Skoda top in JD Power 2016

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Thu 14 Jul 2016 15:11
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - slkfanboy

While not saying that conclusion is incorrect I question why other VAG car made from the same parts don't get the same or near same rating.

To expand the question further is a Kia that far removed from a Hyundia as suggested by the ratings?

Would be interested in other people views?

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Thu 14 Jul 2016 16:53
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - RobJP

Ahh, but it's all in how the survey is done, and what it measures, and how it measures those things.

The survey covers cars from 12 months to 36 months old. So the DSG gearboxes which fall apart after 4-5 years (whether in VW, Audi, Skoda or SEAT) aren't going to be in there.

However, the survey also takes account expectations : to if you buy a Skoda, and are pleasantly surprised because it feels really nice to drive, then you rate it higher. Conversely, if you buy a Golf and find yourself wondering what all the hype was about, then you'll rate it lower.

As an example of how much the results are skewed by 'expectations', it is reported that Skoda (the top rated brand) recorded 62 problems per 100 cars. Land Rover (surprising nobody, I imagine) was dead last, with a reported 197 problems per 100 cars. The average was 113 problems per 100 cars.

Take a minute, and you'll realise just how ridiculous those numbers are. If they were accurate, then even the most reliable car brand would have a 62% chance of a problem in that 24 month age group from 12-36 months old.

When you go into the detail, you see that someone having problems getting their phone to pair with the bluetooth counts as 1 problem. Just as an engine blowing up counts as 1 problem.

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Fri 15 Jul 2016 20:47
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - Engineer Andy

Indeed - I think the 'Reliability Index' is skewed in the same way - surveys need to have a cross-section of owners/drivers across the population, and needs to take into account their needs for and expectations of the car they have bought, as you say, not just answers as to 'how good' they are to own.

Expectations definitely make a huge difference when buying a car, whether that be being pleasantly surprised about a car they originally believed to be not so good (it may be they were lucky or had heard false rumours about certain aspects of the car/ownership experience), or that their previous car was so good/bad that it clouded their opinion of the new one. I personally think that company car owners should be excluded from such surveys if they don't have a full choice over the make/models - people often become resentful for having little or no choice.

If the problems/reliability issue is true, then it shows in my view how poor the surveys are - each issue should be given a weighting of importance, as well as how often said problem occurs/reoccurs, as well as how long/many times it takes the dealership to diagnose/fix it.

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Thu 14 Jul 2016 22:37
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - Stumblebum

I don't think this survey is that useful. For example, the biggest issue I believe is the inability for blue tooth to connect properly. So if you mainly sell budget cars with no blue tooth then that makes you more reliable.

Personally I'd be more interested in major components failing rather than blue tooth (gear box, engine etc.).

I look to see what taxi drivers are driving. Prius seems to be overtaking Avensis in my area, though Skoda is quite popular. The Superb seems to be catching up with the E class for the high end market. Not many taxi drivers are in Mondeos these days.

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Thu 14 Jul 2016 23:35
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - Avant

It would be interesting to know whether those taxi drivers who work mainly in towns and cities have problems with DPFs. Prius drivers don't, of course, and I wonder if some taxi operators are going for the 1.4 TSI petrol engine in the Superb: it's economical and by all accounts perfectly adequate in terms of performance.

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Fri 15 Jul 2016 10:41
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - slkfanboy

It would be interesting to know whether those taxi drivers who work mainly in towns and cities have problems with DPFs. Prius drivers don't, of course, and I wonder if some taxi operators are going for the 1.4 TSI petrol engine in the Superb: it's economical and by all accounts perfectly adequate in terms of performance.

I use Taxi quite often and the Taxis still on VAG platforms have had many issues, mostly using Passats rather than the Superb now. Not aware of any 1.4Tsi engines being use by the local taxi drivers in my area.

The Prius drivers are very happy and say customer service is good too.

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Fri 15 Jul 2016 15:38
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - TheBroker

From what I can tell as long as they can do 20mph in top gear they're happy. I use taxi's when I have to go to London (i.e. home to train station and then back again) and they seem to have 2 gears only 2nd and top.

I've driven the 1.4TFSi on a Q3 and A3, and have driven a 2.0TDI Superb estate, I wouldnt want a 1.4TFSi in the Superb for normal driving personally.

