Forty years ago, Japanese car manufacturers were the laughingstock of the auto industry. Their products were viewed with suspicion, coming from a country that pumped out a wide variety of cheap, low quality consumer goods while rebuilding after World War II. And to some degree, their cars lived up to this expectation.
I know of one shade tree mechanic who became so enraged by the problems of his 1970s Toyota station wagon, he unloaded a round of birdshot into the front of the car. Today however, Japanese cars are highly rated or are at the top of their class in performance, refinement, and quality. But does this reliability translate into a car that will last longer overall? Does paying more for a car mean that it will last longer? Are there still significant differences in quality between car manufacturers in different countries?
Rating Systems
Independent rating agencies such as Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports have a number of ways in which they quantify the reliability of a car. Each year, Consumer Reports sends thousands of surveys to their subscribers, asking them if their vehicle has had problems in sixteen different areas, including the drive system, fuel system, brakes, or the audio system, over the past year. Consumer Reports then compiles the responses and publishes them in their annual auto issue, which comes out in April. The compiled data enables used car buyers to examine any trouble spots in the vehicles they are considering. They look something like this:
So “Poor” Ratings = Lemon Car?
It is important to note that buying a vehicle rated as having “poor” reliability does not necessarily mean that your car will have significant problems. It simply demonstrates that a particular model has more issues than the average. You will have a lesser chance of having major issues if you buy a car with excellent reliability.
Even in a model year known for it’s excellent reliability, such as the 2008 Honda CR-V, there may be specific cars that have no shortage of problems. These vehicles, known as “lemons,” may be eligible to be replaced under lemon laws, you can find out more about this process at www.camvap.ca.
Making your car last to 300,000 kilometres is a balancing act of how well you’ve maintained the vehicle, how willing you are to pay for repairs that may exceed the car’s value later in its life, and to a lesser extent, the car’s reliability. The most reliable car in the world will not last if you only change the oil every 50,000 kilometres or otherwise fail to properly maintain it.
Most owners manuals contain a detailed maintenance schedule, which you should follow to make sure your vehicle lasts as long as possible. Every day wear and tear takes its toll over years of driving a car. A car driven exclusively in a warm climate will last much longer than one driven through seven or eight Canadian winters. Road salt and cold temperatures wreak havoc on engines and all components exposed to the elements.
Country Doesn’t Dictate Car Quality
As for the notion that carmakers from specific countries have lower quality and build standards, this is much less true than it used to be for cars sold in North America. Hyundai and Kia, for example, have made tremendous strides in quality since the early 2000s, and have managed to maintain prices that are often lower than their competitors. For example, the Hyundai Equus delivers many of the creature comforts and technology of a BMW 7 series or a Mercedes-Benz S Class for two-thirds the price.
