Are New Buicks REALLY That Reliable?
10-25-07 | 06:24 AM
#16
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
The Grand National didn't sell well, and the Roadmaster went out when the Arlington, TX plant that built it, the Caprice, and the Fleetwood was retooled for trucks and SUV's.
10-25-07 | 06:29 AM
#17
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Lexus Fanatic
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
I see you were a Suburban fan even back then, too. The Suburban has been popular for many years (Ford, of course, had nothing comparable back then), and it was one of the prime reasons why the Roadmaster was discontinued...see my post above.
10-25-07 | 07:36 AM
#18
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From: MD
We did. The dealer took back our '87 Century wagon with a blown engine at 3,000 miles and we got an '88 Toyota Van.
10-25-07 | 09:41 AM
#19
Lexus Test Driver
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From: WA
Aside from the new Enclave, Buick still suffers from perceive quality issues - even though they make reliable cars, that, per the numbers, don't have very many issues - they just don't give the perception of high quality when you drive them, like a Lexus does.
Perceived quality and reliability are two very different things. Example being Audi - great perceived quality, but really bad reliability. Buick is the opposite. Lexus, on the other hand, seems to have both factors nailed down.
I do believe that Buicks are as reliable, on average, and Lexus models. And on top of that they're also considerably less expensive to maintain and fix when necessary.
I know you're a big fan of consumer reports, but I've always put more stock in JD Power's numbers if for nothing else due to the fact that they don't just poll their own subscribers. When you exclusively poll a group of people who subscribes to your own publication, you are bound to have the majority of your respondents agree with your currently published results. It takes too long for real world changes in quality to be reflected in their results. And the very fact that they recently admitted that they were giving certain vehicles a "recommended" rating strictly due to their history and not due to any measure of quality of the current vehicle, is proof enough that CR's polling self-polling methods are too closed off to the real world around them.
Perceived quality and reliability are two very different things. Example being Audi - great perceived quality, but really bad reliability. Buick is the opposite. Lexus, on the other hand, seems to have both factors nailed down.
I do believe that Buicks are as reliable, on average, and Lexus models. And on top of that they're also considerably less expensive to maintain and fix when necessary.
I know you're a big fan of consumer reports, but I've always put more stock in JD Power's numbers if for nothing else due to the fact that they don't just poll their own subscribers. When you exclusively poll a group of people who subscribes to your own publication, you are bound to have the majority of your respondents agree with your currently published results. It takes too long for real world changes in quality to be reflected in their results. And the very fact that they recently admitted that they were giving certain vehicles a "recommended" rating strictly due to their history and not due to any measure of quality of the current vehicle, is proof enough that CR's polling self-polling methods are too closed off to the real world around them.
10-25-07 | 09:46 AM
#21
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Tennessee
I haven't seen any studies or survey results that would suggest their reliability better than average, or even average... really...
10-25-07 | 10:06 AM
#23
Lead Lap
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From: MD
My dad's A6 had a fabulous engine (2.7T), but the stereo and computer were prone to shorting out and the brakes squealed even with new pads.
10-25-07 | 10:56 AM
#24
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From: Northridge, Ca
JP Powers only measures "Initial Quality" either "Initial purchase (30days)...90 days..or 120 days".... long term reliability and dependability ..still goes to Toyota/Lexus/HondaAcura.
No doubt that Toyota and Honda hold long term quality and will do so for years.
Look ...Cadillar come in very high in the quality numbers .... now..I am doing a GM buyback on my POS 2007 Escalade.
No doubt that Toyota and Honda hold long term quality and will do so for years.
Look ...Cadillar come in very high in the quality numbers .... now..I am doing a GM buyback on my POS 2007 Escalade.
10-25-07 | 11:04 AM
#25
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Tennessee
I posted two charts. One is IQS (90 day initial quality, mainly reports initial defects in build), and VDS (3 year vehicle dependability).
They used to do surveys even further out than 3 years but I think they found that too much depended on how the vehicle was driven and taken care of (which are two factors that are typically very brand/model dependent).
10-25-07 | 12:55 PM
#26
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
As far as the brakes squealing.....were the rotors replaced or resurfaced as well? You can have brand-new pads, but if the rotors have glaze, rust, or other crud on them, you will get brake noises just the same. And some pads are just prone to that, anyway, from the material they use....especially metallic pads. That has been an off-and-on brake problem ever since asbestos pads were outlawed decades ago.
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