Chrysler and Fiat: A merger of equally unreliable product?
Familiarizing ourselves with Fiat - Click above for a high-res image gallery
Chrysler's reliability ratings from Consumer Reports have been less-than-stellar in recent years. In its 2008 survey, where CR tallied up its subscribers' experience with some 1.4 million vehicles among 34 brands, Jeep came in 28th, Dodge took the 30th spot and Chrysler listed in at number 32 – with a bullet. This caused CR to ask the obvious question: how will Chrysler's tentative alliance with Fiat affect its overall score? More to the point, does Fiat bring anything positive to the table? According to CR's research, gleaned from the Which? Car – the equivalent of CR abroad – not much.
WC's annual survey of ownership experiences in the UK rates vehicle models up to eight-years-old, and keeps track of all the standard quality metrics (breakdowns, unscheduled repairs, etc.). WC's ratings largely mimicked CR's 2008 reliability list, with Honda and Toyota taking the top spots, followed by Lexus, Mazda and Subaru. Of the 38 brands listed last year, Fiat ranked 35th on the list, with Renault, Land Rover and Chrysler/Dodge filling the bottom and garnering a "Very Poor" rating. Jeep came in 29th, just missing the lowest designation, but still walking away with an overall rating of "Poor."
Consumer Reports sums up its findings, "When Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler in 1997, it was billed as 'merger of equals.' The Chrysler and Fiat deal seems to fit that description better." And judging by the course set last week, we might find out if the adage from the '80s, "Fix it again, Tony" holds up in the 21st century.
Gallery: Familiarizing Ourselves with Fiat
[Source: Consumer Reports]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Bloke 7:35PM (5/05/2009)
When quantified, the difference in terms if customer satisfaction in the 2008 UK JDP survey between top position marques (Lexus, Skoda, Honda) and bottom place (Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Fiat) was just 8%.
That's the difference betwen a car having a squeaky glovebox, and one which doesn't. In addition, most consumer surveys usallu echoes dealership experiences rather than the product itself.
Come on Autoblog, get with reality.
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zamafir 7:42PM (5/05/2009)
Ditto, can we talk about how ford beat honda instead, im curious when that's going to pop up here, the news lag is getting annoying.
Jeff Banks 8:03PM (5/05/2009)
If all goes well with this whole merger business, in a couple of years I'll be swearing (as will a lot of Autoblog readers) at my broken down 500 on the side of the road while bored Consumer Reports readers will be driving past me in their Corollas and Camrys.
Regardless, I can guarantee you I will be more satisfied with my car.
Kitko 8:48PM (5/05/2009)
OK, lets do the math.
Car X has 1.2% propability of developing a serious problem. Car Z has 2.4% probability of developing serious problem. It means that car Z is twice more prone to go wrong. Its reliability is twice that bad.
For every 200 broken Xs, there are 400 broken Zs.
Bloke 9:02PM (5/05/2009)
Kitko, the reliability of the average Fiat in 2009 is no different in all reality to any other mainstream European manufacturer. Sure, you can get adamantine reliability from a Japanese car, but you'll also get a car with all the personality of a toaster.
Fiat make some cracking cars these days, and if you're familiar with the product, you'll know that to be the case as well. And if you have a JTD powered model, you're likely to have as much of a pearler as you are from anywhere else.
ricky 9:08PM (5/05/2009)
Are you guys for real ? Honestly...think about that for a minute. Here is a Company, rich in American tradition that you KIDS keep bashing to no end. MEANWHILE I have forwarded you hard facts about Toyota Tundra frames rusting/breaking in half before the trucks even reach 80000 miles and you wont publish anything.
