Porsche Quality, ranked second after Lexus

For the 11th straight year, Lexus is tops in long-term quality in J.D. Power and Associates' Vehicle Dependability Study. According to the 2005 study, owners of 2002-model Lexus vehicles reported 139 problems per 100 vehicles. Power released the study on Wednesday. Lexus showed a 14 percent improvement in dependability over 2004, Power said. Lexus vehicles ranked first in three of the 19 car and truck segments included in the study. The Lexus LS 430 had 90 problems per 100 vehicles. It is the first model in the history of the 16-year-old study to have fewer than one problem per vehicle. Porsche showed a dramatic increase in this year's study. It finished second in dependability, up from tenth last year. Porsche had 149 problems per 100 Vehicles, a 38 percent year-over-year improvement. "It's the largest percentage improvement in the industry," said Neal Oddes, Power's director of product research. "Porsche didn't change much of their lineup" from the 2001 to 2002 model year, Oddes said. "They just improved on what they had." Hyundai had the largest year-over-year reduction in the number of problems reported by owners. The brand had 260 problems per 100 vehicles, a reduction of 115 problems from last year's study. But Hyundai still finished below the industry average of 237 problems per 100 vehicles. Chevrolet placed first in four model segments, more than any other brand. The study ranked Chevrolet's Prizm and Malibu cars and S-10 and Silverado HD pickups most dependable in their segments. Among other General Motors vehicles, the Buick Century and LeSabre sedans, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and Cadillac Escalade EXT SUVs finished on top of their model segments. "This is the first time, when you look at GM, they've won this many segment awards," Oddes says. Ford Motor Co. vehicles finished first in five segments. Toyota had four segment leaders. Oddes noted that the Escalade EXT and the redesigned Ford Thunderbird, another segment winner, debuted in the 2002 model year. A first-year vehicle finishing first in dependability "is very rare at best," he says. Overall, the Power study says, long-term vehicle quality increased 12 percent from 2004 to 2005. Audi and Saab were the only brands that did not show year-over-year improvements. Audi had 312 problems per 100 vehicles in this year's study, a 6 percent increase from 2004. Saab had 286 problems per 100 vehicles, an 8 percent increase. Oddes called these annual changes in dependability "minor declines." Kia, which had 397 problems per 100 vehicles, finished last in the 2005 study. Land Rover, last year's lowest performer, was second to last this year, with 395 problems. The Power study is based on responses from 50,635 original owners of 2002 model vehicles. A vehicle warranty typically is reaching its end after three years, Power said. Nameplate Ranking Problems per 100 Vehicles Lexus 139 Porsche 149 Lincoln 151 Buick 163 Cadillac 175 Infiniti 178 Toyota 194 Mercury 195 Honda 201 Acura 203 BMW 225 Ford 231 Chevrolet 232 Chrysler 235 Industry Average 237 Saturn 240 Oldsmobile 242 GMC 245 Pontiac 245 Mazda 252 Hyundai 260 Subaru 260 Volvo 266 Jaguar 268 Dodge 273 Nissan 275 Mitsubishi 278 Mercedes-Benz 283 Saab 286 Jeep 289 Suzuki 292 Audi 312 Daewoo 318 Isuzu 331 Volkswagen 335 MINI 383 Land Rover 395 Kia 397

It appears to me that this report is simply a count of quality problems. For example one car that has a bad latch and a squeak has two quality problems whereas a car with a blown engine has only one problem. That's why cars like the M3 that had the engine recall because of all of the blown engines could still be looked at as a car with exceptional quality.

Spot on.

Chris, Interesting read, Thanks. For my own personal experience though I have a Toyota 4runner MY01 (which is one of the few toyota vehicles that are still being assembled in Japan/ same brand as Lexus there), a 97 and 02 Carrera. I think Porsche is far from nearing Lexus/Toyota: -01 Toyota 4Runner 55,000 miles / Number of times been in the shop "0" -02 Porsche Carrera 17,000 miles / Number of times been in the shop "3" During my 6 mos (12.5K~17K miles accumulated) of ownership -97 Porsche Carrera 36,000 miles / Number of times been in the shop "7" During my 1 year(32K~36K miles accumulated) of ownership

I think a lot has to do with production numbers and the luck of the draw...

