9 Models You Can Count On Down the Road
Everybody wants a new car that performs well, but what cars can you count on after the shine begins to wear?
Nine models, led by Mercedes-Benz, exceed the industry average, according to the latest J.D. Power annual survey of auto dependability after five years.
The above-average rankings in the 1987 model-year cars included five Japanese models, four Detroit models and four European models. This indicates that the world’s major auto-producing regions have “parity” in terms of long-term vehicle reliability, the Power Report said.
The five-year index is Power’s longest-term measure of reliability and may be the most significant one for average consumers, who tend to hold on to cars more than one or two years.
To my knowledge, no organization ranks cars for reliability beyond five years, although I wish somebody would. I have a hunch that cars making it well beyond 100,000 miles are not necessarily that same ones that perform well in short-term surveys.
J.D. Power, an automotive market research firm in Agoura Hills, based its dependability index on a random survey of 20,000 owners of 1987 cars conducted by an independent polling organization. The dependability index is based on the frequency and severity of problems. The full results are sold to industry, but a brief version is released publicly.
(By contrast, the survey on reliability published by Consumer Reports each April is based on a survey of their readers.)
The Japanese makes that scored above average in the Power Report are Honda, Acura, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. The Detroit models are Lincoln, Cadillac, Mercury and Buick. The European models are Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW and Volvo.
The report lumps together different models of the same make, even though not all cars of the same make are equal. And though some cars from American, Asian and European firms all scored well, it appears that the best performing American and European models are mainly luxury cars. By contrast, the Japanese makes rated highly are ones that average consumers can afford.
The under-performers were AMC/Renault, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar, Mitsubishi, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, Saab, Subaru, Volkswagen and Yugo. To some extent, Chevrolet and Ford are hurt by such rankings, because their volume is so large that it is difficult for them to rank above average, a Power executive noted.
The company also ranked cars only on the frequency of problems. On this basis, the top performer was Mercedes with 335 problems per 100 cars, followed by Honda 387, Lincoln 392, Acura 399, Cadillac 425, Porsche 443, Toyota 458, Nissan 467, BMW 469, Buick 474, Oldsmobile 505, Mazda 514, Mercury 518 and Volvo 519. The other makes were below average.
The findings suggest there is no significant difference in reliability among the best cars and average cars, in terms of total operating costs. Nonetheless, consumers are riveted by such comparisons.
Notably, other major surveys of auto reliability have findings that differ somewhat from Power’s. The Intellichoice Complete Car Cost Guide, for example, rates models of Buick, Ford, Oldsmobile, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan as having the lowest repair cost, based on extended warranty indexes used by underwriters.
It ranks Dodge, Mitsubishi, Volvo, Buick, Chevrolet, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Subaru models as having the highest repair costs.
Consumer Reports magazine, which has the broadest survey of different models, tends to rate Japanese cars higher than either Power or Intellichoice. For individuals contemplating buying a car, it’s worth spending some time with these reports. They are very useful in helping consumers avoid potential lemons.
