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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Top ten WORST USED vehicle purchases

This has got to be the best and most detailed quality control survey/test that I have ever come across by Steven Lang (on 17.01.2014)
He used data of used vehicles from auto auctions and the problems dealers themselves disclosed. As he is a frequent buyer and seller, he started the study with one key quality question for most car owners: “At what point does my car become so undesirable that I am willing to accept a wholesale used price for my vehicle?”
Lang says that trade-in vehicles are a great measurement of that emotional question. "Most consumers who trade their vehicle will get a price hundreds to thousands of dollars less than retail."
Lang has come up with a "trade-in quality index" http://members.wolfram.com/nickl/
It is designed to give the buyer an idea of what the long term reliability is of different makes and models based on real world used car data. (Models with less than 100 vehicles reported are omitted from the report.)
When you follow the above link to his page you will find a list of most vehicle manufacturers near the bottom of the page. Click on a manufacturer (ex. Honda) and presto data on quality by model (ex. Fit, Civic etc.), powertrain, transmission and engine issues.

I have copied the results as they appear in the article, due to the fact that I cannot explain it any better myself for you. So here they are:

WORST
10. Volkswagen New Beetle (automatic transmission issues and cheap interior components; diesel models with 5-speed manuals are by far the best powertrain option.)
9. Mazda 626 (automatic transmission issues, all models.)
8. Lincoln Aviator (a gussied-up, unpopular Ford Explorer that had unique sensor and software issues which negatively impacted the overall powertrain and electronics.)
7. Jaguar S-Type (Extensive transmission and engine issues on all V-6 and V-8 models. Along with Limited edition models with ungodly replacement costs.)
6. Lincoln LS (Same basic powertrain as the Jaguar S-Type with nearly identical results.)
5. Mazda Millenia (Engine issues, transmission issues and cheap interiors that just don't wear well.)
4. Land Rover Discovery (Expensive parts. Expensive powertrains. Electronics that are apparently the spawn of Beelzebub.)
3. Mini Cooper (Bad transmissions that are unusually expensive to replace. Cheap interior parts. Cheap hydraulics.)
2. Land Rover Freelander (A cost-cutting exercise that went way past the bone.)
And a true shocker, the single worst used vehicle at the wholesale auctions when it comes to overall defect rate at trade-in time is....
1. Mazda CX-7 (Engine issues on these vehicles are legion with nearly a third of these vehicles sold with "Engine needs service" announcements at the auctions.)

Link to the full article found on Yahoo!Autos: http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/car-dealer-scientific-guide-10-worst-used-vehicles-222709616.html

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Steven Lang has also included the 10 BEST used vehicle purchases, here they are:

BEST
1.  Lexus LX (Toyota)
2.  Toyota Land Cruiser
3.  Ford E250
4.  Lexus LS (Toyota)
5.  Toyota 4Runner
6.  Toyota Avalon
7.  Toyota Sequoia
8.  Lexus GX (Toyota)
9.  Ford Excursion
10.Toyota Tacoma

Since 8/10 are Toyota I guess we should just buy a Toyota and forget about it, LOL.

Here is the link to the 10 best vehicles detailed study from Steven Lang: http://members.wolfram.com/nickl/QualityIndexRating.html

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