[finnbow]

Personally, I would never own a German car in the USA (and this comes from a guy who lived in Germany for 11 years and owned a Porsche and an Audi while there). While they are certainly nice to drive (the Porsche 911 remains my favorite car of all time), their initial high cost (they only come fully tricked out here), reliability and cost to repair/maintain are simply too high to offset their driving characteristics (which you largely can't take advantage of here anyway, particularly if used primarily as a commuter/grocery-getter).

Every German car I have ever owned has had myriad electrical issues from relays (fuel pump, windshield wipers, rear window defroster) to switches (heat, AC, power windows) to motors (for wipers and power windows). It's not a big issue in Germany, but it is here where parts and labor are at a premium for what we consider luxury cars.

I've become a big Mazda fan. They're extremely reliable, sporty, affordable and best-in-class (or close) for a variety of vehicle types. Between my wife, me and our kids, we have owned (or still own) a Miata, a Mazda3, a Mazda6 and two CX-5's. All have been absolutely bullet-proof and have never needed anything other than tires, brakes, filters and fluids.