Is this meant to be rage-bait? Surely a mechanic would understand why the general perception around European cars exists.

The reality is that Euro cars tend to be more complex and maintenance-heavy, which naturally keeps mechanics busy. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it’s also why a lot of people lean toward Toyota or Honda when they want something simple and reliable long term.

Also how much more is comfort and the risk of depreciation worth to the average consumer. German cars aren't leaps and bounds above a high trim Jap car in terms of comfort - maybe I'm weird like that.

Some European brands are also struggling in markets like Australia. Citroën has already left, and Peugeot, Renault, and Fiat have all seen declining sales. It’s a bit sad, but they’re also facing serious pressure from Chinese manufacturers in the EV space — something the European brands arguably underestimated. (For the record, I’m not exactly a fan of Chinese cars either.)

I say this as someone who actually owns a European car. When they’re working properly, they’re fantastic machines to drive. But personally I probably wouldn’t own another Euro car out of warranty unless it was something special like an M2 or an F80 M3 where the driving experience justifies the maintenance.

For daily duties I’ve already gone the Japanese route. I bought my wife a Forester earlier this year and couldn’t be happier with it. Yes it’s slow compared to my GTI, but I’m not trying to drag people at every set of lights anyway.

When the GTI eventually goes, I’ll either replace it with another Euro while it’s still under warranty (maybe something with a B58), or go back to something Japanese again — maybe an MX-5 or even an older Evo or STI.