Top secret! The quality survey every car buyer must see

QualityCounts · 11-05-2007, 08:46 PM

Check out this article in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...115&vf=12&pg=1

DoreSlamR · 11-05-2007, 08:59 PM

interesting read, bit of a smack to the face to Ford and Holden. Whodathunkit!...Korean cars are better built than a Territory! :(

MITCHAY · 11-05-2007, 09:01 PM

Did I read correctly? Basically said Korean aint as bad as it is percieved to be

: Maybe the fact that they are boring as blinds us

:

Suprised about the Euros aswell!

XR8-260 · 11-05-2007, 09:06 PM

I'm sure Korean cars have come a long way since the Excel lol.

S3SR · 11-05-2007, 09:10 PM

because the cheap asian cars have no moving components......hence no faults

ford and holden are more and more like pumping the cars out to keep afloat

show me numbers and a list of faults, whether or not those faults were caused by the manufacturer or some third party? big difference in Ford/holden making dodgy cars to joe bloes aussie made transmissions used in aussie cars being faulty

SP.UTE1 · 11-05-2007, 09:13 PM

Actually, I have an artical that reads Hyundi came in second, behind Mercs, for the least customer complaints about there new cars in America for 2006.
They have come a long way.

MITCHAY · 11-05-2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3

I'm sure Korean cars have come a long way since the Excel lol.

Still I have to see one of those heaps everyday in my backyard! Maybe that is why I'm so bitter towards them?

:

PHATXR8 · 11-05-2007, 09:33 PM

My BA XR8, the AU2 XR8, and ED XR6 before that were all great cars that are/were all very reliable and well made. No build-quality problems in any of them.

Perhaps it has something to do with how they are driven. It is interesting to note that the most fault-free cars are those that would appeal to the older, more conservative drivers who perhaps don't do any many km's, or don't drive their cars as hard as the Falcon and Commodre drivers.....just a theory!

Nashy86 · 11-05-2007, 10:16 PM

i've seen a few things like this. imo the results are always skewed becasue the type of people who buy ford and holdens are often car lovers like ourselves who pay attention and complain about every little squeek and rattle in the car. i've seen friends in brand new hyundais and stuff, and when i drive them i ask how they can put up with that rattle or steering wheel that vibratesbadly when over 80 kph (in one car) and they say "isnt that normal?" i reckon these results would be different if more car enthusiests drove the asian cars, rather than ppl who just see cars as transport

pertuan · 11-05-2007, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHATXR8

Perhaps it has something to do with how they are driven. It is interesting to note that the most fault-free cars are those that would appeal to the older, more conservative drivers who perhaps don't do any many km's, or don't drive their cars as hard as the Falcon and Commodre drivers.....just a theory!

Could also be that these people don't know much about cars and can't see a fault when its in its early stages and end up trading the car in before it blows up. Or perhaps they can't spot a fault to report it in the first place. Just a theory.

RSgerry · 11-05-2007, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyEB1

i've seen a few things like this. imo the results are always skewed becasue the type of people who buy ford and holdens are often car lovers like ourselves who pay attention and complain about every little squeek and rattle in the car. i've seen friends in brand new hyundais and stuff, and when i drive them i ask how they can put up with that rattle or steering wheel that vibratesbadly when over 80 kph (in one car) and they say "isnt that normal?" i reckon these results would be different if more car enthusiests drove the asian cars, rather than ppl who just see cars as transport

I have a Mazda 3 and can confirm that it is a very well built car. We have owned it for a year and there are no rattles, squeaks and it has never been back to the dealer for any issues. The dealer is also first class.

Before the Mazda, I had an AU3 XR6 which had a number of annoying rattles. It was back to the dealer a number of times for fixing, yet, surprisingly, none of them could hear the noises. The CD player spat the dummy, my discs went to Melbourne from Perth, came back scratched and teh dealer scrathed the fascia removing the CD stacker (it was premium sound). The car was owned by us from new, so no blaming previous owners.

You only have to read the posts on AFF to see that what the survey said matches closely what a lot of enthusiasts are saying. We would all love Ford to lift their game, but they are in denial. The Japanese, and now the Koreans, are leaving the locals and the Euros way behind. The sooner that fact is accepted, rather than excuses being made, the sooner improvements will happen.

Mongoose · 11-05-2007, 10:36 PM

Im sorry, so a Hyundai is built better than a BMW? ummm, no. I can believe japanese cars having better quality than holden and ford, but not hyundai, and i dont care that they have come a long way in the last 10 years. They still cant get enough power out of the bloody things.

Ives · 11-05-2007, 10:39 PM

VERY interesting results.... but you cant use those results as a benchmark. There are too many variables involved, 1 out of many examples :-

How many people actually fill-in those survey AND post it back?
-I've received two 'quality & reliability' surveys. The first one straight away went to the bin and the second one... well I actually filled it in but didnt get a chance to mail it.. now it's lost.

