Reliability?

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What do BITOG members think of CU reliability information?

According the CU one foreign manufacturer, Fist-Chrysler gets the booby prize especially with their pickups and the Fiat 500. Toyota takes first and Honda slips down the list. The video does not make much mention of the two domestic pickups, Ford and Chevy/GM.
 
They are political stooges but I have to agree with their "much better than average" markings for both of my Toyota's.
 
It's a statistical difference nowadays. Buy the car that is most comfortable and you're happiest with! I'm not spending tens of thousands based off what a magazine tells me.
 
Originally Posted By: Run
I don't trust Consumer Reports just because they seem very biased.


I say so for their reviews. Their reviews are garbage. But the reliability data comes from their subscribers. What incentive would someone have to lie about a $20-60k purchase? And if you bought something with "low reliability" and it turned out to be good wouldn't you want to tell everyone?

Their reliability data also tends to sync up with others.
 
It appears that if you don't agree with them then they must be wrong. Isn't that the way things work? People that agree with you are very smart.
 
Originally Posted By: itguy08

I say so for their reviews. Their reviews are garbage. But the reliability data comes from their subscribers. What incentive would someone have to lie about a $20-60k purchase? And if you bought something with "low reliability" and it turned out to be good wouldn't you want to tell everyone?

Their reliability data also tends to sync up with others.


They send out a questionnaire about problems with your vehicle and other appliances. Have you ever had a conversation with a coworker or family member about a trip to the repair shop? They have no idea what was wrong or what the repair was. GIGO.
 
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: Run
I don't trust Consumer Reports just because they seem very biased.


I say so for their reviews. Their reviews are garbage. But the reliability data comes from their subscribers. What incentive would someone have to lie about a $20-60k purchase? And if you bought something with "low reliability" and it turned out to be good wouldn't you want to tell everyone?

Their reliability data also tends to sync up with others.


I agree.
 
CU road tests are probably the gold standard among those available since the drivers while as competent as any you'll find at any buff book aren't wannabe racers and report honestly on any giver car's behavior.
CU buys the cars it tests out of dealer stock, so no prepped cars make it into a road test and this is not the case for the buff books.
CU reliability data is probably about as good as it gets unless you have access to a large fleet database.
Some cars are significantly less troublesome than others and there is probably no better source of reliability data for the vast majority of us.
If you buy a car shown to be more trouble-prone than average in CU's data, then at least you know what you're looking at going in.
I read CR from the library. I really don't understand the hatation for an objective publication that buys the products it tests and isn't a [censored] to any advertiser.
 
I find the data to correlate to my own experiences.

Subaru WRX and Honda Civic were quite reliable as they stated. Our 2005 Legacy turbo as used car to avoid. I see why now
smile.gif
Not terrible but slightly below average.
 
I have used them for general ideas, such as the percentage of this appliance that have needed repairs in the first 12 or 36 months. Stats like that help me determine reliability. That's pretty much all I use them for. Its pretty hard to forget if you've needed your refrigerator to be worked on.

But their "in depth" reporting? Give it as many grains of salt as you wish.

Just find out the basis of what made those circles red or black, half or full, and that should be a guide for you. They have a forum. I asked about what standard made them say Turtle Wax was equal to any other car wax, and a forum guide eventually told me.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude

They send out a questionnaire about problems with your vehicle and other appliances. Have you ever had a conversation with a coworker or family member about a trip to the repair shop? They have no idea what was wrong or what the repair was. GIGO.


Actually, yes I do and they generally know what's up. They may not know that the fuel injector took a dump. But they knew there was an engine problem. Or that they heard a noise and the dealer replaced xxx to fix it.

May not be the norm but there is enough data for them to break things down by engine, body, infotainment, etc.

I really don't think people are intentionally misleading in the surveys. They may not know exactly what was wrong but they know when stuff breaks.
 
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There is a lot of hate for CR's reliability reports on here but what is the alternative? Anecdotes on forums like BITOG?
 
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