Porsche is #1 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

tonycarreon · 03-18-2010, 04:38 AM

J.D. Power released their dependability study results and gave Porsche the #1 spot, up from #9, while toyota fell to #5 from #3.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grsSScxjRCHzscqPv5oo9YfSJelQD9EH0IAO1

vipola · 03-18-2010, 06:44 AM

sWeet

Perfectlap · 03-18-2010, 08:07 AM

did they stop making IMS's?

03-18-2010, 08:16 AM

What the study doesn't tell you:

Just to name a few reasons to doubt it.

1. Most Porsche cars are not driven as daily drivers like most other brands.
(Less miles usually equal fewer problems).

2. Many Porsche owners accept problems as quirks.

3. J.D. Powers is paid for survey's by the Manufacturers.

root_werks · 03-18-2010, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

did they stop making IMS's?

Too Funny!

Lil bastard · 03-18-2010, 08:41 AM

These 'Love Fests'... er I mean Positive Surveys, which appear here everytime one is published, always crack me up.

I bet the survey is of little comfort to those currently experiencing broken turn signal stalks (and finding out that you need to replace the whole assembly), cannot get into their trunks (without removing the rear bumper), have bent clamshells due to the top not operating correctly (no amount of straightening is gonna ever make it 100%) or the myriad of other malfunctions currently 'alive' on the board.

To these unfortunates, I doubt these surveys are of any comfort and may in fact seem downright disputable.

Do people really need that much reinforcement to their own buyer's decision?

I've owned several cars which did poorly in these surveys, yet they were reliable and fun. OTOH, I've also owned some which topped the lists and were absolute nightmares to own. I never choose a car because of what some survey dictates, nor should you... you're the one who's got to drive it, maintain it or pay for repairs. The survey people have no stake in you owning the car or not.

If it makes you feel good - GREAT!

But, that's about all it's worth.

Cheers!

NoGaBiker · 03-18-2010, 04:21 PM

Wow. Do you really lack even a simple grasp of statistical analysis? Not saying that JDP uses proper SA methods (I don't know) but you seem to believe that because there are exceptions in both directions to every set of generalities, the generalities are worthless.

So you have owned statistically bad cars that were actually good. Does your anecdotal good luck refute the experiences of the myriad other owners who had bad luck with that car, whatever it may be?

Paul · 03-18-2010, 06:54 PM

The survey was based on 2007 models.

ekam · 03-18-2010, 08:09 PM

Well, just by looking at the forum here. There are members that fix theirs every other week and there are those who just keep driving, or maybe they're too lazy to write complaints.

Mine's relatively problem free (fingers crossed). It's really a toss-up if you're buying used but buying new may make a bigger difference reading these surveys.

I've read people owning Ford/Chevy/GM with no issues, would I buy one? HELL NO!

willd · 03-19-2010, 03:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoGaBiker

Wow. Do you really lack even a simple grasp of statistical analysis? Not saying that JDP uses proper SA methods (I don't know) but you seem to believe that because there are exceptions in both directions to every set of generalities, the generalities are worthless.

So you have owned statistically bad cars that were actually good. Does your anecdotal good luck refute the experiences of the myriad other owners who had bad luck with that car, whatever it may be?

Having worked in a demographic marketing company a few years back, i know what Lil Bastard is saying. Whilst you're right, the stats are interesting, the amount of skewing that can happen due to factors like;

An owner of an exotic sports car is less likely to drive it daily, less likely to put many miles on it, and therefore less likely to complain, even if pro rata the problems per mile are higher.

Take another example - Surveys in the street - generally taken by people who have nothing better to do, busybodies, out of work people. Yet those same survey results are shown like they represent the populous.....when in reality, 90% of the population would rather chew their feet off rather than be asked about what type of catfood they buy. Online surveys aren't *much* different.

Make sense?

Brucelee · 03-19-2010, 04:59 AM

Apples to oranges I would bet.

My summer-only Porsche is reliable.

Well, at the price and with the limited use, it SHOULD be reliable.

I don't think comparing that to a everyday BMW or Lexus is quite right. At the very least, they might adjust for miles driven per year or some other factors.

IMHO.

landrovered · 03-19-2010, 05:19 AM

To me a Porsche is Uber reliable having come from a long lineage of British vehicles that promise but dismally deliver. British cars don't fail out right they just slowly break your heart one let down after another until you either accept it or sell it. In this light Porsche is like a breath of fresh air. They are well engineered, build quality is good and they don't rust out from under you. Oh yeah and the electrics seem to work most of the time as well.

If you look at the percieved weight of issues on Porsche boards you get a mixed bag of people whos cars work perfectly and are just bored and trying to upgrade them to make them more exciting, a few niggly but easily fixed issues like ignition switches, turn signals, lock outs, dead batteries and then the IMS issues but there is a fix for it and it boils down to an economic decision as to whether you want to address it.

Go over the the Land Rover boards and all you read about is porous blocks, head gasket failures, rust, stalling, death wobbles, coolant leaks, electrical problems, electrical problems, electrical problems, air suspension failures, drive shaft failures, differential failures, squeeks, rattles, clanks, ticking, sticking valves, cam lobes wearing off, oil leaks, power steering leaks, overheating, warped heads, broken bolts, leaky valve cover gaskets, bad spark plug wires, bad coils, bad distributors, the list goes on and on and on.

So while JD Powers survey has little impact on owners of older cars it does imply a basic mastery of the work of building automobiles by ze germans that seems to be lost on the English.

Brucelee · 03-19-2010, 05:29 AM

Compared to Haiti, Havana would look like Heaven. I think you have to set your sights higher than Land Rover.

landrovered · 03-19-2010, 05:36 AM

Well the driveway count is now two Porsches to three Land Rovers so I am working in that direction.

You could easily make the case that a Porsche is Uber reliable in comparison to anything from Italy, England and most US brands. I just gave examples from my experience.

Edit: My 03 Range Rover has 23 computers that run everything, my 01 Boxster has one.

PhilNotHill · 03-18-2011, 08:07 PM

#1 is better than any other alternative.

And it can't hurt resales.

Life is good.

husker boxster · 03-18-2011, 09:05 PM

My 01S was not very reliable. It never left me stranded, but there seemed to always be something wrong with it. My 08 has been perfect. It's never been back to the dealer for any type of warranty repair. And it's not a garage queen - I've owned it for just over 3 yrs and it has 24K mi. I'm also contributing to Porsche's top ranking because about every 6 mo I get a survey from JD. I fill it out honestly but why shouldn't I give Porsche high marks when they've built an extremely reliable, trouble free car?

I don't care if Porsche is #1. If Porsche was #2 and BMW was #1, it wouldn't sway me to buy a BMW. All I care is that Porsche builds a quality car. So far, they have with my 08.