Also, check mileage. A Lexus with a problem may have 40,000 miles, a Porsche that is a garage queen has 5,000. They should do this based on how many miles the car is driven.

Great point. Also, have you ever priced a used Lexus? A Porsche owner can generally get a decent resale price if he keeps the mileage down, but this requirement doesn't seem to apply to a Lexus. I've looked at a few '02 LS430s with over 40K miles and the Dealers are asking over $50K. Lexus owners drive the hell out of their cars and they still seem to retain their value.

Unfortunately these types of "surveys" are riddled with poor sampling, analysis and subsequent claims/conclusions. Although I am glad I have several Lexi (I think that would be the plural). And have owned several Porsche. I guess I should be gloating. I still do not think any car company comes close to Lexus for quality and service. I had my car recalled because it had the wrong GVW (off by 100 lbs.) They gave me $1000 (and a new sticker). My 996TT has had the navigation replaced (after 2 attempts to fix) and is now having the front differential replaced. This with 3600 miles on it (kind of a garage queen to boot). Oh well.

I was called by the JD Power survey for comments on some service I recently had on my 2003 C4S. It went in for new rear tires, oil change, the navigation upgrade and a failed horn. The surveyor asked a series of questions, all of which had to be answered with a number from 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent. She asked for my opinion on the dealer's ability to diagnose the problem. I explained that there was no problem to be diagnosed, all the problems were obvious (flat tire, broken horn, needed maintennace). She insisted that I had to answer from 1 to 10. I pointed out the absurdity of the question, she thanked be for my time and ended the survey. Garbage in, garbage out. All modern cars are so much more reliable than they were just 20 years ago its amazing. Buy what you want, enjoy it. Don't worry, be happy.

I heard that Porsche asked Toyota to help them retool their factories so that they could build their cars more efficiently. I believe that the result was the 996. Is it really a coincidence that Lexus and Porsche are the 2 top marques? That Lincon is #3 does throw some doubt on the survey, though.

Toyota helped Porsche to reduce costs. Whether or not the cost reductions were harmful to the product has to be determined by the buyer.

Porsche called in Toyota in the early 90s when they were planning the 993 at the low ebb of their recent history. They were one of the most ineffecient producers of cars at that time. Largely due to Toyota's help, the 993 was a better car, it cost less than the model it replaced and provided a bigger profit for Porsche even at the lower price. It basically saved the company. Wiediking got a lot of credit for that and it really established his legitimacy as a leader in Stuttgart.

Good point. I think a 996 has more problems the LESS it is driven. An idle car is a deteriorating car.

Hmm ... Mixed messages from JDPower Automobile Mag reports: 2005 JD Power Initial Quality Study Porsche 32'nd out of 36! Below the likes of Hyundai, Buick, Pontiac, ... and everyone else except VW, Landrover, Mazda, and Suzuki.

Those initial surveys aren't based on actual warranty claims, but just 'perceived' quality. It's still discouraging, but must be taken with a grain of salt.

You can't really take any of those seriously when you understand their data acquisition methods (sampling plans)...ooops...the statistician coming out in me!

You are probably right, but the Mercedes-Benz at 283 per 100 is probably right. Had my wife's CLK for exactly 1 year and 4 days and have had 4 problems with the car and 17 ga-zillion problems with the dealership (Beck Imports). Would not recommend Beck to my worst enemy... just couldn't do that... would not be humane!

No, it was the 996; the 993 was just a re-skinned interim version of the 964 to keep a model out until the 996 was made. Porsche truly was inefficent back in the day. I've owned 3 different Porsche models from the same year (see .sig) and I was amazed and how little crossover there was between the cars, even the 944 and 928 which were based on similar technologies. Compare that to the early 996 and 986, which were pretty much identical from the A pillar forward, used almost identical engines, and very similar interiors. It was due to this scheme that the 996 that had the lowest production costs (and highest profit margins) of any Porsche. Total 911 magazine's first issue has a retrospective on the 996, and they cover this in more detail. Emanuel