HEVNSNT

iTrader: (3)

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_7242.aspx

The cars least likely to develop mechanical faults after three-nine years of ownership:

1. Mazda: 8.04%
2. Honda: 8.90%
3. Toyota: 15.78%
4. Mitsubishi: 17.04%
5. Kia: 17.39%
6. Subaru: 18.46%
7. Nissan: 18.86%
8. Lexus: 20.05%
9. Mini: 21.90%
10. Citroen: 25.98%


11. Daewoo: 26.30%
12. Hyundai: 26.36%
13. Peugeot: 26.59%
14. Ford: 26.76%
15. Suzuki: 27.20%
16. Porsche: 27.48%
17. Fiat: 28.49%
18. BMW: 28.64%
19. Vauxhall: 28.77%
20. Mercedes: 29.90%


21. Rover: 30.12%
22. Volvo: 31.28%
23. Volkswagen: 31.44%
24. Jaguar: 32.05%
25. Skoda: 32.12%
26. Chrysler: 34.90%
27. Audi: 36.74%
28. Seat: 36.87%
29. Renault: 36.87%


30. Alfa Romeo: 39.13%
31. Saab: 41.59%
32. Land Rover: 44.21%
33. Jeep: 46.36%

Neo

iTrader: (4)

Yep, I saw the Mazda3 guys discuss this on their forum. Alot of people can backup the claim, while others have experienced less than stellar quality. I guess it's the luck of the draw with these things.

I can honestly say after owning Mazda's for the past 19yrs, they have been very reliable vehicles. We've owned almost every model produced. The only one we haven't had the chance of experiencing is the Miata.

And the ownership continues. Our Tribute has been up on lease for the past couple of months. We were hoping the replacement would be a worthy successor. Unfortunately Ford's influence is too great with the Tribute. So we'll be getting a CX-7 by the end of the month.
So we have 3 Mazda3's, 1 Mazda6, 1 RX-7, and now a CX-7.

Lates,

Syritis

iTrader: (2)

i think ford should me a lot lower on that list, even working part time in an auto shop, i'm still yet to see a ford come in, without having burnt P/S fluid, or all the lights working

Terrh

iTrader: (7)

I somehow have a feeling that lightbulbs aren't included in this test.

all the fords I've had have been super reliable.


I dunno about mazdas qualitywise, there seems to be some good ones and some bad ones.

lots of hondas have small issues, same with toyotas..

but what surprised me was mitsubishi at #4!

wow.

HEVNSNT

iTrader: (3)

Kia and Daewoo. Ahead of Hyndai. But the thing is that the results are based on 450 000 vehicles. That's pretty significant.

dradon03

iTrader: (2)

That isn't that many vehicules. And remember this is for warranty repair only. If a dealer or manufacturer refuses to repair a vehicule "on warranty" than it is not included in this.

I saw it on www.topgear.com

01Racing

I guess no one looked further down the list at the Premium Brands with all the German quality and technology........................Even the pinnacle of Customer Satisfaction Surveys (LEXUS) was only 8th on the list! Somethin aint right here Bubbalooie!

krazykoncepts

Not really new news, but nice to see some more written proof....

They seem to go in a trend, japanese, euro, american

rx7racerca

iTrader: (1)

Not a lot of surprises here really, and of course the results within manufacturers will vary greatly by model - eg, the Mustang has been one of the most trouble-free cars period for years, even if Ford is not great overall. That premium brands like Lexus rank lower than you might expect is a reflection that the cars are loaded with complicated gadgets that increase the chances for failure, especially if not done well. The Japanese are much better in this regard than anyone else - while 3 series BMW's and the C class Mercs are average according to Consumer Reports (who have extremely large survey sizes), all their higher end cars rank worse to much-worse than average. It's not the basic mechanical systems that fail so much, but the widgets and gadgets.

Neo

iTrader: (4)

Yep, the gadgets make the car very complicated.
I recently took the new BMW X5 for a test drive. It had alot of automation integrated into the console and the driving. Damn idrive is not an option on those vehicles!
It took the sales guy 3 mintues to adjust everything via idrive. I couldn't start the truck without him getting everything just right! lol
About the only thing that really impressed me was the gearbox. Otherwise I can do without all the automation in a vehicle.

Nick86

iTrader: (1)

We also need to take into accout expectations vs results as well - and that's why the Premium brands are lower.

When someone buys a Lexus, they expect nothing less than perfection. Lexus has also made their name on customer service. I used to work with a guy who bought an LS400 and loved it. But like he said "If I ask the Lexus dealer to wipe my ***, they will make an apointment to do so with a smile." He brought the car back after 3 days because he didn't like the shineyness of the protectant they used on the dash. The car interior was detailed with a low luster spray and promptly returned. This would have been considered a "fault" repaired under warrantee.

People who buy a Hyundai, a Civic or a Corolla tend to be a lot more forgiving because they are usually not used to new cars and would never notice the small problems - much less have them fixed. If your brand new Sunfire had a shut line that was slightly off (bad example, they all do lol) hardly any owner would take it back, but if that same error was on your BMW, chances are it would be back in the shop ASAP!

SMonty

not true, I work at land rover and that would not be considered a "fault" it would be a complimentary fix or internal fix as in the dealership foots the bill to keep the customer happy, dealerships are the middle man between the company and the customer, just because the customer didn't pay to have it fixed doesnt mean the company did, most auto-makers will do everything they can to refuse to pay the dealership. little stuff is almost always paid for by the dealership.

Aviator 902S

Conspicuous by their absence from this list are none other than (drum roll)...

General Motors! Either:

a) Their vehicles are so good that nothing compares to them.

b) their cars are so bad they didn't make the list.

Call me a cynic, but I picked b).

However, as already pointed out, lists like these don't tell the whole story--- scam companies/dealer networks that pull every stunt imaginable to avoid having to honor a warranty claim have lots of complaints that don't show up on this particular radar. And then there's the customer honesty factor--- many owners are brand-loyal to the point that they are very satisfied with their respective rides and tend to overlook flaws that they'd freak out over if they occurred on another vehicle make.

One of the more tell-tale indicators of a car's reliability seems to be Dealer Service Bulletins (DSBs). These are notices meant only for the dealer service department personnel--- to give them a heads-up every time a design flaw in a particular make is cause for concern and a corrective solution. Almost all makes and models have at least one or two of these applied against them, but some cars (Chrysler Intrepid, Ford Tempo, Pontiac Grand Am for examples) have several times more than what is typical. The only problem is that these bulletins don't normally apply to cars that are approaching nine years old, cars that have been out of warranty for four to six years.

Dom

The thing is that there are lies, and then there are damn lies, but worst is that there are statistics.

Without seeing the raw data, anyone can 'prove' any point.

For example, does the Jeep's almost 50% indicate that one of the 2 Jeeps in in the sample broke down?

How about manufacturer skewing the results?

Did you know that the Harbor report does not consider ALL hands that work on car. Do you not think that there are massive layoffs before they take their 'data'... And how about whole plants just plain withholding the numbers for fear of revealing something?

Sorry, but from what I've seen from quality reports over the years, is that all the big manufacturers are running about the same numbers. And that if you can prove better initial quality for A then B gets better long time quality AND then C gets lower repair costs followed closely by D with lower operating costs.

Yeap, lies, damn lies, then statistics!

highwayinthesky

i think that any car is just as likley to fail as the next brand or model. it is all about how the parts are built outside of the factory and how they all work together. just remember that if people built it, it is not perfect and is only a matter of time before if fails.