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I agree with @Danny on this. How well a car is made is as much the result of a country's culture, as it is the result of that country's view of the world. Germany, and much of Europe, has a culture of being proud of the work they do and the products they make, which largely translates into cars that are better than cars produced elsewhere in the world. America does not have this culture of pride, meaning that American cars are only functional, and merely do what they were designed to do, which is last until their warranties run out. To be fair though, America has come a long way in terms of car design and how long their cars last, but the few iconic muscle cars they produce still suffer from poor handling, build quality issues, and low resale values. The vast majority of American-made cars depend on technologies like traction control, stability control, and brakeforce-control systems to compensate for poor suspension and chassis design. This is mainly because of their roads that are mostly long, smooth, and relatively straight highways, whereas the roads In Europe are mostly hilly, twisting, narrow, and often wet. These conditions demand better brakes, firmer chassis designs, stiffer suspension setups, and more responsive steering to provide better handling than any car produced in America. In fact, the safety systems in German, and other Europen cars cannnot be diagnosed and repaired with equipment made for American cars, because of different programming. Moreover, German cars are generally aimed at high-end buyers, which makes them expensive, meaning that most American consumers cannot afford them. The high-end marketing segment demands car that are reliable, handle well, have good resale values,and says something about the buyer. German car manufcaturers know this, which is why they produce cars that satisfy these conditions, instead of producing cars that use technology to compensate for poor design. I hope this explains the basic differences between German and American cars, but be aware that not all German cars are perfect. All cars have issues and problems, and one of those issues is the electronics on German cars that can be incredibly complex and difficult to repair. Therefore it is important that if you buy a used German car, make sure that you have access to a garage that can diagnose its faults, and repair them as well. Programming on a German-made car is different from a German car that was made in America, or elsewhere outside of Germany, so be careful that you don't buy something that you cannot repair.

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-motorsports-enthusiasts-advocate-test-for-vehicle-safety Motorsports enthusiasts are advocating a centralised testing centre to ensure modified ­vehicles are safe, adhere to ­emission and noise limits, and comply with the law. “I feel the best way to regulate the registration of modified cars is by having a vehicle testing centre, just like any other vehicle would have to go through,” said Kamui Mahtani, 27, a Dubai ­resident from Japan who owns a modified Honda S2000. “The major difference is that it would also check each of the components that have been modified and its safety.” For instance, the power output of a vehicle would be checked and compared with a standard vehicle. Brakes would be tested to calculate if the car has sufficient stopping power to match the engine power, he said. “Suspensions, wiring and every component of the vehicle would be checked in detail for safety,” he said. “Making sure the car is not too loud is also very important.” Adnan Khalil, who has had work done on his Honda Accord since 2009, agreed. “There should be a separate section for modified cars ­because after-market modifications both should be safe and legal,” said the 29-year-old, who is a sales consultant at a used car workshop in Dubai. “A lot of people don’t understand what’s legal and what’s not, and a lot of car modifications aren’t safe.” In Abu Dhabi, 6,630 vehicles were impounded last year because of modifications that increase vehicle noise.

Comparing on American and German cars, which one will you advice to buy in 2-3 year old used car market. Some says American is better in technology but not in safety and weak in reliability, other say German are good with safety and reliability but not with technology. I am highly confuse, as I old used Japanese that threw tons of tantrum after few years of use. I am really curious to hear your guys feedback, opinion and cross brand experiences (if any). Thanks in advance.

Hi All, I have 2004 BMW E60 525i Japan spec. Unfortunately the radio signal range is different on my car and needs resetting. Re-setting can be done through plugging computer to the car and doing necessary coding. If anyone knows any garage or person in Dubai/Sharjah who does this for a reasonable price, kindly ask you to post details below (name, phone number, location). I am trying to get the cable and learn the software on my own, but it will take time. Meanwhile, your help will be appreciated.

Hi Gaurav, Unfortunately you have to remove the seat from the vehicle to prevent burning the carpets during welding, but also because the frame is inaccessible if the seat is not removed. Also, you need to have the upholstery removed from the frame to prevent damage during welding. It might be possible to weld the frame without removing the upholstery, but I don't advise it. The picture shows where the frame usually breaks. The two, thin bars running at right angles between the seat runner tracks are the most common failure, but sometimes the riser brackets can also fail. The best thing to do is to remove the seat and have it repaired, since almost all seats from Trail Blazers from this period are either broken, or previously repaired, but with a repaired seat you never know what you get. The repair might have been poorly done, meaning that some power adjustments may not work. I hope this helps.

