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Jaguar tied with Buick as the most dependable brand in JDPower
survey, but don't count on those results to find you a reliable car.
Owners of 2006-model Buick and Jaguar products reported the fewest problems to J.D. Power and Associates in its annual dependability study.
The two brands averaged 122 problems per 100 vehicles of their three-year-old cars, compared to the survey average of 170 and bottom-ranked Suzuki's 263.
However, the name "Vehicle Dependability Study" implies a focus on reliability that is absent from the results of JDPower's survey of 46,000 car owners.
Survey responders are invited to complain about any of 202 "problems," many of which are based on how much owners like the car instead of whether something has broken.
JDPower notes that "component replacement" (an actual reliability defect) was important to the owners who responded, but a complaint that someone doesn't like the way his Suzuki drives or its rear-seat room counts the same in the results as a Buick or Jaguar that leaves its owner stranded.
Also, reliability surveys from Consumer Reports and TrueDelta (which actually report on reliability) have shown a wide spread between different models from the same brand of car, making the JDPower brand rankings less useful.
Consumer Reports has agreed with JDPower on Buick but not Jaguar, whose reliability consistently rates low. TrueDelta also notes that Jaguar's least-reliable recent product -- the XF sedan, averaging 141 repairs needed (not just complaints, reliability defects) per 100 vehicles -- went on sale after 2006 and was therefore not included in the JDPower study.
With all the complaints thrown together, and about relatively few cars at that, it's difficult to find anything useful about new car reliability in the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study. Be on the lookout: you'll see their survey results trumpeted in advertising.
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Comments
I do not agree with this article at all. I have read the press release and J.D. Power article. And I think that looking at 202 different variables including from powertrain, to body, to accessores was a great slice about a vehicles reliability. Also the looked into 46,000 owners complaints and service records. This is more than enough to crown a winner. While I would never buy a Buick or Jaguar personally; I do belie that for the 2006 model years, these were the most dependable cars.
Read a good blog at newluxurycarblog
The 202 variables include some things that involve reliability and others that are just more general complaints about the car. Throw them all together and you don't have anything conclusive to say about reliability.
For example, Hummer has done poorly in JDPower reliability surveys because of owner complaints about gas mileage. The car is functioning perfectly fine as it gets 12 miles per gallon.
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