JD Power-Car reliability

[besserheimerphat]

I didn't mean to imply that the study came to the wrong conclusions, or they used a poor methodology. Just that the data they presented raised a few questions - questions that they surely could have answered in the press release. But because it's intended for consumption by the general public and not for peer-review of reliability engineers, they left out some details and jumped straight to conclusions.

 

[dmclone]

Agreed. I'd like to see more details on actual models as well as the issues themselves. I've read that little thing that have nothing to do with reliability come into play. One example is how people hated bmw idrive. Another was hummer owners complaining about fuel mileage. Apparently hummer owners expected bad gas mileage just not that bad.

 

[Cyclonepride]

So Consumer Report data may be a better indicator since it covers a longer time frame?

I never take Consumer Report seriously. I saw a report on dvd players that rated brands, and the interesting thing was that two of the players were exactly the same model as company "A" built and relabeled the same unit for company "B". The company "A" dvd player came in as the 3rd best dvd. The company "B" unit came in 8th.

 

[dmclone]

The Internet has made it a lot easier to buy a good car. About 20 minutes of research told me there were problems with 3 series fuel pumps.

I also like to drive a used model of the car I'm looking at to see how they hold up. There are a lot of models out there that are pretty much junk by 50k miles.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Guess that shows the general belief of foreign cars being more reliable can't really be substantiated. (Chrysler brands excepted)

Really? Because 4 of the top 5, 6 of the top 10, and 9 of the top 15 are all foreign...

 

[kilgore_trout]

your position is specious.

But I don't know anyone who owns 100 cars.

 

[ISUSammu]

Just dumped my Volvo for a Lexus and am happy so far. My Volvo had about 3 major problems per year and cost about $3k every year for repairs. Hoping that the Lexus does not have these issues as it is at the top of this list. Experience tells me that domestic repairs are a lot cheaper than foreign repairs. My Blazer never cost me what my Volvo did even though it was in the shop more.

 

[mg4cy]

I never take Consumer Report seriously. I saw a report on dvd players that rated brands, and the interesting thing was that two of the players were exactly the same model as company "A" built and relabeled the same unit for company "B". The company "A" dvd player came in as the 3rd best dvd. The company "B" unit came in 8th.

My Auto experience has matched Consumer Reports ratings. The annual surveys ask you to report on major car repair issues, and a longer term so they seem to ignore the minor warranty claims. Their rankings are somewhat different than JD Power.

I have owned good vehicles and bad vehicles that lined up w/ CS ratings and reviews over the last 20 yrs. Ford Explorer, GMC Sonoma, BMW, Toyota, Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, Honda CRV, Volkswagen Passat, Ford F150. Also, I have ignored their "lows" written about cars, then had it come back to haunt and bug us on a vehicle. CRV (being noisy, for example). I didn't "listen" and bought A GMC Sonoma in the 90's that had a lot of warranty claims and recalls <40k, then a short "bath tub" curve, and stuff started wearing out/failing at 75-100k.

I disagree w/ their vacuum cleaner ratings, though.