Off-roading is a lot of fun, but you should really take it serious, because the risks are high. You may want to check this cool tech article Glossary of Off-Road Terminology to make sure that you have good theoretical base before you start equipping your vehicle.

Hey People, I really enjoy driving this amazing beast or a luxury car on Dubai road. It been one of the most special car to after coming to Dubai. I love this car a lot. I would like to raise one small problem happen last night after visiting Dubai mall. Everything was going great and I went to mall with my family to enjoy some shopping, well the car was park when I reach without any hassle. But when I am back to get my car from parking my family was waiting to the exit door I notice a problem in shifting from ""P"" to ""D"" mode. When I was trying to move the gear lever from parking to drive mode it was making a scratch sound. I did not realize what has happen, I tried at least 6 time to get it to the driving mode but all the trial was failed with scratching sound. I was scared I don’t know what has happen suddenly to the car. I came down from the car and give a final try after 10 minutes, I pushed brake and tried to remove a safety key and put it back and tried again, this time with the god grace it started and easily shifted in to drive mode. I don’t understand how! But again now at this time after reaching to my home safely I found another problem where I was not able to shift the gear into ""R"" the shifter was not catching the gear! Well at 11 pm in the night I did not bother to indulge more time, because it seem my car had a severe issue in shifting gear into ""P"" and ""R"". I hope I am thinking in a right direction?? Is gearbox gone for a toss? Is there any cheaper fix to repair it, as I am sure gearbox in this big beast must be damn expensive. Any cost effective ideas guys....?

Hi Fellas, wondering if anyone has basic tips for newbie for doing some small time adventure in sand dunes.... I have drove sometimes on beach and did farely well, so think of heading some dune driving at basic level no dune bashing yet.

Nice said @knightjp but Germans are all about perfection to the grave and thorough testing base their specs and features, unlike American cars who give all what you want, but only half of the stuff do what they supposed to do or. For example: over engineered engine is matted to fucked up transmission and traction control.

German cars are built to a standard that you don't see in many other manufacturers. They are generally over engineered to a certain degree. What I don't like about them is that they tend to be too clinical at times. You'd have to shell out loads of cash to get the premium ones of the range to get fun - Mercedes' AMGs, BMW M series cars, and Audi's S series. American is about brash raw power on the high scale spectrum. For an entry level German saloon, you'd get a premium V8 monster with the American. Sure, it won't handle as well as the Germans, but that what you get with the price. It is more bang for your buck. To state that American cars are only functional, you're kidding yourself. There is a sense of pride. Why do brands like Cadillac do their testing at the Nurburgring in Germany for their high end CTS-V cars? Then you are forgetting about the American hotrod scene and muscle car scene. Unlike the Germans, Americans like to tinker with their cars and do modifications. Personalize their cars a bit. Those who buy American cars are more blue collar. But that is what is great about it. Because they are all blue collar, they became popular. Now we have iconic American cars like Mustangs, Challengers, Chargers. The only really iconic ones from Germany are BMW M3, M5 and the Audi Quattro. Mercedes' AMG cars are great, but not iconic. Perhaps in 20 years time, we'd be talking about the SLS like that. But that is about it. German manufacturers cater to the side of the white collar individual. This is a man, who wants everything sorted before he leaves the showroom. He is not the kind of man that will spend time in the garage tinkering with the car. More likely just washing it and giving it a good clean. More often than not, he is the sort of man who'd pay to the guy owning the Charger to wash his car.

Thanks Gautam, this sounds doable atleast, unlike the previous owner sounded like impossible mission. Can you please help in making me understand better, do "I HAVE TO" remove the seat and then take it to welder or welder can reach with the seat placed in it's place (trying to reduce hassle). Secondly the power seat mechanism works perfect just a small 4-5 mm moving jerk happen. Do you have any picture of diagram that can help me understand better so that I can translate same to the welder or mechanic...?

Hi Gaurav, Trail Blazers from that period have a known issue with the seat frame that breaks. The most common problem is a cross brace that breaks because it is not strong enough, but if you know of a good welder, you can remove the seat and have it repaired relatively cheaply. Another common problem with Trail Blazer seats is the runners that either break, or stick in one position. This too can be repaired by most garages, but I would advise you to go to a garage that can do TIG welding, since ordinary arc welding will just break again because the weld is very brittle.

