Before we throw down a lot of ca$h,
let's separate the lemons from the lemonade!
Almost everyone I know owns a car, so I hoped to put together an article that would appeal and assist all of those people, because I care & love you all!
So before you read any further, please take a minute to guess what are the top 3 most reliable vehicle manufacturers.
#1 ?
#2 ?
#3 ?
Anyone who knows me is well aware of my love for the Toyota/Lexus brand
(FYI Toyota makes Lexus) & their great reputation they have built on quality, durability & reliability. On rankings elsewhere I have seen Toyota/Lexus feature as the number one, but this time around I was surprised!
I guessed the top 3 brands in the following order:
The following survey information is based in Australia, however this can still be quite relevant on a global scale as these car brands, their manufacturing and sales are global.
Those surveyed had bought the vehicle new and then owned it for 5 years.
Let's get into it!
66% of consumers faced problems with their new cars in the first 5 years.
● 52% of all new car buyers experienced minor problems.
● 14% faced a major problem (seriously impaired or outright stopped it working)
● 21% of respondents had a series of different problems.
Gag Order:
A shocking 16% of consumers who had problems with their new cars reported being asked to sign a "Non Disclosure Agreement" in order to access a repair or replacement.
73% of new cars that faced a problem were fully covered by a warranty.
● 11% were partly covered by a warranty.
● 11% were not covered by a warranty.
It costs consumers an average of $1295 & 31 hours to fix new car problems.
As the Choice report points out "Consumers are spending $1295 on average to fix problems with their cars that should be covered by the Australian Consumer Law. This cost includes time spent seeking remedies, an average 31 hours. New cars should work; there shouldn’t be a $1295 lemon fee assigned to the majority of new car owners."
In 2016 Holden (General Motors) was most popular brand for Australians buying new cars – but it’s also the car brand with the highest percentage of consumers reporting problems.
The incidence of problems with Holdens is significantly higher than it is for the 2nd & 3rd most popular brands, Toyota and Mazda.
Top 3 Sales - % customers with quality complaints
1 - Holden (GM) 68%
2 - Toyota 50%
3 - Mazda 44%
I have to ask myself, "do aussies really know what they're buying?"
With a quality failure rate of 68%, yet the most desired brand, I guess not.
Now I do realise there's some great looking vehicles & they're cheaper than many others, but the money you lose maintaining a poorer quality car & the higher depreciation of its value (from the price you first paid to what it's worth now) means that it's worth looking at the long term costs.
Top 3 Quality - % customers with quality complaints
1 - Mazda 44%
2 - Honda 49%
3 - Toyota 50%
Worst 3 Quality - % customers with quality complaints
1 - Holden (GM) 68%
2 - Ford 65%
3 - Audi 62%
Still hungry for more?
The whole list from 1 - 15
Mazda 44% Honda 49% Toyota 50% Suzuki 51% Subaru 53% Kia 54% Mitsubishi 55% BMW 57% Hyundai 61% Nissan 61% VW 61% Jeep 61% Audi 62% Ford 65% Holden 68%
What seems to be the problem with this lemon, too sour?
On average a new vehicle depreciates 50% in the first 3.5 years!!
To be honest I would recommend buying a better quality vehicle 2nd hand than buying a new lesser quality "cheap" vehicle.
My Lexus (Toyota) CT200 had depreciated 50% in 8 years, a quality well built, problem free car that drives like a dream, see what I mean?
So why not buy a well maintained 3 or 4 year old car with service history, that way you can afford a better quality brand, avoid 50% depreciation, and not need credit hopefully because you're paying half the price of a new car.
Quality car brands = Reliability & Durability
Luxury car brands = Comfort & Fancy Features
Sometimes a car brand can do both.
However usually that's not the reality (quality failures: BMW 57%, VW 61%, Audi 62%).
Luxury car brands do not necessarily equal reliability & durability, therefore just because a car is luxurious doesn't guarantee its long term quality, it does however guarantee a high price tag, and therefore more money lost on its depreciation too. Maintenance & servicing costs are also heavy hitter$.
Hooray there's some certainty!!
So please do plenty of research using the abundance of independent information online, think with your mind not your heart, and leave your ego at the front door!
More about this in a later article on buying used vehicles.
Thanks for taking a look at my ramble,
Paul Ford
Credit to:
The above quality statistics are from the surveys & reports by the Australian consumer advocacy group "Choice" and the Australian insurance and motor vehicle advocacy group "NRMA"
For further information, relevant link below:
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