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Who makes the most reliable new cars?

consumerreports.org

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Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#831

Post by arc-in-space »

skrebbel wrote: post #766

Years ago http://reliabilityindex.com/ had a fantastic list of the repair costs of used cars, collected by a UK car warranty insurer. They took it down for reasons I’m not aware of but it was basically this but for used cars (and Europe-focused). It let you see repair costs per brand, model and generation . There’d sometimes be mad regressions in quality between the old and newer generations of the exact same car - n…

> average driving style of Porsche owners

Just recently I've had a driver completely ignore me on a crosswalk, which I almost never see happen, and it sure was a Porsche.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#832

Post by rightbyte »

collyw wrote: post #825
pockybum522 wrote: post #584

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Started during the pandemic? My friend, I think you just might not remember how terribly people drove pre-pandemic as well.

[flagged]

That can't be causuality? Probably people that don't take vaccines are more reckless overall.

'Of course, skipping a COVID vaccine does not mean that someone will get into a car crash. Instead, the authors theorize that people who resist public health recommendations might also “neglect basic road safety guidelines.”'

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#834

Post by Paianni »

iforgotpassword wrote: post #765
Mountain_Skies wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Replacing old style headlight bulbs with LEDs in housings not designed for them is an increasing problem too, making driving at night often something that is best done with a pair of sunglasses.

This has also become a problem as a cyclist. I live in a bicycles-first city, commute that way almost every day, and over the past decade when LED lights became the norm, almost every day during this time of the year there's at least one person that just mindlessly snapped their headlight onto the handlebar. It might just fully shine into your face. Back in the days of those dim incandescent bulbs powered by whimsy g…

Maybe 'dip your light'?

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#835

Post by prerok »

Miiko wrote: post #729
prerok wrote: post #623

Maybe I don't understand something but where is Renault? It's not even mentioned AFAICT. Also, VW data does not encompass Golf, which seems to me to be by far the most sold VW car in Europe (based on what I see on the streets, not actual data). Seems a bit strange to omit these.

Consumer Report is an American organization and they only report on cars sold here, so no Renault (not sold in USA) nor European Golf in the list.

Now it makes sense, thanks!

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#836

Post by HenryBemis »

hutzlibu wrote: post #809
genocidicbunny wrote: post #793

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both you and the parent post are correct. There have always been bad drivers, a lot of them, and defensive driving is the best thing for that. But at the same time, I have anecdotally been observing a serious breakdown in people following the rules. All the things the parent mentioned have become more frequent in my experience -- the number of times I see blatant bad and malicious driving behaviours has increased sig…

"How do you defensively drive against someone just blasting through a red light 15 seconds after it turned red and cross traffic is moving steadily? Or the guy in a lifted truck who decides to force you into the shoulder because he thinks it's funny?" Probably upgrading to a tank at some point. Or bringing a gun. Or bribe politicians, that they urge the police to focus on maintaining sanity on the roads and take away…

A gun won't save you from the stupidity of bad drivers. And you understand (in your anger) that it won't solve anything. At best (not really) you shoot and kill (?) one of them. You will then go to prison for many-many-many years, you will lose everything and everyone.

Meanwhile there is a million equally bad drivers out there. We can't be doing "a purge" every weekend. It's either policing, or self-driving cars. I am looking forward to the latter.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#837

Post by CalRobert »

vondur wrote: post #453
yaomtc wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> car safety has drastically improved Safety between cars, and within cars, has improved. However, due to the increasing size of the average vehicle on the road, among other factors, car safety for pedestrians/cyclists has decreased. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184034017/us-pedestrian-deat...

People drive horrible now. Running lights, crazy lane changes, excessive speeding etc. Here in the US is started during the pandemic and hasn’t improved.

One thing I learned after getting a motorcycle license is that a huge percentage of drivers are staring at their phone.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#838

Post by magicalhippo »

dahart wrote: post #414
SkyPuncher wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, the computers don’t tend to break. The things that do break are essentially the same as they were 20 years ago. The bells and whistles are mostly for creatures comfort. The mechanical components haven’t changed much. The only thing that I couldn’t fix on my own in my 2020 vs my 2006 was re-alignment of lane keep system after replacing the windshield.

The chips themselves don’t tend break, but wires and connectors and sensors all do tend to break, and they are effectively part of the computer system. Today, it’s practically moot where you draw the line. Something mechanical on my CRV broke somewhere, and the computer didn’t know what it was, and so the dealer didn’t know what it was, and the computer tended to shut down over unknown problems, and it eventually cau…

> in my experience they are becoming necessary modern safety features

EU recently mandated that all new models have Intelligent Speed Assistance[1].

This requires the car to use GPS, read signs and such to determine the current speed limit, and provide some feedback like a dynamic force on the gas pedal[2].

I got this in my new car, being a model introduced last year, and while it's nice when it works, it's often confused or wrong. And that's when it's operating normally. I already had to replace the gas pedal unit because the force feedback mechanism in it had some issues (would tap the pedal like a light hammer strike at a specific position, repeated around 5 Hz if held at the exact position). Wonder how it'll all hold up down the line.

[1]: https://road-safety-charter.ec.europa.eu/resources-knowledge...

[2]: https://www.autoweek.com/news/industry-news/a40543584/anti-s...

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#839

Post by allengeorge »

jacquesm wrote: post #266
nonethewiser wrote: post #12

Lexus is toyota. Accura is honda. So it’s really like: 1. Toyota 2. Mini 3. Honda 4. Subaru 5. Mazda Congratulations Japan.

Mini = BMW. Subaru: depending on which model can have a lot of Toyota parts.

I do not think that Subaru models outside of the BRZ or Solterra have Toyota parts.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#840

Post by sspiff »

sharkweek wrote: post #213

My 3rd Gen Toyota 4Runner is old enough to drink and outside of routine maintenance requires almost no thought. "It's time to get a new car" given that car safety has drastically improved and I have two younger kids in that thing a few times a week but I'm honestly having a really hard time giving it up, something so reliable and plainly functional. New cars with all their computers and smart technology only look lik…

I'm in a similar boat. I drive an 07 Volvo wagon, and it's practical, mostly reliable besides the odd repair and replacing wear items.

It's still relatively safe, at least in terms of passive safety (it has a well engineered crash structure, curtain side impact airbags, etc).

It drinks fuel like a drunk uncle drinks wine at a wedding, burns and leaks a little oil, etc. Fuel is very expensive where I live (currently around $8,3 to the gallon), so that's a thing.

But mostly, modern cars are extremely expensive and just not appealing to me as a driver or as an owner. I'd have to go through a ton of repairs and fuel before I'd break even on a new car, I can probably drive my car for more than a decade still before it gets to that point.

Pair that with Mozilla's Privacy Not Included report[0], pervasive tracking in modern cars and bullshit practices like "heated seats as a subscription", and I'm out.

I'm considering just buying a good shell of a car and have it converted to EV when the time comes to replace the Volvo. An EV conversion is about $30-35k for a professional to plan, build, execute and certify. If I want to buy a car that matches or exceeds the comfort, practicality and joy of my Volvo, I'm looking at $60k+ on the new market, at least.

[0] https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/article...

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