If you were to buy a car based on its reliability reputation alone, what would you get?
Would you take home a Honda or Acura because of their legendary commitment to being problem-free? Would you purchase a Toyota because you know they routinely go 300,000 miles or more?
Would you avoid Jaguar and Land Rover at all costs because of their reputation for spending more time in the shop than on the road?
J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, released yesterday, reinforces some of those preconceived notions while turning others on their head.
The quick summary:
Lexus and Porsche are the most dependable brands after three years of vehicle ownership, while Toyota leads the non-premium labels.
There’s not a lot of surprise in that statement. It’s the brands moving up the dependability ladder, and the ones that fell off, that might cause some folks to take a second look at certain cars or completely write off others.
Automotive News said,
Toyota, Buick and Mercedes-Benz rounded out the top five brands overall. Mercedes, Hyundai (No. 6), BMW (No. 7) and Jaguar (No. 10) were newcomers to the Top 10 this year, while GMC, Acura, Ram and Lincoln dropped out.
Yes, Jaguar is in the top 10, and Acura isn’t even on that list anymore. FCA fared particularly poorly, as four of the bottom five brands belonged to the Italian American automaker. Ram, Infinity, Dodge, Jeep, and Fiat made up the bottom five and Chrysler landed just below the industry average.
Ouch.
You can check out the full list in J.D. Power’s press release and see where your favorite automaker ranks.
This study looks at the experience of original owners of 2014-model-year vehicles and measures how many problems they’ve had in the previous 12-months of ownership. The study isn’t indicative of 2017 quality, but can provide a good guide for starting research on a new-car purchase or when buying a late-model pre-owned car.
What’s the most reliable car you’ve ever owned?
-tgriffith
Find Certified Pre-Owned Cars and Used Cars in your area at CarGurus.
We have owned 5 Toyotas and I presently own a Lexus ES 350 and my wife a Toyota Rav 4.Dependability and reliability has been nothing but exceptional.As a matter of fact I deeply miss our Rav 4 Sport 2004 and 2009 and think about them an awful lot when I see one like we had on the road. I take good care of our automobiles and along with Lexus and Toyota quality they last (it seems) forever and they look great all the time.