We are to buy a new car for round about 10K to cover between 6,000 and 10,000 miles/year. First and foremost, we want reliability.
I have looked at one or 2 Reliability Index studies but I have no idea how these are worked out, etc. I'm curious though as to how relevant they are.
Are these various Reliability Index figures that one can find on the Net (especially the Warranty Direct one) that "reliable"?
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The "reliability" index is in effect a cost of ownership index; cars which cost more to repair but are still very reliable will sometimes rate poorly by their figures, ie Mitsubishi, Subaru.
Best to look at a range of different sources, ie JD Power, Top Gear, Which etc, and see what patterns emerge.
To summarise what these reports generally conclude, French/Italian bad, Japanese excellent, Korean good, VW/Vauxhall/Ford average (although Seat and especially Skoda seem to do very well). There is some variation but that's what keeps coming up time and time again so you have to say that there must be some truth in it.
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The whatcar.com site publishes an annual J D Power survey which is IMO usually a good source of such information.
As jase says above - if its relaibility you are looking for as number 1 priority then I would suggest Honda, Toyota and Subaru. 1st choice would be Honda based on experience.
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jase - I'm suprised youv'e got away with calling a VW average on this site.
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jase - I'm suprised youv'e got away with calling a VW average on this site.
Heh -- it's not me, blame JD Power!
I'm quite happy to accept that VWs are good cars, if a little overpriced for what they are ;)
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- if its relaibility you are lookingfor as number 1 priority then I would suggest Honda, Toyota and Subaru.
Agree with those three - and would add Mazda. Mazda has the advantage of being usually being a little less expensive than the other 3 - so you could get more for your money.
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Good point about Mazda - they are very good handling cars as well now.
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Post moved from standalone thread
And don't we know it.
This is the latest reliability survey from whatcar
www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/default.html?apc=311234...2
Link changed to the real source which you can link to by clicking the Reliability Index banner above. HJ.
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Quote from the survey
"Congratulations are due to the thousands of British workers responsible for building some of the most reliable cars on our roads today"
More like "Congratulations are due to the management who moved the workforce into the 21st Century and stopped them being a bunch of unionised clock watchers and gave them some pride in their work and their product"
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if its relaibility you are looking for as number 1 priority then I would suggest Honda, Toyota and Subaru.>>
Going by the What Car RI manufactures index then it would have to be Honda, Ford, Mazda, VW and Skoda ahead of Toyota and Subaru.
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A look behind the headlines is always a good idea with surveys and indices. For example, Subaru can come out not too brilliantly in the Warranty Direct survey due to the high repair costs but look at the types of car Subaru makes. A good proportion of Subaru's sales are high performance Imprezas which will tend to be used hard on the road and track. So, surprise surprise, things break and the costs of bits is high thus a less good rating. Take the Impreza STi out of the equation and I bet the numbers would come out very differently. The Legacy is about as bullet-proof a car as you can buy.
It would be more useful if the manufacturers were compared in different market segments, comparing sports cars with sports cars, people carriers with people carriers etc.
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I agree with you Armitage - the problem is it iwas foreign (trained) management and not British management that did it.
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Thanks to all of you for all the info and suggestions.
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Quote from the survey "Congratulations are due to the thousands of British workers responsible for building some of the most reliable cars on our roads today" More like "Congratulations are due to the management who moved the workforce into the 21st Century and stopped them being a bunch of unionised clock watchers and gave them some pride in their work and their product"
You ever been into a car factory or is this comment the result of reading too many Daily Mail editorials? They just needed some decent designs to build and some decent 21st Century (foreign) managers - not the poor excuse of an old boys club that we've had since the 60's.
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