Damon Lavrinc 9:36PM (5/05/2009)
You are mistaken.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/29/reports-of-aggressively-rusting-toyota-pickup-frames-mounting/
Shiftright 10:34PM (5/05/2009)
Amen. Thanks for that intelligent response. I have lots of family and friends in Europe who own Fiats, and I don't hear any equivalents of the hackneyed 'Fix It Again Tony' jokes. I have an uncle who runs a Doblo diesel vanette for his business that has over 350k km (about 218k miles) of brutal stop/start city driving and he swears by its reliability and durability. It's hardly ever washed and try as he might he can't kill it. He's on his second one.
Besides, isn't Chrysler the company with the fewest warranty claims right now? There's a difference between quality of materials and reliability. Just ask an Audi or VW owner.
ajg 12:28AM (5/08/2009)
Areas where FIAT did poorly in the UK are to do with the fact that their importer's dealership experience and network coverage are poor. This item may be solved by virtue of their alliance with Opel/Vauhall. The need for an importer will be removed and their coverage in the UK will be amongst the best. Please note that the cars themselves are inherently reliable.
This is just lazy journalism - pick up your game Autoblog
tuxchown 3:04AM (5/06/2009)
Dominic - Toyota's problems are just beginning. I mean, the problems have been mounting for some time but they are the new General Motors. They can no longer hide the broken frames, sludged up engines, brake issues and on and on. Toyota's fall from grace is at hand.
Polly Prissy Pants 9:28AM (5/06/2009)
"the reliability of the average Fiat in 2009 is no different in all reality to any other mainstream European manufacturer."
Is that supposed to be an endorsement? Not sure if that was meant to be a good thing or a bad thing.
Tool 12:01PM (5/06/2009)
Anyone who thinks that the New New New Chrysler is going to have any better products with Fiat is crazy.
ederer62 7:35PM (5/05/2009)
Before the merger of equals Chrysler's reliability rating was good, they had a good small car, good trucks and good mini vans etc...... and then German engineering came along and fixed it! Lets hope that Chrysler and Fiat can get thing rolling again.
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AMcA 8:12PM (5/05/2009)
This Super-Fiat company is going to be the biggest train-wreck ever.
zamafir 9:15PM (5/05/2009)
Bigger than GM? I find that hard to believe.
Matthew 7:36PM (5/05/2009)
The recent Fiat vehicles have proven quite reliable these last years, especially the Panda which fared a whopping 3rd place in ADAC's last reliability survey ("Kleine Klasse" category), behind the Audi A2 and Toyota Aygo, but ahead of the Mini (4th), the Nissan Note (6th), the Honda Jazz (12th) or the Ford Fiesta (27th). The Punto is only 13th since the previous version wasn't that good, but it isn't a bad score either. The 500 wasn't included in the stats since the sales were too low to provide any reliable figure in 2008.
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tomguptill 9:22PM (5/05/2009)
The 500's reliability _should_ be pretty close to the Panda's, as it shares a ton of components and is made in the same plant. (Viva Polski Fiat!)
Bloke 7:38PM (5/05/2009)
And for those of you familiar with Which? magazine, its readers are generally history teachers and librarians and usually service their cars once every 50K miles. It's long been considered something of a joke within the motor industry.
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Autblogist! 7:38PM (5/05/2009)
Funny, I was talking with my supervisor yesterday about Chrysler situation and his Fiat, he owned in the 80's. He confessed it was the best looking piece of crap he ever owned. Then, I told him, "well that is probably old news, most cars today run 100K+ ,no problem. I might of spoken too soon.:)
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DKB_SATX 11:04PM (5/05/2009)
The 9-year-old Fiat Tipo that I bought while I was living in Italy was actually a fairly decent car. It had a few quirks... the AC no longer worked and the snazzy automatic climate control required a reboot every once in a while, but it ran very well, got decent gas mileage and took me all around northern Italy. If I recall correctly, it had about 150000 km when I bought it, and I put about 12k more on it in the year I lived there. From what I saw of newer Fiats in the early years of this century, they had improved markedly from the decent older one I had. I'm looking forward to the chance to buy an Alfa at a Chrysler-Fiat dealer. :)