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Mon 18 Jul 2016 12:44
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - TopScot
I've been a taxi driver in Glasgow for nearly 6 years. Of all the cars I've drove the hyundai and Kia's have been the most reliable. However, when they do go wrong, they cost a fortune for parts. I'm on my second Hyundai i40 and none have had the problems common diesels, taxis in particular have such as DMF,DPF, injectors or chocked up EGRs from short journeys. The vauxhall insignia seems to be the most unreliable right now, I've heard of clutches and dmf going at 12k. I agree with the posts about car reliability. What us taxi drivers read about car reliability and what we actually discover on the roads are totally different.
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Sat 16 Jul 2016 00:52
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - Avant

Another thing that devalues such surveys is that there are widely varying numbers of people responding for each model of car.

Auto Express announced with great fanfare that Tesla had come top in their Driver Power survey - but how many Tesla drivers responded? I've driven 20,000 miles in the past year and haven't seen a single one. The cheapest Tesla model S costs £63,000 so most will have been bought by companies. How many busy execs read Auto Express, let alone fill in a survey?

I think they said they had over 30,000 respondents, so cars like the Focus, Golf and Astra will have been represented in their hundreds or even thousands.

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Wed 20 Jul 2016 16:52
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - HandCart
Why can't the AA publish stats for what problems they had to attend on cars, by make / model / engine / age / mileage ?

They must cover a very broad spectrum of sampling opportunities.
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Tue 26 Jul 2016 21:40
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - Big John

One of the high scoring survey results will have come from me.

I've had three Skodas of late :-
1) 2001 Skoda Octavia 1.4(from new and still owned after 120k miles)
2) 2003 Skoda Superb 1.9pd(from 18 months - sold last year with 170kmiles - still on original exhaust, battery and clutch)
3) 2014 Skoda Superb 1.4ts (from 14 months) - so far so good

All have been generally very reliable, drive well, pretty economical, comfortable (especially for a 6ft 4" driver) , have great luggage space and my local Skoda dealers have been great (York and Hull)


I also currently have a 2006 Fiat Panda 1.2. In the past I've had many cars in the family including two VWs numerous Vauxhalls and Fords, 2 Fiats (still own a Panda) and a Saab (great car). To be fair since i've "properly" serviced cars (never variable!) I've had little trouble (In the past when I owned poorly serviced cars - I had lots of trouble!).

Looking back though my Saab 9000cs 2.0 has been my favorite. The most comfortable seats in the business, great cruiser, fast , economical for such a beast (36mpg in Europe!) and was also 100% reliable


Edited by Big John on 26/07/2016 at 21:44

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Wed 27 Jul 2016 10:19
Skoda top in JD Power 2016 - slkfanboy
One of the high scoring survey results will have come from me. I've had three Skodas of late :- 1) 2001 Skoda Octavia 1.4(from new and still owned after 120k miles) 2) 2003 Skoda Superb 1.9pd(from 18 months - sold last year with 170kmiles - still on original exhaust, battery and clutch) 3) 2014 Skoda Superb 1.4ts (from 14 months) - so far so good All have been generally very reliable, drive well, pretty economical, comfortable (especially for a 6ft 4" driver) , have great luggage space and my local Skoda dealers have been great (York and Hull) I also currently have a 2006 Fiat Panda 1.2. In the past I've had many cars in the family including two VWs numerous Vauxhalls and Fords, 2 Fiats (still own a Panda) and a Saab (great car). To be fair since i've "properly" serviced cars (never variable!) I've had little trouble (In the past when I owned poorly serviced cars - I had lots of trouble!). Looking back though my Saab 9000cs 2.0 has been my favorite. The most comfortable seats in the business, great cruiser, fast , economical for such a beast (36mpg in Europe!) and was also 100% reliable

The post was not any attempt to discredit Skoda more that the Survey IMHO does not reflect the real world in that many others may have had similar experiences with other brands. My own 30 years of motoring averaging 30-50k mile per year for 20 of them have found VW/Audi had the most issues. BMW/Volvo & Merc the least. My other cars like ford focus no issue but these day I am only doing 6K per year so hardly surprising.
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