Worst used vehicles X5
 

The annual Consumer Reports auto issue is out, and among all of its suggestions for the best vehicles in just about every class is a list of what it says is the worst used cars and trucks you can buy.

Based on a survey of its subscribers, the collection covers vehicles from the past decade that have been reported to have “much-worse-than-average overall reliability” for multiple years.

The list is limited to vehicles with at least three years of data, and specific issues aren’t mentioned.

A few of the vehicles, like the Chevrolet Uplander and Saturn Relay, and the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, have many of the same mechanicals despite wearing different brand names, which adds some credence to the poor impressions owners have in this unscientific survey.

Here’s the full list:

BMW X5 (6-cyl)

Chevrolet Cruze (1.8-liter)

Chevrolet Impala

Chevrolet Uplander

Chrysler PT Cruiser (non-turbo)

Chrysler Town & Country

Dodge Caravan

Dodge Grand Caravan

Dodge Journey

Ford Explorer (V6)

Ford F-250 & F-350 (Diesel)

Ford Fiesta

Ford Flex (EcoBoost)

GMC Acadia

Lincoln MKT (EcoBoost)

Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

Mini Cooper S

Mini Countryman

Saturn Outlook

Saturn Relay

Volkswagen Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen Touareg

We own two vehicles on that list :D

For BMW and Mercedes is understandable,because they are overly complicated.It is expected to have some failures and glitches in such a complex system with every component interrelated to the others.The rest of the list is just bad engineering and manufacturing.
I's still say 6 cyl X5 is more reliable than V8 (the same statement as above applies),but maybe V8 owners complaint less(like me) ;)

I had the F250 diesel and was without a doubt a very problem prone
truck. Didn't even keep it one year.

With BMW and other high end vehicles it would seem to be the repair
cost. They depreciate faster than less complicated cars so owning one
past the warranty, can quickly raise a ?, keep it or ditch because of
cost.

If only worth 25K, incur a 8K bill. I would take that 8K and apply
to a new model. Heard this years ago on Cadillac and Lincoln.
After the 2nd owner, car was sliding down into the poorer purchasers
range, generally they could not afford to fix all the bells and whistles. So
the market became limited.

What is the study based on? Is it # of problems per 100 vehicles?

i have no idea how consumer reports is still around...

I'm actually surprised Audi isn't on the list...especially the Q7

If it was up to CR, we all would be driving Hondas and Toyotas.

+1.

Back in the mid-'90s, CRs new car issue provided a pic of the Viper and stated the vehicle is SO BAD they REFUSE to test it.

After seeing that liberal/tree hugging mag trash it, I ran out and bought one!

List is BS...

Yes because they never break, use oil and will warranty it after the coverage runs out every time.

So tired of the Japanese love fest the media has.

I have a first owner '05 Honda Accord with 75k miles and a 2nd owner '03 X5 4.4L with over 175k miles, care to guess which one I spend more time repairing?????

The 2 yr newer and over 100k fewer miles Accord!

AC compressor, power steering pump/fluid tank, wheel bearings, alternator (1st unit, FROM HONDA DEALER, was N/G, when heated underhood output dropped to zero. Had to argue with parts manager for almost an hour to get a swap out!).

ALL item listed above are still OE on the BMW (along with trans, x-fer case, timing chain guides.....).

I used to read CR, and still credit its reviews [for example] of appliances, generally, but not so much on cars. My best guess is that their readership [especially those who respond to its ratings surveys] don't include many 'car guys' [a group that is not gender specific, but tends male ....]. Their surveys can also be impacted by specific vehicle problems: for example, Ford/Navistar's problem prone 6.0L Diesel [2003-06+]. As opposed to the previous, bullet-proof 7.3L, a great diesel powerplaint. I am surprised to see the 3.0L X5 singled out. Sample size/pool issue, I expect.

The list was compiled by Toyota lovers and drivers. What else should we expect from a rag like CR?

BTW, Toyota recalled over a half million vehicles last year--how did they get a pass?

Toyota was caught last year, they allowed seat suppliers to use cheaper, non-flame retardant materals in their heated seats (effected vehicle numbers could be in the MILLIONS worldwide). That's some quality vendor audits there Toyota.

Honda is recalling 100s of thousands of vehicles for a faulty fuel tank cover, it corrodes and causes a fire risk!

What ALL surveys have in common is that you can steer the outcome based on the type of questions you ask ...

If you have ever received a CR survey questionnaire, you will understand why the results are typically skewed the way they are. The questions (and answers) are not very insightful and if you skip a couple, the results are lumped into category columns that conform to the space allowed by the editor and publisher ...

... still, it is data and you are free to interpret it any way you want, but by the time you read it, you have spent the money on the issue that CR wanted to sell you!

agreed... along with the a6. i think ever since the c5 the a6 has been on CR's worst car list.

exactly... back in 2007 they declared the camry the car of the year... what that entails i have no idea but that specific camry was problematic and they recommended with their highly coveted red circle white dot rating. meanwhile that POS has water pump failures, power steering leaks, seat repairs, coil pack issues, leaking shocks, o2 sensors that crap out, etc etc etc.

Yeah, Toyota ditched a lot of the "Toys R Us bargain bin" looking interior plastic pieces for upscale "soft touch" materials like in the Lexus line.

The idiots at CR ate that crap up and asked for 2nds!!!

pure insanity... just not sure on whose part. cr or the readers?
i am extremely familiar with cr because ever since i can remember it is how my father gauged which products we would have in our home growing up. nothing could be done with out consulting with the cr buyer's guide. for those of you not in the know of this glorious piece of misinformation it is a condensed version made for travel or glove box keeping and highlights all it's reviews and categorizes them so you could easily look things up on the fly. this huge pos sat in my dad's glove box and when it was time for a new washing machine, dryer, television, vcr, camera or anything in between he pulled it out and walked into the store and we sat their for hours looking up models. i hated it then i hate it now.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTAwWDM4Mw...THfNI/$_12.JPG

when i grew up and was able to make my own purchases my father (still a subscriber) would reference the holy guide and none of the products i purchase ever make it into the tests... not home audio system, camera, dishwasher, washer, dryer, car etc. i guess these days they only test the garbage and tell you what's the best of the worst?