Automobile Reliability

[Cjburn]

I know that Consumer Reports is a hot subject around here but here is an interesting article.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/used-cars/reliability/best-worst-in-car-reliability-1005/reliability-findings/reliability-findings.htm

For me it's the the ford section that is interesting...

[Crawlin]

any company that gets sued for their reviews by individuals(not a company it bashed) and then claims that it's for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken worth a grain of salt, loses all credibility to me then....

(talking about Consumer Reports)

[MurphysLaw88GT]

Efff Consumer Reports

[Al]

Efff Consumer Reports

It's better than listening to some biased asshole at a dealership with an agenda on his mind.

[Reverend Cooper]

^ this is true untill the biased asshole is working for consumer reports.

[lordairgtar]

^ this is true untill the biased asshole is working for consumer reports.
To what purpose would he be biased? They don't take adverts.

[Al]

^ this is true untill the biased asshole is working for consumer reports.

Why is it that Ford People always say that?

[Waver]

Why is it that Ford People always say that?

It is just not ford people....It is because of all the biased bulshit out there that people are afraid to buy american vs japaneese....I hated hearing "consumer reports says this" when I was working at offiemax....simply put, a lot of the shit that consumer reports said was good was the shit that was getting returned becuse it was deffective....

However it is just not consumer reports that is saying that Ford quality is up there with the imports.....If you would do your own research you would find that out....this is not ford is better than chevy thing.........

[wrath]

Consumer Reports is a waste of time and paper.

[Waver]

Consumer Reports is a waste of time and paper.
oh I agree, but in this case it is not just consumer reports that is saying that ford quality is on par with the imports

[Karps TA]

I know plenty of people with new cars across the spectrum, and I find their experiences alot different then what Consumer Reports says usually. Like the remarks about Kia and Hyundai. I know 3 people with those cars, and all 3 of them hate their cars.

I think all the car mfgs are making much better cars then they used to, and I think there's very little difference in quality anymore.

[Exitspeed]

I LOVE this debate. Fact of the matter is MOST cars today are very dependable.

What you need to know and do is NOT look at just ONE source. There's consumer reports, JP Power, and Strategic Vision. All three sources have different ways of measuring dependability. JD Power ranks on defects per 100 vehicles sold, Consumer Reports surveys their customers for quality ratings, and Strategic Visions ranks vehicles on consumers "feelings" lol.

For instance if one car has a problem with a tranny having to be replaced it's measured the same as if a window switch breaks. It's just measured as a problem.

JD Power ranks Acura 5th with 160 defects and Buick had 163 defects out of every 100 vehicles sold. The difference here is actually only .03...Not huge at all.

BTW Ford ranked just below Honda for the 2008 study. Honda had 110 defects, while Ford had 112.

Even brands at the bottom of these lists as far as defects are better then some of the best cars from any brand of the mid 90's and earlier.

So you guys get the point. Take this stuff with a grain of salt and make sure if you are going to base a purchase off of these surveys make sure you look at all of them and not just one.

[Karps TA]

I LOVE this debate. Fact of the matter is MOST cars today are very dependable.

What you need to know and do is NOT look at just ONE source. There's consumer reports, JP Power, and Strategic Vision. All three sources have different ways of measuring dependability. JD Power ranks on defects per 100 vehicles sold, Consumer Reports surveys their customers for quality ratings, and Strategic Visions ranks vehicles on consumers "feelings" lol.



.

Surveying customers is probably the least reliable ways of getting feedback, unless you weight the scores somehow. Cause people love to bitch when things go wrong, but will stay silent when things work right. Nobody raves about the fact their car starts everyday like it should. But should it happen to not start, that person will tell everyone within earshot.

[BAD LS1]

Yeah id like to see a different way of judging reliabilty, how about warranty reports from each MFG on all the diff models, that will take the biased comsumer opinion out of things. IMO warranty feedback is great tool to determine where your product falls short and just how badly.

[Exitspeed]

Yeah id like to see a different way of judging reliabilty, how about warranty reports from each MFG on all the diff models, that will take the biased comsumer opinion out of things. IMO warranty feedback is great tool to determine where your product falls short and just how badly.

That is how JD Power rates it. But like I said, having the engine blow and a faulty stereo volume switch are both rated as "problems". There's no weight to the problems.

[Cjburn]

It's just a point to put out there that everything has changed alot in the last 10 years or so in car manufacturing. I'm not married to any brand, but seeing Ford improve greatly is really nice. I remember when the reports were coming out in 06 that the new Fusion had less warranty occurrences than the Camry or Accord. It is something I'd like to hear the automotive press report more.