Consumer Reports sent surveys last spring to its 6 million Web site and magazine subscribers for its annual vehicle reliability survey released this week. The results cover 1 million 1998 to 2005 model year vehicles. Among the findings: Lofty sticker prices don't always mean high quality. The list of least reliable cars includes some of Europe's most expensive nameplates, such as the Audi A8, BMW 7 series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. For the second year in a row, no European automaker made it on the most-reliable car list. Only 3 percent of Toyota Prius owners reported problems with their cars. By comparison, 67 percent of Infiniti QX56 owners went back to the dealership because of problems. While the quality gap between Asian and domestic carmakers is closing for new cars, as domestic cars age, the gap widens. http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs...7/1003/BUSINESS
That's pretty horrible for a "luxury" vehicle... I'm also surprised to hear that BMW, Audi, and Mercedes both had cars on the "worst" list. Those are some expensive pieces of iron...
But we don't know what they're returning them for. Maybe those owners are pickier; maybe all of those returns are for dashboard squeaks :_>
someone reported a "problem" with their new Prius where hubby works the other day: when she turned on the headlights, the speedometer disappeared. :lol: seriously now... i think suzuki is the worst of all. they had an average of something like 2 problems per new vehicle in the first year. eww.
Yeah, expensive AND unreliable pieces of iron. My bet would be that Toyota, Honda, Acura, and Lexus are at the top of the list in terms of best reliability and fewest reported problems. I'd rather have a non-luxury car that I can rely on to get me places year after year than a 'high-class' European luxury car that's constantly having problems.
Except for the 3% of us its been a major pain. My Prius sat at the dealership for 3 weeks waiting for a new gas tank. Several months later it was at the dealer for three days for computer problems. Then there are a bunch of little quirks like the wipers going on for no reason that I just choose to ignor. All that being said, I would still buy a Prius again. Mine with its problems seems perfect in comparision to my wife's Volvo S80. Its all a matter of perspective.
I can believe the Audi having poor reliablity. Our 1999 Audi A4 was constantly having problems, mostly with the engine. At 35K miles the A/C went out and cost $2000 to replace the evaporator coils. We got rid of the car earlier this year, with 45K miles on it, and it was leaking coolant from the engine block. We replaced the A4 with a 2005 Prius. Now we get twice the mileage of the 1.8 liter Audi.
Here's a couple of things for you guys to let percolate. 1) These big luxo boats may have "poor" reliability but they're slightly different from, say a domestic. Their problem is usually electrical. 2) Someone was complaining at the Audi forums about their new Audi. The seniors posters there replied with "well, that's the price you pay for an Audi". They make it seem like it's normal for cars to break down and take time out of your busy schedule to have them repaired. Also, a MB official said, in defense of all this electrical problem they're facing, that "you expect problems such as this when you're ahead of the competition and constantly bringing in cutting edge technology" Uh, reality check pal. Toyota brought in the hybrids without tarnishing their reliability record. It brought in the Lexus brand which became well known in 1/10th the time it took Mercedes to gain recognition. The Lexus LS430 is the most reliable car, consistently topping charts and also has the most satisfied owners.
I guess I would be speaking from an expert level, since my job involves going to automotive suppliers and looking at quality. Mercedes issues come as no surprise, since their M class has dragged the Mercedes nameplate to below Kia expectations of quality. Hopefully their new model launch will fix the issues. BMW 7 series introduced the I-drive system, which BMW seems intent to force on all its drivers. It is not cutting edge when the vast majority of your customers dislike the system. It increased demand for the older models prior to the introduction of the I-drive. If further investigation is done, you will probably find most of the issues are model-specific. Just because one Infiniti had problems, you don't rule out the Infiniti brand altogether. A good judge of determining problem cars (IMHO) is the resale value after 1 year. That's why I am on my third Prius. I tend to buy vehicles that retain their value more than other vehicles and other than exotic Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Prius leads the pack.
