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Sedans Luxury Performance Sedans
9978 messages, Last post on Nov 02, 2009 at 1:30 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: domenickamarc (Nov 09, 2006 7:18 am) Having said that, my in-laws have a "flawless" 1997 Cadillac (the big one with front wheel drive.) It has perhaps 70,000 miles on it and yes it has had new tires and brake pads and maybe even rotors, but basically the car -- such as it is (i.e. a front wheel drive sofa on wheels) is in perfect condition. Is it MILES or is it time that is the enemy? And as a follow on, we seem to NOT have many STS participants herein -- are the buyers of such vehicles not into blogging with other LPS folks? Are the STS drivers lurking and laughing at us Euro and Japaense LPS folks with our "breathtakingly expensive" to maintain cars? I actually drove an STS at least two times, and I thought it was a member in good standing of the LPS crowd -- at least if optioned appropriately to put a bit more "P" into the equation. . . . 
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Replying to: 530ir1150r (Nov 09, 2006 5:37 am) That's also how it works with 2001-2006 Audi vehicles (all of which came with included-in-purchase-price replacement of normal-wera items such as wiper blade inserts, brake pads, clutch lining and light bulbs and also includes wheel alignment, wheel balance and headlight adjustments. Runs for 4 years or 50K and costs $500 on 2007s. |
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Replying to: sfcharlie (Nov 08, 2006 9:37 pm) Even so-called "highly rated" vehicles like Toyota can have serious repair issues. I know a mechanic who bought a Toy Rav-4 3 years a go and after 6,000 miles, the engine seized up due to lack of oil pressure. Toyota refused to cover the repair claiming the oil changes weren't done through a Toyota dealer and the mechanic stopped making the payments, therefore the vehicle was repo'd! Despite my individual problems with the Audi brand, indifferent dealer service really pushed me to another model. Old fashioned customer service may be alive and well with many dealers, I just didn't get to that level through Audi.
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Replying to: fonefixer (Nov 09, 2006 9:46 am) Very critical point you are making there. Both patients receiving medical care (bringing their bodies in to be fixed) and car-owners (having problems with their cars) are both consistently reported to place great weight on how the expert relates to them and responds to their concerns, separate and apart from how quickly/completely the desired end-result is reached. JD Powers assesses this dimension of owner-satisfaction separate from vehicle dependability (number ofd repairs required during first three years). In their 2006 survey of owner satisfaction with dealer service departments, here's how they ranked brands (based on a 1,000-point scale): Lexus - 912 Buick - 911 Cadillac - 909 Jaguar - 908 Lincoln - 906 Mercury - 905 Saturn - 904 Pontiac - 903 Audi - 890 MINI - 890 Volvo - 890 Acura - 889 Chevrolet - 887 Infiniti - 887 Porsche - 887 BMW - 884 Honda - 883 HUMMER - 882 Saab - 880 GMC - 879 IndustryAverage - 873 Mercedes-Benz - 872 Hyundai - 869 Chrysler - 867 Ford - 866 Dodge - 862 Toyota - 861 Subaru - 858 Jeep - 851 Nissan - 849 Mitsubishi - 848 Kia - 843 Mazda - 843 LandRover - 840 Suzuki - 823 Volkswagen - 810 Isuzu - 781 Statistically, then, not only did your Audi require way more than the average number of repairs, but also you were treated much worse than the average Audi owner. That is a double-whammy shame and would, if I were you, produce the same effect in me -- never doing that again.
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Replying to: sfcharlie (Nov 09, 2006 10:09 am) Interesting, but not surprising how badly Toyota did. Their dealerships are awful. |
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Replying to: markcincinnati (Nov 09, 2006 7:45 am) Lexus - 912 Buick - 911 Cadillac - 909 Jaguar - 908 Lincoln - 906 Mercury - 905 These rankings are partially based on the quality baked into the brands/vehicles themselves. The average owners of Lexus, Buick, Cadillac, Jaguar, Lincoln, and Mercury are also older, more mature, perhaps more conservative, and certainly more likely to visit their dealer based on the recommended service cycles. The AVERAGE owners of the bottom feeder brands are younger. Does being younger also correlate to being less responsible, less mature, and more risk taking? A lower level of "pride of ownership?" Is the car more of an appliance or commodity, with a lower intrinsic value to the owner? Could those behaviors also correspond to worse experiences at the dealership because the cars are being brought in for problems rather than routine maintenance? Perhaps. |
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Replying to: cstiles (Nov 09, 2006 12:42 pm) |
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Replying to: cstiles (Nov 09, 2006 12:42 pm) I don't think owners of the above cars are more mature or more likely to take better care of their cars than Mercedes or Land Rover owners.
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 09, 2006 1:20 pm) Watch the Land Rover owners come out of the woodwork to rebut these controversial comments! Another correlation can be drawn with insurance rates. Although higher in insurable value, average insurance costs for Lexus, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln, and Mercury are historically lower on a percentage basis, compared to cars at the bottom of this ladder (whose insurable values are much, much less). This phenomenon can be attributed to two main factors---more conservative (ie: safer) driving behavior, and higher credit scores/characteristics, for those who drive those brands. Jaguar used to enjoy this status, when more of their sales were represented by XJ and other larger models or higher end coupes. With the advent of the down market S-Type and X-Type, insurance costs have risen due to the fact they have appealed to a younger and more diverse clientele whose driving behaviors are not necessarily as stellar on a historical basis. As the saying goes, "you are what you drive." Land Rover insurance costs are also much higher than average, and it's not because these vehicles are driven off road or in an African safari. Draw your own conclusions, but high theft rates would be a good place to start.
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Replying to: cstiles (Nov 09, 2006 8:58 pm) The average Land Rover buyer is 43 years old. Sixty-six percent are male, 75 percent are married, and less than 40 percent of owners have children. |
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