phred

I got the CR car/truck guide for Christmas, don't know exactly when it was published. But in an otherwise favorable listing for the A6, it says they can't recommend it because of reliability concerns.

Ouch. Based on my visits to bimmer.org, I don't sense that BMW reliability is really any different (or Merc, for that matter).

Kenny

The BMW 3-series and 5-series both were rated Very good in reliability in Consumer Reports, All the Audi's were rated fair.. The Mercedes was a mixed bag, where some models were rated very good, to poor for the ML class.. I read the recent JD Power survey for defects on new cars, and for 4-5 yr old cars... The surprise second place winner for reliability was Porsche with Lexus taking top honors.. Mercedes consistently makes it in the top 10 of this list.. BMW just around the top 10 mark.. Audi has always ranked poor or fair historically both in consumer reports and in JD Power..

DWC_2.7T

Over the years, I've checked CR many times to see what they thought of the vehicles I owned. Invariably, their report was more negative than my experience. They also seem to assess trivial issues with the same weight as significant problems. JD Powers has more weight 'cause its based on independent industry data rather than anecdote. CR auto rankings seem to coincide with popularity trends. I'd rather have a lower JDP rated car that doesn't need to rebuilt every six months (Audi) than one rated high that does but whose dealers do it oh so cheerfully, like Land Rover.

phred

Every time they rate something like peanut butter or perfume, I want to call them and say "How can you tell what I prefer? I don't really care what your testers think; that's a personal, subjective decision."

But you're right, I won't buy an appliance without consulting them.

Oh well, if they scare away enough new buyers, maybe the service depts. can catch up with their backlog!

grove

. . . since they are derived from survey answers from their readership. This results in a double whammy, since it's a highly critical base from which to base a survey, and, just as on this and other fora, complainers are far more likely to respond than those who are pleased.

tubey

Yeah, I wondered about that too when I got my 2001 Buying Guide. The irony is: I bought my '99 A6 because CR started raving about them in '98 and gave them their top recommendation. Since I always liked Audis but steered clear of them due to reliablility issues I viewed this as a sign that perhaps they had at last turned the quality corner.

The fact that their U.S. sales have increased so dramatically in the last two years is, I think, a good indication that I wasn't alone. So far mine continues to be the most trouble-free new car I've ever owned, but some of the postings on this forum do indeed give me pause. I'm glad I bought a '99, and the fuel gauge still works just fine. I just continue to think positive and, when reading some of these dire postings, knock hard on the nearest wood.