In the end of the day, it's what YOU think about your car that matters... who cares what other people think about the quality of the cars you drive.

mik · 11-05-2007, 10:55 PM

car x has a fault in the first 5 months........does`nt really tell the story for me, owner satifaction and all things considered 5 years down the track would be of better use, fault x does`nt mean car x is a bad car.

jason71 · 11-05-2007, 11:03 PM

Ok. I have always loved Australian cars but I have to say that the Jap cars that I have owned have had a lot better build quality to them.

atec77 · 11-05-2007, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3

I'm sure Korean cars have come a long way since the Excel lol.

Still cheap and plain and uninspiring

Martyvan · 11-05-2007, 11:11 PM

Quality Counts, Nice to see some positive influence on a Ford Forum again....
Did your Pension just come in the mail? Did you have enough change to buy a new cardigan?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1QWKF6

Actually, I have an artical that reads Hyundi came in second, behind Mercs, for the least customer complaints about there new cars in America for 2006.
They have come a long way.

Its probably perceived Quality. People dont expect to get high quality when they purchase a vehicle which is 30% cheaper than a manufacturers best.

Ford and Holden (In Aus) will always do badly in these surveys, as most are company hacks that are belted around.... hence falling apart! I know the company cars at our work, get belted......

FPVTurboTaxi · 11-05-2007, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Ok. I have always loved Australian cars but I have to say that the Jap cars that I have owned have had a lot better build quality to them.

Totally agree , my toyota soarer had better panel allignment at 200,000 kms than my brand new typhoon .as a ford fan i really have got no answers .. id like to take the reporter for a ride in the phoon and show them the thud in the diff that they all have sir !!! grrrrrrrrrr

Redrum · 11-05-2007, 11:14 PM

Our second car is a Korean car, hasn't missed a beat, 65000kms, 4 years old. Didn't expect much from it and has not given us any concerns. Where it is rare for any of my fords not to have had some sort of problem. I still drive fords and still love them, go figure.

SP.UTE1 · 11-05-2007, 11:16 PM

I wasn't sugesting Hyundi's are better built than the cars they beat in this survey, It's just there customers are complaining less about there cars. Might just be the cheaper you buy a car then there expectations about quality may be lower than a BMW owner. WTF we have our own problems to deal with.

Gobes32 · 11-05-2007, 11:32 PM

If my dash was not perfectly lined in a $12,999 korean car i would accept it. BUT, if i paid $300,00 for a brand new beemer, and the same thing happened, watch me go postal in the service department.

SpoolMan · 11-05-2007, 11:34 PM

Good read, maybe this is why Toyota see there biggest threat being Hyundai.

Danny · 12-05-2007, 12:03 AM

I'd love to own a Hyundai one day! I spose my Renault will have to do me for a while.....

Phht. Hyundai Blitzing the euro's? I guess theres some truth in it where Renault is concerned (lol) but BMW???? Come ON!?

P6LTD351 · 12-05-2007, 12:33 AM

Phht. Hyundai Blitzing the euro's? I guess theres some truth in it where Renault is concerned (lol) but BMW???? Come ON!?[/QUOTE]

Why "come on"? It's all about perception. We have preconceived ideas on what quality a particular car maker has. We think Hyundai, we think cheap. Maybe in the past this perception has been warranted. Doesn't mean this won't change. Well that's what Mazdas, Nissans etc were thought of in the early days. Why are so many people thinking that the euros are the holy grail in quality? Don't people realise that beemers and mercs are everyday cars in europe? It's only cos we have tariffs that keep those rather to an exclusive few in Australia. As a result we think that the euros are untouchable. I would agree with that in the early days. Hyundai will eventually shake off their past reputation just like jap companies have. I do think that Ford and Holden's quality does need to lift and I love my Aussie cars.

I just get sick of people that crucify a carmaker based on past reputation without appreciating the improvements they have made. Just like if an EA falcon had a BMW badge it would magically repair its own head gaskets and panels would suddenly line up.......

robjh80 · 12-05-2007, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny

I'd love to own a Hyundai one day! I spose my Renault will have to do me for a while.....

Phht. Hyundai Blitzing the euro's? I guess theres some truth in it where Renault is concerned (lol) but BMW???? Come ON!?

The way Hyundai is going they wont need to "Blitz" the Euro's.......

they will simply "Buy" them out and "Own" them.

XD 351 Ute · 12-05-2007, 09:18 AM

No need for a quality survey, there's plenty of people here that have issues with their cars. The best part is that I now know which parts are dodgy if I want to go shopping for a newer Ford. Euro cars, a'la BMW have always been over rated and over priced for what they are. You only pay for the name.

