Consumer Reports Bets & Worst Used Car Buys 2002

[Pliablemoose]

Best bets 1999 & up model years

Acura Integra
Acura RL
Acura TL
BMW 3-Series
Ford Escort
Ford F-150 (2WD)
Geo/Chevrolet Prizm
Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Honda CR-V
Acura RL Honda Odyssey
Infiniti G20
Infiniti I30
Isuzu Oasis
Lexus ES300
Lexus GS300/GS400
Lexus LS400
Lexus RX300
Lincoln Town Car
Mazda Millenia
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Mazda Protegé
Mercury Tracer
Honda Civic
Nissan Altima
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Pathfinder
Nissan Sentra
Saab 9-5
Saturn S-Series
Subaru Forester
Subaru Impreza
Subaru Legacy
Toyota 4Runner
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry Solara
Toyota Celica
Toyota Corolla
Toyota RAV4
Toyota Sienna
Toyota Tacoma
Toyota RAV4


Reliability Risks same period:

Cadillac Catera
Chevrolet Astro
Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Malibu
Chevrolet S-10 (V6, 4WD)
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (4WD)
Chrysler LHS, New Yorker
Chrysler Town & Country ('94-97)
Dodge Dakota (4WD)
Dodge Durango
Dodge Grand Caravan ('94-97)
Dodge Intrepid
Dodge Neon
Dodge Ram 1500 (4WD)
Ford Windstar
GMC Jimmy
GMC S-15 Sonoma (V6, 4WD)
GMC Safari
GMC Sierra 1500 (4WD)
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Oldsmobile Bravada
Oldsmobile Cutlass
Plymouth Grand Voyager ('94-97)
Plymouth Neon
Pontiac Firebird
Pontiac Grand Am
Volkswagen New Beetle
Volvo S70/V70 (AWD)
Volvo S80

 

[RanDum72]

As usual, more Japanese vehicles in the recommended list, more American vehicles on the Reliability Risks.

 

[geno]

 

[Doggiedog]

LOL the only GM car is a Prizm and all it really is is a Toyota Corolla.

Edit: Whoops my bad. Saturn is in there too.

 

[loup garou]

I think I see a pattern here...

 

[rudder]

Nissan Altima
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Pathfinder
Saturn S-Series

All built down the road from me in Tennessee. Maybe the American auto makers need to hire some new engineers or move their production out of third world countries.

 

[vi edit]

<< LOL the only GM car is a Prizm and all it really is is a Toyota Corolla. >>



Saturn and Saab are both technically GM products.

Also, look at Escort! w00t!

 

[Doggiedog]

I don't consider a Saab a GM car.

That's like saying Nissan is a Renault.

 

[gopunk]

<< As usual, more Japanese vehicles in the recommended list, more American vehicles on the Reliability Risks. >>



yea, it's weird though, i heard some people think it's because CR is biased...

 

[vi edit]

<< I don't consider a Saab a GM car.

That's like saying Nissan is a Renault. >>



I know, that's why I said "technically"

 

[TuffGuy]

<<

<< As usual, more Japanese vehicles in the recommended list, more American vehicles on the Reliability Risks. >>



yea, it's weird though, i heard some people think it's because CR is biased...

>>


no, it's because of all the recalls. take my bro's ford contour for example.

 

[busmaster11]

<<

<< As usual, more Japanese vehicles in the recommended list, more American vehicles on the Reliability Risks. >>



yea, it's weird though, i heard some people think it's because CR is biased...

>>



I dunno, that looks pretty consistent with Autobytel and carpoint...

 

[catnap1972]

<< Also, look at Escort! w00t! >>



That and the Mercury Tracer are Mazda Protege derived

 

[gregshin]

ROFL that is why i will never buy DETROIT engineered cars....Detroit quality control can suckle it.

