JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey 2005

[Fluffy]

J.D. Power and Associates and What Car? Report:

http://www.jdpa.com/news/releases/pressrel....asp?ID=2005059

MINI is Most-Improved Brand in Customer Satisfaction

 

 

Lexus Retains Title as Most Satisfying Brand to Own

 

 

LONDON 14 April 2005

[Fluffy]

seems that the Customer satisfaction is related to car reliability as shown below by the top 10 reliable car manufacturers.

Edited February 22, 2006 by Fluffy

[Renegade]

So, if I were to get a Toyota Mark X, which is built on the GS(or IS, I'm not going to argue about it here) platform, IS250 engine and Toyota badge, do I take the average or sum of the Toyota and Lexus satisfaction ratings?

 

[Fluffy]

dunno, but both are good cars.

 

Surprisingly, SKODA does really well in both in customer satisfaction and vehicle reliability. And best of all, it does well every year too. (even better than the other VAG cousins)

 

Great achievement for the marque!

 

this year, they get 2 Car of the Year awards too!

[Seansene]

And to add fuel to the fire... if you change the badge to Lexus, will the satisfaction change? Based on the number of 'Lexus' SUVs running around the island, I'd say YES.

[Renegade]

Or maybe I should find out the ratio of the Lexus-ness and Toyota-ness in the Mark X, multiply the ratio to the figures from the chart and finally find the mean. Or should it be the sum....

[Seansene]

Shouldn't we factor in a weightage of relative importance of each component?

[Vblaster_w211]

Biggest issue with such "scientific" surveys is that they ignore expectations and perception. For e.g. one might be inherently more critical when one has spent a lot more on a luxury make, versus a bread and butter make.

 

I did not expect too much from my old Sunny, and is quite satisified with it. But with the Integra, I expect a lot more, so no end of tinkering will be satisfied. Every little niggling details may be seen as a bigger fault that they are...

 

I suspect Mercedes and BMWs suffer the same fate compared to Skoda's and Japanese luxury brands.

[Renegade]

Excellent point you raised there.

 

Now, here's a counter-point - could brand loyalty act as a counterbalance of sorts, where, being a big fan of a particular brand, I conveniently ignore or overlook its flaws even if they're splattered in my face? For example, I'd be very satisfied with my car even if water came through the footwells everytime I drove thru a puddle (Issigonis was guilty of something like this and I've been, too, by the way, on a previous household ride.... )

Edited February 23, 2006 by Renegade

[Seansene]

Exactly. There's only so much 'quantification' you can put on inherently subjective subjects like satisfaction. In this case, one important factor not taken into account was how the brand was perceived prior to the purchase - this can dramatically affect how the current satisfaction levels are interpreted.

 

At the end of the day, certain things can be measured (number of breakdowns per unit per year for example) and a reasonably direct conclusion drawn from them, while others like 'overall satisfaction' remain inherently difficult to pin down, however you choose to define it.

[Car1990]

Mercedes sucks for years even for the surveys in the US. It's based on number of complaints per 1,000 new cars within 12 months of delivery, and it has consitently scored below average. It's really a mairacle that the car has such high standing in Singapore.

Edited March 6, 2006 by Car1990

[Renegade]

First, it's the image, second, those who can afford it probably can also aford to put up with the inconvenience

[Fluffy]

actually, yes, they did have quality problems in the late 90s and early 2000s, around when the first M class was introduced.

 

However, Mercs that came before were well built before then, they were reliable and had bulletproof built quality. That is why many middle eastern and european countries use to use them as Taxis.

 

however, as mentioned previously, their built quality deteriorated and so did their sales. However, their quality is now much better than previously. They have listened to their customers. The new M class is much better built than the previous one, same as th E class too.

 

so they are are pulling up their socks.

[Renegade]

....and meanwhile, we get the taxi's from the in-between era of unreliable Mercs ?

 

If you ask me, it's actually quite sad the way they went with the quality side

[Toledosun]

Here's something of interest for those who may like the jag. Jaguar actually came up tops in the initial customer satisfaction survey last year. Have to say I've past my 90 days and have zero complaints. Let's see if the reliability holds up over long usage. If it does...

quadruple.pdf

[Silver_blade]

Agree. Merc is going to spend more on their cars to improve the built quality. One fine example is the new A-class. It is so much better built than the previous model.

[Renegade]

Word is that jag's another company that's done a terrific job with the reliability part so I'd say you're probably safe as houses...(or flats, in S'pore)

Edited March 8, 2006 by Renegade

[Car1990]

That's why DaimlerChrysler changed its CEO last year I think. As for improvement in reliability and quality, it's still remain to be seen.

 

The joke in the the US is that there are only two types of people who would buy a Merc, newly arrived wealthy immigrants and professional athletes: loud - yes, good taste - errrrrrr...

Edited March 8, 2006 by Car1990