Lexus Loses Reliability Crown: Jaguar & Buick Share Top Spot

[Steve]

For the first time in 15 years Lexus is not the most dependable brand according to J.D. Power & Associates. The torch has instead been passed on to luxury competitor Jaguar as well as to GM’s Buick brand.

Both Buick and Jaguar came from well behind in the pack to eclipse Lexus in the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, which ranks reported problems of 3-year old models.

Buick, which ranked 6th last year, and Jaguar, which placed a distant 10th in 2008, are tied for the top spot this year.

Lexus continues to hold on to the second spot, with Toyota and Mercury following closely.

David Sargent, J.D. Power’s VP of auto research told Automotive News that, “Part of GM’s historical challenge has been that the customer’s perception of GM’s vehicles has been not in line with reliability. Maybe 10 or 15 years ago their vehicles weren’t as reliable as some of the imports, but I think today they’ve virtually caught up.”

In fact, two years ago Buick actually tied Lexus for the top spot.

The J.D. Power research shows that owners of Buick and Jaguar models reported an average of 122 problems per 100 vehicles, compared to 126 problems per 100 vehicle for Lexus owners.

Lexus can, however, still lay claim to the most reliable vehicle, the LS430, with the fewest problems reported - just 61 for every 100 vehicles.

J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study is even more important this year as with the current recession owners are opting to hold on to vehicles rather than purchase new ones. According to J.D. Power, owners of new vehicles are holding on to their cars for an average of 73 months, up from 66 moths in 2006.

More: Lexus Loses Reliability Crown: Jaguar & Buick Share Top Spot on AutoGuide.com

[Christian87N]

ouch. Way to go Lexus. Props to GM and Ford for actually doing good now. Always good for the competition and for the buyers.

[CPL]

This is great for competition , however I see more Lexus vehicles on the road than Buick & Jaguar combined. Of course there are going to be less problems per 100 vehicles if there is hardly any of them out there.

[BlackCamSe]

Of coarse vehicles sitting on the show room floors are going g to have less problems then cars that are on the rode and driven daily!

[Christian87N]

Originally Posted by XxTrD_ToYoTaxX

Of coarse vehicles sitting on the show room floors are going g to have less problems then cars that are on the rode and driven daily!

[CamrySExxx]

Originally Posted by XxTrD_ToYoTaxX

Of coarse vehicles sitting on the show room floors are going g to have less problems then cars that are on the rode and driven daily!

Please learn to spell.

[PhatRoyale]

Originally Posted by CamrySExxx

Please learn to spell.

[84Cressida]

When you redesign your cars every 32 years, you tend to know how to build them right....

[scathma]

Looks like Jaguar and Buick finally figured out it was cheaper to throw a bribe at JD Power than it would be to actually improve their products

[TacoRollaS]

Originally Posted by scathma

Looks like Jaguar and Buick finally figured out it was cheaper to throw a bribe at JD Power than it would be to actually improve their products

My thoughts exactly, how convenient that they are ranked at the top when their parent companies are tanking.

[ImDisaster]

There are definitely some concerns with JD Powers surveys.

First three years is only 30-35K miles for most customers. There isn't much differentiation between reliable and uber reliable cars at 30K. However, if JD Powers were to compare 6 year old vehicles, they'd see a much larger difference...in favor of Toyota.

Secondly, if you compare the JD Powers numbers to reliability data in Consumer Reports guides, they don't make sense. The Consumer Reports data is statistically valid from owners. In nearly all vehicles the Toyota scores more "better than average" and "much better than average" and fewer "worse than average" and "much worse than average" ratings than GM. So why the difference?

[Carcrazy1]

Please show me some more pics

[martinafan]

Yeah, but what happens after a few years. I don't think the Jags hold up that well, and they do need a lot more money to maintain running good, as far as Buicks they re mostly driven by old people who drive them slowly and always bring them in for service if they hear or feel anything.