2006 JD Power Ratings

[YSSMAN]

There are a few different parts, so I shal post each of them. They come as handy graphs, so thats awfully nice of them...

Cool, looks like the American brands aren't doing too bad afterall...

 

[niky]

Wait... BMW's are now dependable? Que horror! And Jaguars even more so!?! OMFG!!!! It's the sign of the apocalypse!!!!

No, wait... Mini is still at the bottom. So that's where they sent all their bugbears. I suppose MINI is there to absorb all of BMW's bad karma.

By the way, go Audi! go MB! go VW!... go.... Kia? WTF is up with that? Most Kias are made on the same plats as Hyundais... ???

 

[Wolfe]

Whoopdee doo. The new popularity contest results are in.

It's funny how useless these polls are. If someone hates a car, a slight rattle in the rear hatch will count as a problem, but if someone loves a car, only major mechanical failures will even make the list.



(No offense to you personally for posting it, YSSMAN. You're doing a great job posting news here )

 

[niky]

But note that the Mini is at the bottom. And as far as I can remember, despite the horrid quality, every single Mini owner loves their car.

Yeah, it's probably a bit biased, but, oh well...

And what are you complaining about? BMW is near the top!

 

[Wolfe]

And what are you complaining about? BMW is near the top!

That should prove to you that I really mean what I'm saying.

 

[daan]

What has happened to Porsche? 2nd in 2005 down to 22nd in 2006. That's not a fall, that's a plummet!

 

[G.T]

Poor Land Rover.

I knew they were bad, but 2006's results are ABYSMAL.

 

[niky]

@Wolfe: Touché.

 

[1X83Z]

Porsche's drop is very interesting, and Land Rover's position is just comical. Jaguar has clearly worked hard to get high on that list, yet Land Rover's incompetence continues the "unreliable British" theme.

When is JD Power (and everyone else) going to realize that the Toyota RAV4 is a midsize SUV? I mean the thing has more power than any of the midsize SUVs posted and yet it's the top compact SUV.

 

[ozyran]

Porsche's drop is very interesting, and Land Rover's position is just comical. Jaguar has clearly worked hard to get high on that list, yet Land Rover's incompetence continues the "unreliable British" theme.

Indeed. I always thought they were some of the world's best 4x4s; I guess I've been a little deluded. I can not imagine paying that much for a brand new Land Rover only to have a vehicle that's as reliable as...a Kia?

 

[1X83Z]

Indeed. I always thought they were some of the world's best 4x4s; I guess I've been a little deluded. I can not imagine paying that much for a brand new Land Rover only to have a vehicle that's as reliable as...a Kia?

Hell, worse!

They really are great SUVs - when they're working. The LR3/Discovery and Freelander are average or below average in class, but the Range Rover is the absolute gold standard for luxury SUVs and always has been. Plus, all models have spectacular capabilities off-road. Reliability has always been a big issue though - I'm looking for a ~$9k used car and recently a nice '97 top-line Range Rover came on the market for $9500. Interested at first, I later decided the only way I'd get a $9500 Rover is if I had $19000 as that'd be what I'd need to maintain it.

 

[Pupik]

It's funny how useless these polls are. If someone hates a car, a slight rattle in the rear hatch will count as a problem, but if someone loves a car, only major mechanical failures will even make the list.

Trust me, Lexus owners do complain about rattles, wind noise, fuel economy, tire noise, paint scratches, broken bits damaged by children and inattentive adults, normal brake and tire servicing, and air conditionings that aren't cold enough on a mid-summer's day...just like every other manufacturer. The fun is when people have strange stories and make funny noises!

Mercury is number 2, and Jaguar's back up there...great job by FoMoCo to save it from the doldrums; maybe they learned from Lincoln, who is almost always in the top 10.

But note that the Mini is at the bottom. And as far as I can remember, despite the horrid quality, every single Mini owner loves their car.

So do Alfa Romeo owners; they're willing to put up faults...of course, no Alfas in America for some time now. Saturn owners are a loyal bunch as well, the reliability is only mid-pack, but their dealer network keep the owners happy.

 

[Dave A]

A "problems per 100 cars" poll isn't the be all and end all, I'd much preffer a car that has 1 problem a month but it's always stupidly small that can be sorted by yourself in 5 mins, than a car where it has 1 problem in 1 year, but the problem is that the timing belt snaps thanks to a design fault.

What you need is a poll per taken on a model to model basis where thigs like mechanics and electrics are rated seperately as well as dealer support, economy and so on. That tells you what a good car is. I don't know why the JD Power surveys are so vastly different in the US to the UK, we get the relaibility rated in two or three categories, rather than theres a squeak = 1 problem, the wheels randomly fall off = 1 problem.

 

[YSSMAN]

Well the sad thing is, for most people the JD surveys are the way they form an opinion on many new cars and trucks. I was watching the news last-night (before the UK/US bombing scare) and they were talking about the ratings and how great Lexus is... Great, its a good thing these people have no idea what they are talking about.

All it does is create bragging rights for the given brands, and thats about it. It does point out that the American brands can do as well as those from Japan, and how many European brands are a bit overrated in quality, but nothing more. There is still the car-by-car baisis in which one Jetta might to better than the one made right after it, one Camry may have more issues with it's transmission while another may have some serious quality issues with the interior.

It does make you wonder who exactly spends all of their time complaining for JD power to get these scores together. First time buyers? Long-time drivers?

Take the Volkswagen scores. I don't know many people who just wonder around and suddenly decide to drive a Vee-Dub, it is a pretty well established brand with a well-established fan base. Of course VW is trying to change it, but most VW owners are well aware of the quality issues, and for the most part, don't complain about it as often as other owners would.

 

[Pupik]

I'm thinking of another trend here: Lexus, Mercury, Buick, and Cadillac (the top 4 on this list) are primarily owned by older drivers, with ages averaging between 50 and 65. Since there's no mileage limit (it's based 3 years), the flaw in this 3-year survey is based on the fact that a car used every day in a commute is far more likely to have more problems, than a car used on only once or twice a week, likely at a reduced pace and not under the same stresses that a commuter car will endure.

Just a thought; older customers usually have less repair issues to complain about from my experience, they also tend to put less miles on the car.

 

[YSSMAN]

^ Agreed. Added to that, they often take better care of their cars as well, as they have more time to do it. My Grandfather has a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe that has gone without any problems, and it has been back-and-fourth from Michigan to Florida atleast ten times since 2002.

But he washes it every five or so days, cleans it with laser precision, and has the maintainence planned-out and done on the mileage due-dates on the dot.

He does the same thing with his '89 Honda Prelude Si. The car has less than 125K miles on the clock, and I've seen brand-new cars in worse shape than his Prelude. He just paid a guy $100 to fix a small tear (less than an inch) in a corner of the front seat, and he is waiting to replace the radio antenna, as the motor burned out about a year ago.

 

[Pupik]

Apparently, threats of "increased unreliability" from Toyota brands are statistically unfounded.

Look at the charts for yourself...

 

[YSSMAN]

Ha ha, good one! You got me there!

Yes, they moved up from seventh to fifth... But you also need to take into consideration that the 2006 test uses data from 2006, 2005, and 2004 models all of which for the most part consisted of previous-generation Toyotas which had argueably better built models than the new 2007 versions.

Get inside of an '07 Camry or FJCruiser, and you'll see what I mean...