Can't trust JD Power ratings... LOL

[ecotourist]

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Does the CR annual report ask their subscribers to rate their current vehicle regardless of year or do they extrapolate LT reliability based upon other factors?

I don't have a vehicle new enough for current CR reporting. But when I had one, they annually requested data (on vehicles purchased new) concerning make, model, model year, problems with various systems during the past year, and "knowing what you know now" would you buy this vehicle again.

The limitations of their approach would be that CR customers might not be representative of all new vehicle purchasers (probably not many boy racers in the group), and people who have had trouble might be more (or less) likely to report them than average. But their strength is the huge number of people reporting. All in all I consider it a pretty good approach.

If all reported systems for a vehicle are very good or excellent over a number of years, on average they're probably a pretty reliable vehicle. And if there are lots of not good or really not good systems, on average they're probably not as reliable as most vehicles. That's not to say they aren't good vehicles, they're just more likely to have problems with identified systems than other vehicles. But then reliability is only one of the factors to consider when buying a vehicle (price, performance, personal requirements, and "appeal" being some of the others).

 

[wdn]

Two people that I work with, one sits two doors down from me the other is in the next office, both with Foresters, both had $3,000+ repairs for blown head gaskets. One of them had the same repair done twice during warranty and again after warranty. Same repair, same engine, three times. He finally got Subaru to cover most of the third repair but it took a lot of doing. Both of them burned a ton of oil. Both of my friends got rid of them. One bought a new Honda CRV, not sure what the other got but he traded in the Forester right after he repaired it.

 

[Pelican]

Subaru engenders loyalty because of its reliability, no one would be loyal to a lemon!

I had a 2001 Outback for 17 years and the only thing that went wrong was a light bulb. (outside of reg maintenance)

Contrary to the other poster who had the same car but in stick-shift mine was auto.

Sometimes it's the luck of the draw or the way it's driven and/or maintained.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl



The biggest question for Subaru owners, especially those who have over 50k miles on the ODO is whether they would own a Subaru for the long term if it did not come with AWD.



Longitudinal engine / trans, manual transmission, wagon-y thing that is relatively easy to work on myself. If there was an easy way to do so without voiding my warranty, I would make it either FWD or RWD.

With that said, having a daily driver car that's capable of pulling my popup camper through a ditch and a muddy field to go camping is pretty nice! Will I have one long term? Probably not unfortunately. I'll likely be slimming down the fleet in a year or two and getting rid of the Subaru and my F350 for a midsize truck. If I can figure out a way I can swing the cash for a nice used midsize and hold on to the Subaru, I absolutely will!

Even if I do keep it, my Subaru has no chance of seeing 200K. Even with yearly krown treatments and keeping up with the paint, it will turn into a pile of rust before its 10 years old.

 

[skyactiv]

The most reliable car I ever owned was an 07' WRX. Bought new and sold with 136K on it. Sold it when my wife bought her Audi. I prefer my GTI over the WRX even through the GTI hasn't been as reliable.
JD Power is for people who are dumb and not vehicle savvy.

 

[FA_WRX]

Well I'm going to add bought my 15 WRX new and other then a AC compressor failure at 80 some k. I'm happy with it. Currently 94K on thd clock and plans to kerp it fot awhile.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by billt460
What gets ANY vehicle to 250,000 miles is good care and regular maintenance. Not what brand it happens to be.


True, but the brand is a good indicator for how much time, money and frustration will be required to get there. Brand is not a blanket statement for reliability of course, but in my 20 years driving many different makes of primarily older vehicles, brand does matter.

You can fix anything and keep a vehicle going as long as you want, but to do that forever is not practical. What sends vehicles to the junkyard is problems piling up or major, expensive repairs like engine/trans. If brand X averages 6 niggling problems heading toward 200k and brand Y has one or two, brand six is going to get driven into the ground and given up on, while brand Y is repaired eventually and put back on the road. In my experience there is absolutely a correlation between brand and long term reliability, but every manufacturer has their good and bad apples which makes it impossible to say one is better than the other.

Personally I don't weigh my choice of vehicles on perceived reliability alone, there are a ton of other variables like style, performance, etc.

 

[Mainia]

Originally Posted by skyactiv
The most reliable car I ever owned was an 07' WRX. Bought new and sold with 136K on it. Sold it when my wife bought her Audi. I prefer my GTI over the WRX even through the GTI hasn't been as reliable.
JD Power is for people who are dumb and not vehicle savvy.





What I am interested is your opinion on your 18 Elantra Sport so far. Long winded would be nicer the one sentence. Who drives that one ....family car?

Your signature

Wife: 15' Audi A4 quattro 6 speed manual
Me: 13' VW GTI 3 door 6 speed manual
2018 Elantra Sport 6 speed manual

 

[benjy]

looking for a new economical but fun ride for lots of work miles i tested a tin can impreza outback, not bad but a ride in the 2001 VW jetta wolfsburg was all it took + 200 thou later i traded it on a 38 thou 2001 audi TT roadster. with 4 snow tires i passed many suvs + pickups with 4 wd or awd + all season BUT winter tyres which is key for winter safety. they go better + more importantly stop better than any awd or 4wd vehicle without said proper winter tyres!!

