Consumer Report how much value do you put in it? (luxury car, vehicle)

[keraT]

I been spending lot of time searching and trying to narrow down on car I wanted. Since I don't know much about cars, I been searching all over trying to figure out which car is better & worth money. Of course there is Toyota/Honda but I wanted to know more. So I recently got inside consumer report & I am so amaze: the information is so clear in neat little circles colored red/black.

I love it but then I stop and wonder, how valuable is this? Do most people go by consumer report when making decision? Those circles are so awesome. or do they tend to give false info. From my brief view at the report I understand: the European luxury cars are useless (mostly black), Chevy is the average bench mark in most case, Japanese cars are 90% red.

But there are other area that left me confused like:
1) why is Subaru considered great car when its rating are not all red circle across the board, only last few years they got it right.
2) Why does some car get perfect score one year only to drop the next year? Why won't they just keep it the same next year when they finally nailed it?

HOw much weight should I put on consumer report?

[Redraven]

I gave up on CR a long time ago. I give no weight at all to their car reports when I go vehicle shopping.

[V8 Vega]

Whenever I want to buy something I don't know much about I always read Consumer reports and especially look for their best buys.
I trust Consumer Reports 100%.
For auto's you have to read between the lines a little. Bear in mind there concerned about safety first, reliability, practicability. For me interested in sporty, performance cars I keep these things in mind and adjust to whats important to me.

[pikabike]

For automotive information, I ONLY trust their repair history data, and only as a starting point to dig deeper. Their opinions of cars are extremely biased. I remember they bashed every small truck made (this was in the 80s and 90s) because they had "a too-firm ride." Well, DUH, it is a truck. The car reviews gushed over cushy (mushy) suspensions. Big thumbs down to CR for being fat old farts who just want rolling sofas.

Then there was the fraudulent testing and hatchet job on Samurais. No, CR cannot be trusted.

[jimazee]

I have used CR for decades. It is input to my buying decisions, just like many other sources and publications...actually less on cars than on other items. None of my decisions are dictated by it or any other single source. I do find it a useful reference.

Do your homework.

Figure what is most important to YOU...safety, performance, economy, looks, reliability, cost of ownership, "prestige"/aura, whatever.

Read everything carefully. Infer what isn't always stated openly...include the Internet and the many pubs (car mags, printed or online) and forums. Learn to separate fact and stats from opinions and anecdotes.

Ask friends, neighbors, even a few random strangers (driving the car you're considering) you encounter if you are comfortable doing it.

Realize that manufacturers make many models with different drives trains, suspensions, accessories trim so a Subaru isn't 'just' a Subaru or a BMW a BMW...then for the fun of it, factor in year to year changes that always occur (often problems get corrected as models age...before they come out new ones ).

If by now you don't reach a reasonable conclusion on a buying choice...either flip a coin a few times, buy the one you think you want to be seen in, or at last gasp... the cheapest you'd consider.

[Brian_M]

None.

I'm sure I've looked at one Sometime in the past 3 decades since living high school, but I couldn't tell you when or for what (most likely out of boredom while waiting in a Drs office).

I vastly prefer to do my own research.

[OscarTheGrouch]

It is a valuable resource when buying a car (or lots of other things for that matter), but it clearly is not the only factor in making the decision. If a something does horribly in CR testing, I would certainly reconsider purchasing it, but I wouldn't buy something simply because it does well in CR testing.

[johngolf]

There is so much information on the Internet (yes much of it is BS) one can easily check out reliability, pricing, etc. of anything. CR may have outlived its usefulness.

[southernnaturelover]

The best thing you can do is check out the forums for specific makes, that's where you'll find out the true problems and what annoys people.

[nws2002]

Consumer Reports makes me roll my eyes most of the time because they seem to have a clear bias towards Honda and Toyota. They are good cars, but it almost like those two companies can do not wrong and are used as the yardstick for everyone else. As a result CR tends to prefer boring but reliable vehicles that will safety get you from point A to point B. They don't seem to understand that people buy vehicles for any other reason and that their reviews should be a bit more in-depth and include other variables.

It also irritates me about how impartial they claim to be in everything. Ummm...no. We all have our own biases and no one is impartial. I get that they buy the products, which makes them less likely to trump up a product just because they were given it for testing, however they are clearly partial to certain brands if you read their reviews for a few years.