV Report, appearing as a special supplement to the German car magazine Auto Bild, is published annually by the non-profit German Association of Technical Inspection Agencies (VdTÜV) and is regarded as one of the most important guides for drivers and, primarily, used car dealers. The TÜV Report incorporates statistics from roadworthiness inspections carried out by all TÜV organizations throughout Germany. The latest version analyzed a total of 7.8 million inspections performed between July 2010 and June 2011. As the largest provider of roadworthiness inspections in Germany, TÜV SÜD contributed around 3.1 million results from its territories in Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Saxony and Hamburg.
Information: The 2012 TÜV Report is available from all TÜV SÜD service centres and from retailers from Friday 16 December 2011 and costs EUR 4.50.
Photos: Current pictures on the theme of "roadworthiness inspections" can be downloaded from the image library: http://www.tuev-sued.de/tuev_sued_konzern/presse/bilddatenbank.
Complete information on the 2012 TÜV Report can be found at www.tuev-sued.de/tuev-report-2012 (only available in German) and www.vdtuev.de.
Contact: Frank Volk