Consumer Reports annual auto issue-reliability

[JohnBrowning]

DC mini-vans have really poor reliability/durability. This is why they are priced so much cheaper then their competition!!! No one pays MSRP or even close to that for a DC mini-van!!! They do what they are designed to do well but have why to many parts failing dureing warranty and shortly out of warranty. The good news is that for the most part the engine and transmissions are fairly reliable it is everything bolted to the drive train or the interior that seems to fail at an alraming rate.

Now this is based on my experince with friends, realtives and business's that own them that I have direct contact or relations to. I also have a friend that is a service writer for DC ***** Dealership and a friend whoses brother is an engineer for DC.

I would dare say that DC has the worst reliability/durability in the mmini-van segment. Ford and Kia are not far behind them though. The too leaders in this segment are Honda and Toyota.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Oh I wanted to add that in general they are usualy able to go 300,000 miles if serviced properly so do not worry about the engine!!! The transmissions will also hold up well if you service them every 30,000 miles. Most will get 150,000-200,000 on the trans with proper serviceing.

I do my own work on cars if they are out of warranty so I do not worry that much about durability so long as I know it going in. I have considered DC mini-vans for my wife and kids due to priceing. I have often found that I can get them for about $2000-$4000 less then a comparble KIA due to all of the incentive wars! I would never pay what Toyota and Honda want for their mini-vans on principal alone even if they are the segment leaders!

 

[brianl703]

Quote:

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I wonder how many excellent vehicles are negatively rated because incompetent service advisors and dealer techs turn little problems into major irritants.

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Probably quite a few. I've had a couple of situations where there is a TSB for a problem and the dealer didn't bother to check.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Well my 2001 Dodge Dakota was purchased new from a ***** (five star) dealership. It was in the shop either for warranty work,recall or TSB work every 1-2 months. By the time I traded it in almost nothing under the hood was origanal. I never had an issue with the engine or the transmission just everything bolted to it. It did have some chasis issue, electrical issues, saftey fastener issues and two or tree ECM and PCM issues!! Lucky for me I only owned it two years. Now I will say that I really like that Dakota but I did not miss all the warranty repairs!!! I knew my service writer very well. By the time I traded it in I knew all about his divorce and was invited to poker(Texas Hold'Em) nite!

 

[JohnBrowning]

I worked for a small company that used DC mini-vans for work. They were always purchased used. They usualy had about 36,000-50,000 miles on them when purchased. Usualy like clock work by 100,000 miles they needed new AC componets, multiple sensors and multiple coolant parts. By 200,000 the driver seat was usualy starting to break. I am not going to count normal wear iteams like breaks,steering componets or even starters. The squeks and rattles will drive you made by 200,000 miles as well. He has not had any transmission issues though at all or mechanical engine issues.