OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the event-free survival of male patients with germ cell tumors in relapse or first partial remission treated with salvage therapy comprising cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide (PEI) or vinblastine, ifosfamide, and cisplatin (VeIP) with or without high-dose carboplatin, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide, followed by autologous bone marrow and/or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.