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted by benjy
looking for a new economical but fun ride for lots of work miles i tested a tin can impreza outback, not bad but a ride in the 2001 VW jetta wolfsburg was all it took + 200 thou later i traded it on a 38 thou 2001 audi TT roadster. with 4 snow tires i passed many suvs + pickups with 4 wd or awd + all season BUT winter tyres which is key for winter safety. they go better + more importantly stop better than any awd or 4wd vehicle without said proper winter tyres!!


People with common sense and proper driving skills have been navigating winter roads on all season tires for decades by now without incident.
Maybe there's something to that driving ability and caution thing?
In my experience with Subarus on OEM AS tires as well as that with Accords on dedicated winters, I know which I'd choose in serious winter conditions and it wouldn't be the car wearing the Blizzaks and the "H" badge.

 

[Nick1994]

Why are you correlating Appeal to longevity?

Subaru makes outdated and underpowered cars. They aren't very appealing.

But that doesn't have anything to do with how reliable or how long they'll be on the road.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Also, the car was horrendous in the snow - snap oversteer, snap understeer. Only after buying did we learn the manual transmission drivetrains had a less effective AWD system.


I'm not sure that its less effective in all conditions. More primitive.. certainly
However, you are quite right they can be downright AWFUL in winter conditions with stock tires..
I'd take a Sonic on blizzaks before a subaru on half worn stock tires in most snow storms.
With dedicated winter tires even when they are slipping they retain traction, so that defuses the cars tendency to act like it has either front or rear wheel drive vs awd.
and turns it into a winter tank... which gives rise to the "Subris" or the fact that the first cars in the ditch seem to be Subarus that were going too fast for conditions.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
People love their Subies. That's generates loyalty.


I like Subaru's too. I don't own one now, but they do work well. And most models drive quite well with a great feeling ride.

However, my experience has been less than stellar, with a few blown head gaskets and one blown CVT on a 2018 Crosstrek @ 2400 miles since new.

 

[NO2]

Subaru products have improved a lot since 2001. A major part of the reason was a big investment from Toyota. Another was the huge increase in sales. Subaru isn't as much of a niche player as in years past, and both the build quality and design are class leaders.

Why do people like Subarus?

1. Reasonably priced for an AWD car. This is a big deal for those of us in the north. We've driven through 12-14" of snow on all-season tires without getting stuck. That's fairly routine in ski country.
2. Enough power even in the 4 cyl models. They are slow, but nothing like pre-2011 models which needed a V6. Good mileage too (close to 2WD).
3. Seats that fit short and tall people. You can't get that in a Honda or Ford. Limo like rear seat room.
4. Plenty of cargo room across the line.
5. Safe
6. They don't get stuck. My Honda is unusable with over 6-7" of snow. Next car is another Subaru.
7. Reliable. Our '13 is an oil burner but they recalled it and will fix. No issues past a wheel bearing and routine maintenance for us in 90K. We are expecting 200K+
8. WRX is really fun.
9. Most are assembled in Indiana.

In the near future, Toyota will integrate their hybrid tech across the Subaru line, with Toyota drivetrains. That's what I want for the next vehicle; a 45mpg AWD wagon.

 

[Rolla07]

My dad swears by Subaru. He will only consider Subaru. Me? I swear by Toyotas. I think if you have a great experience with either one, you tend to stick to it. I like Subarus and think they are great but it really depends on what fits your needs best.

JD Power is garbage.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by Nick1994
......Subaru makes outdated and underpowered cars. They aren't very appealing........

That rev their guts out at highway speeds.

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted by BHopkins
Originally Posted by gfh77665
Some here really believe that JDP simply approaches all the automakers, then they rank them 1st to last according to how much bribe money comes in.

Yeah. Whatever.


That's totally silly. But as I stated above, I do believe JD Powers is willing to tailor surveys and data collection to get the desired results for their client. Unfortunately, the client is not the American consumer.



Yet your signature says "In God we trust. All others bring data".

Please provide the data you speak of. Or is it just your "Belief" about JDP??

 

[macarose]

4 years onward this study is by far the most accurate. Over 2.3 million vehicles in the database that have been inspected by mechanics.

http://www.dashboard-light.com/

 

[macarose]

If you stay away from GDI engines and the CVT transmissions, a Hyundai Elantra is fine.

If it has the GDI you need to make sure the fuel quality is top notch and it may need certain additives once every few thousand miles. The CVT fluid should be changed every couple of years or within a 30k interval if you want it to drive well over the long run.

More data here....

http://dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Hyundai_Elantra.html

 

[wemay]

dashboard-light only "reviews" auctioned vehicles. No thanks.

I'll keep using Consumer Reports and JD Power.

"Different strokes..."