I'll repeat this as well as it looks relevant...
"I work in the motor industry and get to see some enlightening figures. (So in reference to FiF's 'Silly' thread I am a "know-it-all" who is claiming I am in the industry!)
I am gutted I was unable to get a copy of this presentation but as most of it was highly confidential there was no way Mr Director was letting me get my hands on it.
However...
Two charts which were of interest were Customer Satisfaction and Overall Reliability.
Firstly Customer Satisfaction:
This is taken from an extensive survey and reflects whether or not someone is happy with their newly bought car after 3 years (numbers out of 100).
Toyota are way out in front of everyone. From memory 53 owners are happy with their cars after three years. They are the benchmark for the industry and are considered what to "aim for" by other manufacturers though currently untouchable.
I believe Ford were second at 32. VW at 31. Nissan and Honda were several points lower than this. Vauxhall were "middle of the road".
Not these are manufacturers over a certain size so smaller marques such as Mazda etc were not included.
More interesting, Overall Reliability:
These figures were more than interesting. They reflect the number of "warranty problems" experienced from one thousand cars across the range of the manufacturer.
Guess who is way out in front? Toyota... The figure was in the very early 2000's. This means that on average, a Toyota will be returned to the dealership approximately two times for warranty work. Do note this is not specific to serious/minor issues - simply warranty work.
Ford were in second place however we're talking late 2000's here. Toyota are so way out in front of the other manufacturers it is almost unbelievable.
I can't remember exact figures but Nissan and Honda were lower down the list.
Who was last?
VW. By a high margin. They were in the early 3000's (I think 31xx). The only manufacturer to have there figures in the threes. Apparently the volume of complaints about their cars, service and dealers is much higher than the other manufacturers as well.
Comments that were made to us were VW are in a similar scenario to Mercedes though in a more significant way. Mercedes quality and brand perception started to diminish. They were sensible enough to pull all the stops out to rectify this and now you have cars such as the new E-class. VW, whilst still perceived as good and with a reasonable number of "happy customers", are most definitely on the "downward spiral", not least of all with their vehicle build quality and reliability.
What I found interesting is that is certainly dispels a few myths about Japanese build quality etc. Toyota are completely untouchable for customer satisfaction and reliability by the rest of the industry and will remain so for at least a few years if not for a long, long time. The other Japanese manufacturers are not - In fact Ford are above them in the league tables. Almost unimaginable a few years back.
You'll have to take my word on all the above but it's all true whether you care to believe it or not.
And no I don't work for Toyota :o)"
|
Whilst acknowledging the position of Toyota, Ford ahead of Mazda?
Don't believe it.
|
Whilst acknowledging the position of Toyota, Ford ahead of Mazda? Don't believe it.
Where does it say that?
|
If you say Ford were second to Toyota, does that not put them ahead of Mazda
plus all others - including Honda, that repeatedly score very high for reliability?
|
"Note these are manufacturers over a certain size so smaller marques such as Mazda etc were not included."
It was a comparison of the bigger manufacturers. Honda was very close to Ford though I cannot remember it's exact position. There wasn't much in it - the two manufacturers really deviating were Toyota and VW at both ends of the spectrum.
I wrote that virtually straight after the presentation so memory has faded a little now. Ford are doing exceptionally well as regards reliability these days though so the figures aren't *that* surprising.
|
|
DanJ: the Which figures are quite different to those given in the "presentation", leaving Ford ranked below Honda, Toyota et al. Can't quite see that Ford could be placed above Honda, who are on a par with Toyota according to Which. Any idea what sample size yours was based on?
|
|
Nortones - unfortunately not. I work for one of the major manufacturers and as far as they were concerned this was "inside" industry information. I wasn't allowed to have a soft/hard copy so I was regurgitating what I'd seen but I imagine the figures can't have been *that* different to everyone elses!
|
|
|
If one tries to combine VW, Seat and Skoda - by putting those badges on the same platform - will the bottom be pulled up, the top be dragged down, or do we just get lowest-common-denominator stuff? Presumably that move must have had some effect on VW's output standards?
|
AT,
The perception among a lot of fleet managers is that the Skoda and Seat have improved, but VW has gone downhill.
Whether this has anything to do with much higher expectations of VW - hard to say. But if we buy with our heads (which of course we don't) there is little reason for thinking that the Skoda or Seat is inferior and every reason to expect better reliability from them as things stand.
|
|
|
|
Of the last four cars in my ownership 3 were Japanese, all had recalls and all had warranty work, non broke down and i was happy with them all.
My present A4 has had not one recall, has had a headlamp bulb blow at 18 months along with a door switch for the window,also all four alloys were changed for minor (pea sized)corrosion. Otherthan that has been 100% reliable same as the Japanese.
So in summation i have (up to this moment)been happy with the last four cars. Previous fords Vauxhalls and BL cars have disappointed. All the cars had 3 years warranty.
|
|
|
|