I agree with @adil on this one. Finding, and fixing a power drain can be very tricky, and this is best left to a competent garage. However, this can sometimes be very expensive, so my advice would be to have the battery checked out first. A simple current draw test will almost always identify a defective battery in only a few seconds, and this test is a whole lot cheaper than trying to find a power drain. My guess would be that the battery is not holding its charge, and there could be many causes for this. Even a marginally overcharging alternator can damage a battery over a long period, so I suggest you have the alternator tested as well, before it damages the new battery as well. Also don't forget to check battery cables and terminals, as well as ground cables and connections for proper contact. A bad ground connection can easily cause the symptoms you describe, so check, and double check all connections. Also check all the connections if you have any aftermarket accessories fitted, such as lights, and sound systems. It often happens that defects in aftermarket accessories damage both batteries and alternators, so be sure to check out all accessories if you have any.

I have tried the Meguiar's product and they are insanely awesome, although slightly expensive than other stuff but worth every penny. For outside wax and shine, I strongly recommend Turtle, Carnuba and Formula 1. All of these available in Ace hardware auto section. Go over there and get your full kit to shine every part of the car like new. I enjoy doing this self cleaning once every month (at least).

Hi husain1, The problem is unlikely to be more serious than wet wiring. The best thing to do would be to remove the bulb from the headlight, and allow it, and the connectors to dry out comletely before replacing the bulb. You can also coat all wiring and the inside of all connectors with a water-repellent spray. There are many brands available, but do not use any spray that contains graphite, since this will cause short circuits and blown fuses. Ask for a spray that is specifically designed to repel water.

Standard DIN is 2 inch tall, and Double DIN is 4 inch tall. DIN is the holder in which your current radio sits. If it's a single DIN radio with old style big push buttons, then you can get GCC specs radio from Sharjah used spare market for less than 50-100 AED than breaking your head to program the frequency and spending money on garage or required cables for DIY. If it's a Double DIN, then it's awesome as with this excuse you can upgrade that to more modern player that comes with big screen entertainment and multiple connectivity options wih USB and Bluetooth to play any media. Cost from 300-500 AED with installation.

I like the FJC.. It looks good and is a capable offroader. Its design is specifically done to hail back to the original old Land Cruisers that you see running around or displayed that the Toyota service center. However, there are problems with it. It is impossible to get the rear doors opened until you have opened the front ones. This presents a problem in tight parking sports. Secondly, its primarily driven by (as Clarkson on Top Gear would put it) Cocks. Getting one, means you risk yourself being branded as one. I don't think that I've ever seen a FJC on the road that wasn't tailgating someone; even on the slow lanes. In that way, the X-Terra probably the more practical choice. I don't believe that Nissan servicing costs are any higher than Toyota. Parts maybe slightly more expensive, but it works out to about the same. Having said all that, my choice in between the two would be the FJC. I know that I'll be branded an idiot the moment I leave the showroom, but I prefer the styling over the X-Terra and the impractical doors are only impractical if I need to use them a lot - which I don't.

Hi Adrik, Unfortunately, Escalades are known for their bad transmissions. The problems with hard or difficult shifting is a known issue, and the problem is almost always related to the valve body. If you are not familiar with automatic transmissions, the valve body is an arrangement of valves, check valves, and other components that control the flow of fluid through the transmission to shift gears by rearranging the relationships between the various planetary gears that give a transmision "ratios" like a manual transmission. Automatic transmissions also have a clutch pack that holds the planetary gears in position while the transmission is in any given gear. These clutch packs are engaged and disengaged by hydraulic pressure from the pump in the transmission, but the actual circuits that control the movement of the clutch packs are controlled and regulated by small valves in the valve body. With Escalades (and other GM transmisions), some of these valve sometimes stick halfway open or closed, which means that the clutch packs often do not fully release to allow the planetary gears to change position relative to each other, and it is this what you are hearing when you say you hear a scratching or grating sound. In effect, the transmission is still in gear (or neutral), but because the clutches are still partially engaged, it is often impossibe to move the selector lever without breaking something in the transmission. The problem is that this kind of problem can appear suddenly. The transmision may be fine for years, but the next time you want to engage a gear manually, it does not work, just like you are describing. However, fixing the issue is not always as easy as replacing the fluid, since the valve that is sticking sometimes has to be freed by hand. This is not always the case though, and a fluid replacement might fix the issue, but don't bank on it. If a fluid replacement does not fix the problem, you may have to replace the transmission because repairs are almost just as expensive as a replacement. Moreover, if the technician repairing your transmission is not an expert, chances are excellent that you will end up experiencing other issues when you get your car back. The transmission could be noisy, not shift correctly, or not shift at all, so you may want to consider replacing it instead of repairing it.

Well, first of all you need to check your vehicle and see if everything is fine especially if you are planning a long trip. I would personally recommend using SUV if you are planning to wander around Dubai. You should also take plenty of water just in case.