OT: J.D. Powers, 3 Yr Old Vehicle Reliablity Ratings

[bob_villa]

No mention of Ford or Chrysler...

[philo]

I bought a used Pontiac Vibe which is simply a re-branded Toyota Matrix.

It's now got 100,000 miles on it and in the four years I've had it needed a brake job and nothing else other than oil changes.

Between fuel, maintenance and insurance it's not even $100 a month.

With the back seats folded down can haul an awful lot for a small car.

I see that the Matrix has now been dropped but for sure I'll want an equivalent hatch-back when the time comes. My bet is no Ford or Chrysler either but I've had both as company vehicles (mini-vans) and they held up reasonably well. Very rough duty and they went over

100,000 miles.

[sms]

I wish they would do 5, 8, and 10 year studies since the average age of cars on the road in the use is now > 10 years. I've seen reports of which manufacturer has the most vehicles on the road for the longest time but this is not so informative because a) it's usually trucks since they have better bodies and engines, b) the cars are usually the higher-priced cars which owners are more likely to repair than junk, and c) there are anomalies like Volkswagen which does well because of all the classic old bugs and buses that are factored in.

In our own fleet we have a 19 year old Camry, 14 year old 4Runner, 8 year old Camry, and 1 year old Prius Plug-In.

[IGot2P]

The average age of a light vehicle on the road in the United States remained flat at 11.4 years at the end of 2013, and the total light vehicles in operation reached a record 252.7 million, up 2 percent from

2012, IHS Automotive said today.

The average age of vehicles on the road reached an all-time high at the beginning of 2013, but IHS predicts the average age will remain at 11.4 years through 2015, and then rise to 11.7 years by 2019, the company said in a statement today.

[bob_villa]

My light vehicles (both GM) are 14 and 20 yrs old...

[Terry Coombs]

My truck is an '86 GMC , my Harley is a '90 , and the newest one we now own is a '99 Toyota 4runner with 265,000 miles . The truck is next with 129k , and the Harley has a paltry 113,000 . Haven't had the Toy long enough to have anything break , but have replaced the battery and just put a set of tires on it . Total 1st year costs less than $650 . The truck in 6 years owned has had maybe a grand spent , one set of tires , alternator and battery , and a year or so ago I did some motor work due to a stripped timing gear , parts only cost was under $200 . The Harley has had tires , battery , wheel bearings , all considered normal wear items . Our vehicle maintainence costs are much lower than the average consumer , I do all my own maintainence and the only repair I farm out is automatic trannies .

[Ashton Crusher]

I find it interesting that it seems to be impossible to actually get the specific ratings numbers for all the vehicles. That info used to be readily available. And when it was it was obvious that there was so little difference in the number of problems between the top 10 or

15 vehicles in a class that the ratings themselves had become almost useless. It was the equivalent to rating standard coffee cups on a scale of 1 - 5 when the cups actual ratings only vary from 4.58 to 4.79 .. IOW, there's no longer enough difference between teh quality of mainstream cars for JD power ratings to be meaningful anymore. So now they hide the data and pretend a car rated 98.8 that comes in "first" is somehow significantly better then the 4th place finisher that rated 97.3. JD Power is a joke.

[bob_villa]

IOW, there's no longer enough difference between the quality

If there was improvement in quality of these "nearly equal" manufacturers...you would see at least something of theirs' poking through the different categories! But you don't...sorry!

[Vic Smith]

Yeah, they salt heavily here outside of Chicago, and it's amazing how newer cars hold up. My 22 year old Grand Am isn't even close to rusty. Just some rust spots on the roof and trunk where the paint was bad. Took care of that quickly last year but some are back. Didn't bother priming so I'll pay for that by doing it again the right way. The 12 year old Impala still looks brand new. Brand new. It's really outstanding. Every prior car I've owned was *holed* by rust in 10 years or less.

[Ashton Crusher]

I didn't say there wasn't a difference, just that the difference is now so small as to be inconsequential.

[bob_villa]

Wishful thinking on your part...if Ford and Chrysler were dedicated to durability and quality their models would be showing up in some category. (NOTE: Some Category)

[clare]

Other than some minor electrical gremlins in the Mistique and body rust problems on it and the aerostars I've been very happy with my Fords. Both aeroscares went over 240,000km - one while I owned it and the other at the hand of a friend I sold it to. The Mistake was scrapped at about 180,000IIRC with a soft body but still running like a champ. My Ranger has 330,000 km on it with virtually no repairs in 19 years. The 2002 Taurus only has 90,000km +/- on it, but has been virtually flawless.(other than the aftermarket remote starter)

My last 2 Chryslers treated me pretty good too. The PT cruiser was starting to rust a bit, the first owner didn't oil it or rustproof it and bent it a couple times. Other than that, it was a pretty trouble-free ride. The previous '88 New Yorker had the (3 liter MitsuShitty) heads replaced at 100,000 and again at about 180,000 (bad valve guides) and the tranny redone at about 200,000km (differential bearing). I sold it at about 240,000km and 18 years in perfect running and cosmetic condition.

The Pontiac on the other hand was a constant source of irritation and trouble.

Daughter's Mitsubishi Colt 200 was a"keep Dad busy" car. Her Neon was virtually trouble free other than being broken into 3 times and stolen once., and the hood rusting out. Her 8 or 9 year old Honda Civic has been 100% trouble free. Other than a set of brakes and tires it has had NO mechanical or electrical repairs.(she bought it new and puts on a lot of miles)

We will see how the other daughter's Elantra stands up in another 7 years!!