The Truth about J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study

[deven]

The problem is, they are looking at one particular year of J.D power survey. You have to gather information for the last 10 years or so and look at the trend over the years. Its just like statistics, you gather a pool of numbers and find the median.

 

[1sttruck]

If people are going to bandy 'ultimate measures of quality surveys' around then they need to prioritize problems by category. It's a moot point if there are fewer rattles or the dingleberry connector has problems if the trannys need replacing in a year or two.

I'll still shake my head at what people think are important in vehicles after reading one reviewer downgrading an off road vehicle because it didn't have butt warmers. I didn't go any further as I didn't want to read about the lack of lights on the vanity mirrors either.

 

[XS650]

I got a JD Power Survey form to fill out when I got my new car last May. The survey is better than nothing, but unless a car were ranked low than median on the JD powers I wouldn't even consider the rating in buying a car.

I should have kept a copy of it but I didn't. It was underwhelming. My car had two minor as delivered flaws which were caused by the otherwise outstanding pre-delivery prep. One of the flaws was not including the front license plate mount that I wouldn't have used anyway. The other flaw was some minor widget that wasn't installed right and I fixed myself in 5 minutes. 8500 miles later, no defects.

In filling out the form, the two flaws got reported, but I don't think that the survey results show that they were noting of signifigance.

 

[deven]

Quote:

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If people are going to bandy 'ultimate measures of quality surveys' around then they need to prioritize problems by category. It's a moot point if there are fewer rattles or the dingleberry connector has problems if the trannys need replacing in a year or two.

I'll still shake my head at what people think are important in vehicles after reading one reviewer downgrading an off road vehicle because it didn't have butt warmers. I didn't go any further as I didn't want to read about the lack of lights on the vanity mirrors either.

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I hear you man! I own a lexus and belonged to a lexus forum. Let me tell you, they are a bunch of whiners!!! Very spoiled. Just because they drive a lexus they think it should be perfect and there should be no "wind noise" because lexus is known for its quietness! If you ever want a good laugh go to www.clublexus.com and read the problems people are having. Its comical!

 

[turbochem]

You mean "initial quality" does not mean "reliability?"

Who would have thought.......

 

[pipebender]

Cars with better score in JDP's initial quality study tend to do better at long term reliability study. So yes, the IQS is a good indicator for long term reliability for newer cars where long term data are not yet available.

 

[honus402]

I can't speak about JDP's testing but I can for CR. I used to work in the electronics repair industry and CR was always biased and incorrect in their ratings. Techs in the field knew what brands were more reliable and performed better. CR was always way off. Then again, I can't expect CR to be experts in all fields. Jags cost more to repair than Hondas. Which would you prefer to own?
Example: Fleet Managers prefer Crown Vics over Brand X even though the Vic costs more up front.

 

[jbas]

"Cars with better score in JDP's initial quality study tend to do better at long term reliability study. So yes, the IQS is a good indicator for long term reliability for newer cars where long term data are not yet available."

Just curious...what is the available evidence for this? I've not (yet) seen their short-term (90 days?) initial quality matched against any long-term measure.