BMW ranks 7th in J.D Power Study

2008 Vehicle Dependability Study Results

J.D Power’s latest study on ownership after 3 years places BMW in the Top 10 at 7th while Lexus continues to lead the pack. All in all not a bad showing from BMW.

This study really shows how a car performs after the the initial build of the car has been put through its tests, this type of study means more for those looking to keep a car for a period greater than the first 100 days (since that is what the initial quality studies measure). We are fairly sure most of car purchasers out there plan on driving the car for more than 100 days and is the main reason this study should be weighted more than the others out there.

In the end it shows that buying a 3 year old BMW is not a bad call, or even buying a new one and keeping it that long. BMW did well considering where the other German brands are on the list!

Here is how the Top 10 shaped up (you may be very surprised):

1. Lexus

2. Mercury

3. Cadillac

4. Toyota

5. Acura

6. Buick

7. BMW

8. Lincoln

9. Honda

10. Jaguar

From J.D. Power:

In addition to its extensive research on new-vehicle quality, each year J.D. Power and Associates surveys owners of three-year-old vehicles and asks them to report the types of problems they’ve experienced with their vehicle during the preceding 12 months. The problems are grouped into nine categories:

Ride, handling and braking

Sound system

Features and controls

Seats

Engine

Transmission

Heating, ventilation and cooling

Vehicle interior

Vehicle exterior

Consumer survey responses are then tallied using a “problems per 100 vehicles” (PP100) measurement, which is a straight average of the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (a lower PP100 score is better).

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS),SM overall quality of three-year-old vehicles improved by 10 PP100, or five percent, compared to last year, maintaining a trend of three-year-old vehicle quality improvement over the last six years.

This year’s VDS results are based on survey responses from over 52,000 verified original owners of 2005 model-year vehicles. Vehicles must be registered for personal use.

Here is the full .pdf