Reliability Matters: A Look at Automobile Reliability

Some cars are much more reliable than others. While any car can be defective and necessitate that its owner seek help from a Sacramento lemon law firm, consumers can face a greater chance of avoiding problems by buying cars made by manufacturers with a good reputation for being reliable.  There are details on the most and least reliable cars at 24/7 Wall Street, which consumers may wish to take a look at as a part of their car buying research.

The Most and the Least Reliable Car Brands

24/7 Wall Street assembled a list of the most and least reliable car brands by looking at JD Power research, as well as research from Consumer Reports. JD Power releases three annual studies, and the results of those studies are derived from conducting interviews with 33,560 people.  There were 32 car brands which were covered as a part of the JD Power study. 

Consumer Reports data, which was also consulted by 24/7 Wall Street, covered a total of 30 brands of cars.  There was found to be some overlap between the cars that did well when comparing the data from Consumer Reports with the data from JD Power. 

The rankings done by 24/7 Wall Street were largely based on the JD Power research, with supplementary info from Consumer Reports added in. By using the available data and analyzing it, the researchers were able to come up with an estimate of the number of problems per 100 vehicles. 

Researchers were able to find that the Lexus was the most reliable car brand, with the least number of problems per 100 vehicles.  In total, it was discovered that Lexus owners had 95 problems per 100 vehicles. Porsche came in second with 97 problems per 100 vehicles; followed by Buick with 106 problems per 100 vehicles;

Toyota with 113 problems per 100 cars; GMC trucks with 120 problems per 100 vehicles; Chevrolet with 125 problems per 100 vehicles, Honda with 126 problems, Dodge which had 129 problems per 100 vehicles; and Acura which also had 129 problems per 100 vehicles.  Obviously, even when cars are touted as the most reliable, there are still serious issues that could affect safe vehicle operation and which could be a major inconvenience for consumers.

Some of the least reliable brands of cars, on the other hand, included Dodge, 30 Smart, Land Rover, Jeep, Nissan and Fiat. The Dodge was found to be the least reliable, with a JD Power problems score of 208 problems per 100 vehicles.  The Smart car was also a very problematic car brand, with 199 problems per 100 vehicles.

Whether or not you bought a reliable vehicle brand, contact a lemon law firm to see if you have legal remedies available regarding your own vehicle problems.