Filed under: Car Buying, Sedans/Saloons, SUVs, Land Rover, Lincoln, Saab, Volkswagen
2006 Least Reliable Luxury Cars
Remember Mark Johnston? The owner of Grand Prix Motors of Los Angeles, California is suing Mercedes-Benz for the $1.7 million AMG CLK-GTR he purchased from the automaker. Apparently the super car had a few problems like tripped oil lamps, hydraulic jack system failure, and "unglued" windows,
none of which Mercedes-Benz is willing to repair.
Well, while the AMG CLK-GTR didn't show up on Forbes' least reliable luxury vehicle list, five did based on data from J.D. Power and Associates and Consumer Reports. The vehicles are:
- Land Rover LR3 SUV
- Land Rover Range Rover SUV
- Lincoln Navigator SUV
- Saab 9-3 (pictured is the 2007 model)
- Volkswagen Touareg SUV
Related:
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AutoPacific names most Ideal Vehicles of 2006
Mercedes tops reliability report
[Source: Forbes]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
S1500 9:26AM (7/31/2006)
"ripped oil lamps, hydraulic jack system failure, and "unglued" windows"
What is an oil lamp? Is that near the velocity extension belts?
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Dinger 9:29AM (7/31/2006)
Wow, another Forbes article about crap numbers published by the unscientific Consumer Reports.
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AZMike 9:37AM (7/31/2006)
as always, "the small timer's bible", consumer reports does it again.
although I'm no Ford fan, how can the Navigator have such a low score, when it's twin, the Expedition, is nowhere to be seen?
Mike
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NLN 9:44AM (7/31/2006)
Simple... Expedition is not a luxury vehicle..
And please note the Land rover, and the Lincoln are owned by Ford..
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Antrow 9:53AM (7/31/2006)
Why am I forever seeing my 9-3 pictured with the words UNRELIABLE stamped around it?
Although I have not YET had any mechanical troubles with my 2006 9-3 SportCombi I have to admit that is has it's share of annoying issues. The faulty sunroof anti-pinch sensor keeps the sunroof from closing 90% of the time. It also has many creaks and rattles unbecoming of a modern car.
I hope the big issues, if any, hold off until my lease it up in 2008.
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Mark 10:03AM (7/31/2006)
Now i have always loved the Saab, as you see i prefer the picture and not boring statistic reports. sorry
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XJ 10:05AM (7/31/2006)
There's also a link for the most reliable vehicles for 2006.
Here's the list:
Honda CR-V
Honda S2000
Lexus GS
Lexus IS
Lexus SC
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Highlander
Toyota Prius
Toyota RAV4
And people still wonder why people buy such "boring appliances"? It's simple folks: If you love cars, then go buy the one you really want -- chances are you'll be happy with your decision. If you don't love cars, go buy the most reliable/safe/economical one that gets you from point A to B -- chances are you'll be happy with your decision.
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Tri-Bob 10:18AM (7/31/2006)
Great post XJ, people make their decision based on their enthusism and checkbook.
Getting back to the issue at hand, I'm a numbers person, and I'd like to see reported problems per vehicle. It could be, in this segment there were 3 issues reported which is more than the 2 reported by everyone else.
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Joel H. 10:24AM (7/31/2006)
XJ - I think you are right. I think most sedans all look the same these days. At least DCX seems to try something new with the caliber, 300, and charger. I'm usually a GM guy but they just don't make anything I would want so when looking at cars (not trucks or SUV's) I always find myself saying to myself : "Well can everyone be wrong about Toyota and Honda."
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Joe 11:15AM (7/31/2006)
Touareg = Lemon Law
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Peter 11:48AM (7/31/2006)
No mention of the Mercedes M Class? We bought ours the first model year: '98, if I remember correctly. I thought a respected name like Mercedes would sidestep the "never buy a first model year" rule of thumb. Boy, was I wrong. Three months later, we'd had so many problems, we sold it back to the dealer, who was by then Daimler-Chrysler. Since then, I've read that the M-class reliability hasn't improved a whole lot.
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Jordi Cuervo 12:01PM (7/31/2006)
I can attest to the fact that my S2000, boring appliance that it is, has been utterly flawless. I must be some kind of weirdo to have such a silly grin every time I get out of my refridgerator on wheels.
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m 12:01PM (7/31/2006)
well said XJ
also i think my audi TT should be added to that list of unreliable.
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Michael Karesh 12:06PM (7/31/2006)
Most cars with "much worse than average" CR ratings are apparently saved from this list by being above average on JD Power. Thorough inspection at the factory and/or dealer before the customer sees the car can make a big difference here.
Most likely, the differences between even these cars and the average are much smaller than most people think. I aim to provide real numbers with my own research to clear this up.
My critiques of both CR and J.D. Power are among the editorials listed here:
http://www.truedelta.com/pieces/think.php
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Nick 12:07PM (7/31/2006)
I'd take a Lexus IS or an S2000 over a Saab 9-3 any day. The only reason you'd pick a Saab9-3 is cause its pretty.
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Finished.Law.School 12:40PM (7/31/2006)
It should come as no surprise that all but one are GM and Ford owned companies.
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Biscuit 1:01PM (7/31/2006)
At first I was a little surprised to see the Saab 9-3 on the list considering it's typically rated as a pretty reliable car. And then after reading the article I realized that their "research" is complete garbage. All based off 90 days of ownership.
It's a good thing JD Power isn't running the FDA. Forget longterm studies, let's just see what happens at the beginning and assume that's how it'll perform long term.
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Presto 1:18PM (7/31/2006)
Aren't Range Rovers always on the "least reliable" list? It boggles my mind every year when I see one its vehicles on the list.
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Ian 1:44PM (7/31/2006)
"If you love cars, then go buy the one you really want "... Yes because sitting in an MB dealership lobby waiting for your car to get fixed for the 4th time in 3 weeks is soooo much fun.
I especially loved my loaner car (when I got one)...a base model PT Cruiser...it was a little lacking compared to my 300HP CLK.
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AlmightyPants 3:14PM (7/31/2006)
I presently lease an '03 9-3 and, after almost 3 years I have to agree. Within the first few months, the check engine light kept turning on. To avoid the lemon law the dealer disabled the light. I have the beforementioned problem with the moonroof and squeaks and rattles. And every so often I'll get the error message "Gearbox Malfunction". Interestingly enough, the computer only retains errors for something like 4 startups of the car, and to get it into gear to go to the dealership after that one requires you to restart the car. Needless to say, that means you either have to choose between no car until your appointment or driving around with an error message. Based on convienience, I've gone with the latter.
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