 

[Zenmervolt]

<<I don't consider a Saab a GM car.>>

Not quite yet, but they are getting there. I've talked with a few import mechanic friends and the universal consensus among them is that Saab has gone decidedly downhill since they started sharing parts with Opel/GM. Of course, Saab's nowhere near Jaguar yet so it's not like they will be in the shop more than on the road.

ZV

 

[ATLien247]

Why do some of the "Reliability Risks" have a certain time period listed? Does that mean later models were/are more reliable?

 

[toant103]

JP

 

[mithrandir2001]

<<

<< yea, it's weird though, i heard some people think it's because CR is biased...

>>


no, it's because of all the recalls. take my bro's ford contour for example. >>


Oh gawd, THAT car. My Contour was recalled at least 7 times before I dumped it just as the warranty was set to expire. A royal POS. Shame on Ford. Shame on the UAW.

 

[dullard]

<< Why do some of the "Reliability Risks" have a certain time period listed? Does that mean later models were/are more reliable? >>



Yes. CR gives a yearly questionaire to all of its readers. It asks if they have a car that is less than 10 years old. If so: how many repairs, what type of repairs, and how severe were the problems. If a car was listed as being bad for some years and not others it is since those years the responces had a significant percent of owners with problems.



<< i heard some people think it's because CR is biased >>



CR itself isn't biased. It just reports what the car owners tell them. The potential for error occurs when different car owners report the same problem with different levels of severity. Suppose a Honda Civic had electrical problems and suppose a Mercedes-Benz M-Class had the exact same electrical problem. The owner of the Mercedes might report this as serious while the Civic owner may say it is minor. This has the potential to skew the results a bit.

There is another potential for errors. If CR readers happen to buy lemons and non CR readers buy great cars then the results are skewed. (Or vise versa with CR readers buying great cars and everyone else buys lemons).

 

[phatcow]

<< Nissan Maxima >>




that car is still made in japan.

 

[RanDum72]

Just had my 96 Ford Ranger checked by the dealer to lube the rear axle. I cannot believe the number of people going there for service. I mean, I was there 7 AM and the parking lot was full of vehicles waiting to be checked for non-routine service( and a lot of new ones too). And according to the service guy, this is a daily occurence. In comparsion, I had my 97 Honda Accord flushed (coolant) last week and the only car there was a 94 Accord that needed re-alignment after driving over a manhole.

 

[Kaervak]

<< Best bets 1999 & up model years
Saturn S-Series >>



Going on three years this June with my SL2 and it's been perfect. Best car this household has ever owned.

 

[CKDragon]

<< Going on three years this June with my SL2 and it's been perfect. Best car this household has ever owned. >>



I'm also enjoying my Saturn SC2... but I hope you've got thick skin and possibly a flame suit, cause we're gonna hear it before this thread is through.

CK

 

[vi edit]

<< Just had my 96 Ford Ranger checked by the dealer to lube the rear axle. I cannot believe the number of people going there for service. I mean, I was there 7 AM and the parking lot was full of vehicles waiting to be checked for non-routine service( and a lot of new ones too). And according to the service guy, this is a daily occurence. In comparsion, I had my 97 Honda Accord flushed (coolant) last week and the only car there was a 94 Accord that needed re-alignment after driving over a manhole. >>



Well, considering that Ford sells more F-150's ALONE than a year than what honda does in it's entire lineup, I WOULD HOPE that there is a remote chance that there would be more vehicles being serviced. You have to think about shear numbers here. Think about how many F-150's, Explorers, Rangers, Tauruses, Focuses, ect. that Ford sells and it decimates Honda's annual sales. The fact that ford sells 4 or 5 vehicles to every honda (pulling numbers out of my butt) sort of makes it a certaintity that more vehicles will be at the service station at any given time.

 

[PlatinumGold]

for all the FORD haters out there. Check it out. Why do you think the F150 is the best seller year in year out??

Ford also have 4 vehicles in the best bets vs 1 in the risks. much better than GM or Chrysler. and as we all knew, CHRYSLER is the KING of bad quality.