Ed

Yellow_Festiva · 12-05-2007, 09:50 AM

Been to Korea 4 times in the last 2 years.

The guys there are pedantic. Attention to detail, getting a product right as well as making it "look good" are all top priority in almost anything they do.

The bus drivers and Taxi drivers wear a suit and tie, as well as white cotton gloves. And the level of general service (for anything) is WAY beyond belief. If they cant fix it, or solve a problem they will make the calls and go out of their way to get any task right.

As Far as I know, South Korea is the ONLY country to go from receiving aide from the UN to actually paying it back, then giving aide to the UN for other countries.

To say they are go getters is an understatment. Then there is the friction between Japan and Korea, perhaps it's Korea's way of trying to "get them back" haaa by building cars of equal or better quality for a lower price???

But the results don't factor a very important point. Im sure all imported cars have been released in their country of origin before they get shipped off here, therefore months of on road problems roported by drivers would be fixed by the time the cars reach our shores.

I know for a fact that Korean cars are on the road in Korea and other countries a year or more before they get here. No wonder they have hardly any faults to report within the first 6 months, they were all weeded out already!

Dave_au · 12-05-2007, 10:52 AM

Steffo will be upset about the result of his beloved VW.

Steffo · 12-05-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave_au

Steffo will be upset about the result of his beloved VW.

Funny you should mention that.

I've always been a proponent against these idiotic surveys. They reflect reality in zero ways. The most flawed form of gathering information on the build of a vehicle. If someone doesn't like the way they were treated at the dealership, they badmouth the car. If THEY break something, on it goes as a fault. And it goes on and on.

I think the guy on Top Gear (Season 8 or 9) when they do the Top Gear Survey thing and how bad the Mercedes C-Class scored in it, when Clarkson asks him about the car, sums it up perfectly...

"The car is excellent, but the customer service is horrible."

When I see a Hyundai with body panels I can't bend out of shape using just my index finger, interior trim that won't come apart with force applied just from my index finger, that can crash and still resemble itself in some way and provide ample protection for its occupants, and last 10 - 20 years squeak and rattle and problem free and show minimal signs of wear, I might believe these stupid surveys. Until then, not a chance. And this one is the stupidest yet.

Hyundai making good cars? What a croc

:

sleekism · 12-05-2007, 04:53 PM

Hyundai? Quality? bwahahahahahahahahaha

This is the same crap that you hear about Toyota having the worlds best manufacturing quality.

Hyundai are disposable cars, you have a look how badly the late 90's Excels have aged I have a mate whos mum has a 1 year old Hyundai Elantra and it feels like its going to fall apart and another mate whos mum has a Kia Shuma and the damn thing is full of rattles, squeaks, a whining transmission, a struggling engine and electronics that are packing it in.

Ive been disappointed with Toyotas supposed "quality" my girlfriends grandparents have a camry a few years old and always sing praises about it yet the things a piece of ****.

It has vague rattling steering, a clunking gearbox, mismatching interior and a million other annoying problems.

I think Mazda deserves the medal for worlds best quality but as an individual car I would have to say the Sydney built KF Ford Laser.

I have one and it is brilliant, throughout its whole life all it needed was the usual fluid changes and even I drove it hard it never complained and never died, even as a paddock basher it still wont die.

My parents have a KF Laser that was recently written off because of a stupid woman in a 4WD and they want to fix it up or buy another KF Laser because they reckon its the best car ever built.

They have a AU2 XR6VCT for the weekends but as a town car it is absolutely brilliant in every possible way.

Worst quality car ever....according to my dad the Holden Torana was a piece of shiite which is why our family hasnt owned a Holden since the early 80's.

Basically all this crap about asian superiority is a load of crap dependent on blanket advertisement and perpetuated by people justifying their purchase of a chinese crapbox.

The one area I believe the Falcon leads all others is a bulletproof motor based on the principle of understressed componets.

I have heard some scary stories about crap quality Falcons but I havent experienced any of it.
My AU Fairmont Ghia is 8 years old and the only problems I have had with it is a seatbelt that wouldnt retract and was promptly repaired under warranty.

Is it just me or am I going pretty frukin awesome for an 8 year old car and one that is stacked with options and is driven hard........and sideways.

I guarantee you that a Hyundai will be dead in 8 years time and an imported Toyota wont be looking that crash hot (even the built for australia camrys at work have had quality problems)

Ford should bring back the "built tough" commercials. The only reason stats are skewed as stated earlier is that enthusiasts notice everything, fleets want everything smick and Hyundais are turned over so quickly and anyone who owned a Hyundai would be oblivious to problems and wouldnt have the guts to demand a problem to be fixed.