Eric in PA

I have been comfortable with the notion that Audi has drastically
improved the reliability of their cars, especially with the beginning
of the A naming scheme.

I was shocked, then, when JD Power & Assoc. ranked Audi well below
average among all carmakers for long-term reliability. I believe they
looked at reliability over a 3 year period for each model.

I'm interested in your thoughts on the report and how much weight I
should give it.

Pete

"Eric in PA" <spamshack@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:244a529a.0308181308.427f86a5@posting.google.c om...
> I have been comfortable with the notion that Audi has drastically
> improved the reliability of their cars, especially with the beginning
> of the A naming scheme.
>
> I was shocked, then, when JD Power & Assoc. ranked Audi well below
> average among all carmakers for long-term reliability. I believe they
> looked at reliability over a 3 year period for each model.

The recent coilpack fiasco probably has something to do with it. Besides,
even if Audi has, in fact, "drastically improved the reliability of their
cars," as you say, they're still behind Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, on
average. I say "on average" because all companies turn out lemons, some
more than others. My '00 Accord was less reliable than my '01 A4. Fit and
finish of the Accord (EX V6) left much to be desired as well. But I guess I
am an exception to the rule.

My advice: Don't buy an Audi if reliability is your main concern. Do buy
an Audi if you want to enjoy the driving experience.

Cheers,

Pete

Jeff

On 18 Aug 2003 14:08:32 -0700, spamshack@comcast.net (Eric in PA)
wrote:

>I have been comfortable with the notion that Audi has drastically
>improved the reliability of their cars, especially with the beginning
>of the A naming scheme.
>
>I was shocked, then, when JD Power & Assoc. ranked Audi well below
>average among all carmakers for long-term reliability. I believe they
>looked at reliability over a 3 year period for each model.
>
>I'm interested in your thoughts on the report and how much weight I
>should give it.


As a general rule, buy German if you want an amazing driving
experience along with slightly below average reliability. But
Japanese if you want reliability and little other than scheduled
maintenance.

This is coming from a guy who owns a VW (2001), Audi (199, and
Nissan (1995). Definately holds true.

-Jeff

Uphill DownHill

I don't put too much credence in the JD survey.
While it may be usefull for comparing extremes
on the scale of reliability, eg is and Audi more reliable
than a landrover freelander, then yes the survey could be usefull.
But at the top end there is very little to seperate Toyota, Honda, Mercedes,
BMW and Audi. Remember the JD survey ranks the cars on more than
just reliabilty but also looks at things such as customer service.

When deciding which car I wanted reliabilty was a major point to
consider, therefore a choose an Audi. In the UK at least they have a good
track history on reliability.

Was it the American or the British survey.

Romy Singh

"Eric in PA" <spamshack@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:244a529a.0308181308.427f86a5@posting.google.c om...
> I have been comfortable with the notion that Audi has drastically
> improved the reliability of their cars, especially with the beginning
> of the A naming scheme.
>
> I was shocked, then, when JD Power & Assoc. ranked Audi well below
> average among all carmakers for long-term reliability. I believe they
> looked at reliability over a 3 year period for each model.
---snip---

Actually, I think it's only for the first 90 days, for the first owner only.
Basically rating a brand new car, while the emotions are hot. I personally
don't put much weight into JD or CR, owner reviews seem to do a much better
job.


Romy

Richard Potato

On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 12:46:00 +0100, "Uphill DownHill"
<psmith@ic24.net> wrote:

>I don't put too much credence in the JD survey.
>While it may be usefull for comparing extremes
>on the scale of reliability, eg is and Audi more reliable
>than a landrover freelander, then yes the survey could be usefull.
>But at the top end there is very little to seperate Toyota, Honda, Mercedes,
>BMW and Audi. Remember the JD survey ranks the cars on more than
>just reliabilty but also looks at things such as customer service.
>
>When deciding which car I wanted reliabilty was a major point to
>consider, therefore a choose an Audi. In the UK at least they have a good
>track history on reliability.
>
>Was it the American or the British survey.
>
>

Don't know about the survey source; having gone over the Power ratings
and Edmunds et al you see that a high mark is 9.5 and a low mark is
9.3 for the vehicles you have listed. Maybe a bad lunch can mark down
a 9.5 to at 9.3 with a particular reviewer.

At a particular price point one should expect a level of performance,
reliability, ergonomics etc.

If you want to drive a couch, get a Japanese. If you want to drive,
get German.