Is there any source for legitimate vehicle reliability ratings?

[Insomniator]

The problem is people only post or make noise when things are bad. On consumer affairs, every single brand has less than 2 stars. From Jaguar to Mazda -- 2 or less stars with a few hundred reviews. Unless every car sold these days is actually a lemon, its just people don't care when things are good.

We are looking for a used compact SUV under $30k -- Evoque, X3, GLK350 or a Mazda CX-3, Rav 4 etc if we decide to be practical.

I don't care that maintenance will cost more on a German car -- I own a Mini (where everything is always broken) and am prepared for it. Brakes, tires, check ups etc I get it. I basically just don't want to purchase a used lemon where the computer blows up and the tires fall off and everyone knew it would.

 

[evident]

sign up for truedelta.com.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I put 60,000 miles on my Toyota Camry Hybrid. Never had a single problem with it. I replaced the tires once and other than that it was just oil changes, wiper blades and car washes.

I expect my Mercedes will be less reliable.

 

[jlee]

It's really hard to go wrong with Toyota/Lexus when it comes to reliability.

 

[Yuriman]

I've had several Hondas that have gone past 200k with nothing more than tires, a battery, and oil. I currently own two - one is at ~210K and beyond normal wear items, has only needed a clutch master cylinder - it's even still on factory brake pads. The other is at 130K and has no service history other than tires and oil. My previous Honda's timing belt broke at about 230k / 21 years, which is well past when it should have been replaced, and $100 later I was back on the road.

 

[BurnItDwn]

LTQI seems like a pretty accurate/good representation
http://longtermqualityindex.com/find.html

It's kinda hard to read, and only useful for cars which more or less are already decently old. (you can' reallyt have "sample data" for "new" cars since time hasn't elasped yet for them to know all the issues.)

 

[JCH13]

I've found the "Buyers Guides" from various forums/car fanbois to be very enlightening.

 

[PricklyPete]

sign up for truedelta.com.

I've actively contributed to truedelta for our last three cars. At 61k with our Toyota 4Runner and nothing but routine maintenance so far.

 

[desy]

I love LTQI however
so this one too
http://www.carcomplaints.com/
Gives you the rundown on what people are complaining to the NHTSB about rcalls etc etc

 

[Jumpem]

Just go buy something new and the manufacturer's 100K mile warranty along with it. No worries for four or five years.

 

[Jimzz]

Not really.

The best thing is if looking at a car/truck to find a forum that specializes in that model and look for issues that come up more often than others. Honda had bad transmission issues, GM had intake gasket issues, Toyota had sludge engine and rusty frames, etc... and those topics were covered well in forums.
So look for that and then plan around it if its a minor issue or a deal breaker.

 

[XavierMace]

Just go buy something new and the manufacturer's 100K mile warranty along with it. No worries for four or five years.

My BRZ was new and had a warranty. It spent more time at the dealer than in my hands. I don't care that it was covered under warranty at that point. I would have rather had a car I could drive.

 

[PricklyPete]

My BRZ was new and had a warranty. It spent more time at the dealer than in my hands. I don't care that it was covered under warranty at that point. I would have rather had a car I could drive.

And not be wasting my time going back and forth to the dealer. With 3 small kids at home and a pretty active lifestyle, I have zero time to be f'n about with my vehicle.

 

[herm0016]

true delta is the best.

i have been a contributor for several years.

following the rest of the thread: i have 2 gm vehicles that have been great.
my truck with 80k+ miles drives better than a new outback.

 

[bradly1101]

In Consumer Reports' reliability survey they cover all the bases. It's not free though.

 

[Jumpem]

My BRZ was new and had a warranty. It spent more time at the dealer than in my hands. I don't care that it was covered under warranty at that point. I would have rather had a car I could drive.

And not be wasting my time going back and forth to the dealer. With 3 small kids at home and a pretty active lifestyle, I have zero time to be f'n about with my vehicle.

I certainly agree.

 

[Jimzz]

In Consumer Reports' reliability survey they cover all the bases. It's not free though.

They only survey people that subscribe to CRs and do not release any of their data. They have been caught looking like fools many times. My favorite is still the Geo/Chevy Prism was ranked lower then the Toyota Corolla. After they got caught on that they started to group them together in the future to cover how bad their surveys are.

 

[PandaBear]

http://longtermqualityindex.com

It is the most objective one I have seen but it only shows older car with major issues like engine and transmissions.

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