Surprises Top J.D. Power Dependability Ratings

For the first time in a dozen years, another brand has tied Lexus for the top spot in the annual J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study, which ranks vehicles based on the number of problems their owners report in the first three years of ownership.

The surprise is even more noteworthy because the brand ranked dead even with Lexus for vehicle dependability is Buick. Both Buick and Lexus owners reported 145 problems per 100 vehicles, well below the industry average of 216 problems per 100 vehicles.

The Power study surveyed more than 50,000 owners of 2004 model cars to determine vehicle dependability and reliability after three years of ownership.

Yet another surprise: rounding out the top five most dependable vehicles were Cadillac, Mercury, and Honda. In other words, three of the top five were domestics and two were Japanese at a time when Japanese car sales are rising and domestic sales are retreating.

There were more surprises.

Olds — not even assembled anymore — scored tops in the minivan segment with the Silhouette, and tops in the multi-activity vehicle segment with the Bravada. The Buick Century, also no longer being made, was ranked the most dependable midsize sedan.

Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis for Power said those happy with the dependability of their vehicles tend to buy the same brand again and recommend others do as well, so even though the vehicles are no longer produced, high scores could lead to future sales of GM brands.

The study also found the most improved vehicle in terms of dependability was the Hummer, though it still finished in 26th place among all brands with owners reporting 242 problems per 100 vehicles.

The final surprise was the overall rankings. Toyota finished sixth (178 problems) behind Honda and just ahead of BMW and Lincoln which tied at 182. And Olds, no longer made, had better dependability than Mercedes-Benz in 13th place (212 problems), Ford in 18th (221), Chevy in 20th (226), Nissan in 30th (274), and Land Rover last (398).

Keep these ratings in mind when buying used vehicles.

Oddes said the fact Buick, Mercury, and Honda scored so high in dependability is a good omen as well because it means dependable vehicles are sold at a variety of price levels and not just among the luxury nameplates.

“Consumers don’t necessarily need to pay premium prices to obtain quality and dependability,” Oddes said. Cars rated the highest for dependability also tend to retain up to 15 percent more of their value after three years, which should benefit consumers at trade-in time.

2007 Nameplate Ranking — Problems per 100 Vehicles

  Buick            145
  Lexus            145
  Cadillac         162
  Mercury          168
  Honda            169
  Toyota           178
  BMW              182
  Lincoln          182
  Subaru           192
  Oldsmobile       196
  Jaguar           197
  Acura            207
  Mercedes-Benz    212
  Infiniti         215
  Industry Average 216
  Jeep             219
  Pontiac          220
  Scion            220
  Ford             221
  GMC              222
  Chevrolet        226
  Hyundai          228
  Mitsubishi       228
  Volvo            230
  Audi             234
  Dodge            236
  HUMMER           242
  MINI             247
  Chrysler         249
  Porsche          252
  Nissan           274
  Saturn           274
  Kia              288
  Mazda            289
  Volkswagen       298
  Saab             319
  Isuzu            322
  Suzuki           324
  Land Rover       398