That's terrible luck, especially to get lemons from different automakers. I had a Ranger that had terrible quality, but I haven't had 11 full size Fords, and I have only been left sitting five times, and three of those times, the truck was stuck, and one time I was out of gas. One starter out of 11 trucks ain't too bad. That made me a believer, anyway.

 

PMFJI, but straight from jdpowers. Using the criterion of mechanical quality, durability, and reliability, the best vehicles sold in the US are....well, not what you'd think. GM is highlighted, Ford in Blue, major Japanese brands in red. The results will surprise you- and almost everyone else on the board.

1. Chevrolet Malibu
2. Lexus RX 330
3. Lexus LX 470
4. Toyota 4Runner
5. Chevrolet Tahoe
6. Lexus GS Sedan
7. Honda S2000
8. GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500
9. Buick Century
10. Porsche 911
11. Chevrolet Express
12. Toyota Prius
13. GMC Yukon
14. GMC Yukon XL
15. Chevrolet Suburban
16. Oldsmobile Silhouette
17. Buick Lesabre
18. Audi TT
19. Lexus SC 430
20. Pontiac Grand Am Coupe
21. Hyundai Sonata
22. Pontiac Grand Am Sedan
23. Dodge Stratus Coupe
24. Ford Thunderbird
25. Dodge Ram Pickup 2500/3500
26. Ford Mustang
27. Ford Mustang convertible
28. Ford Explorer Sport Trac
29. Cadillac Escalade EXT
30. Pontiac Aztek (4x2)
31. Pontiac Aztek (4x4)
32. Volkswagen Jetta
33. Volkswagen Beetle
34. Oldsmobile Alero 2-door
35. Oldsmobile Alero 4-door
36. Honda Element
37. Chevrolet Colorado
38. Toyota Avalon
39. Lexus LS 430
40. Honda Odyssey
41. Buick Regal
42. Honda CR-V
43. Toyota Highlander
44. Ford Ranger
45. Ford Ranger extended cab
46. Lincoln Town Car
47. Mercury Grand Marquis
48. Ford F-150 Light Duty
49. Toyota Corolla
50. Toyota Sienna
51. Chevrolet Corvette
52. Toyota Sequoia
53. Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV
54. Toyota RAV4
55. Cadillac DeVille
56. Nissan 350Z
57. GMC Sonoma extended cab
58. Buick Park Avenue
59. GMC Sonoma
60. Infiniti I35
61. Dodge Caravan
62. Pontiac Montana
63. Audi A8
64. Toyota Tundra
65. Dodge Grand Caravan
66. Chevrolet Monte Carlo
67. Subaru Forester
68. Cadillac XLR
69. Toyota Celica
70. Honda Civic Coupe
71. Honda Civic Sedan
72. Chrysler Crossfire
73. Cadillac Seville
74. Ford Escape
75. Chrysler Pacifica
76. Chrysler Town & Country
77. Honda Pilot
78. Dodge Ram Pickup 1500
79. Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 4-door
80. Pontiac Sunfire 2-dr
81. Pontiac Sunfire 4-dr
82. Pontiac Bonneville
83. Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD/3500
84. Hyundai Santa Fe
85. Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
86. Jaguar S-Type
87. Volvo XC70
88. Mercedes-Benz M-Class
89. Hyundai Accent Coupe
90. Hyundai Accent Sedan
91. Lexus GX 470
92. Mercury Monterey
93. Land Rover Range Rover
94. Acura TSX
95. Buick Rendezvous
96. Ford Freestar
97. Pontiac Vibe
98. Nissan Pathfinder Armada
99. Honda Accord Coupe
100. Honda Accord Sedan
101. Ford E-Series
102. Ford Crown Victoria
103. Ford F-150 Light Duty ext. cab
104. Ford F-150 Supercrew
105. Chrysler Concorde
106. Ford Excursion
107. Nissan Titan
108. Toyota Camry
109. Toyota Camry Solara
110. Chevrolet Impala
111. Buick Rainier
112. Mercury Sable
113. Kia Sorento
114. Saturn ION
115. Chevrolet Silverado 1500/2500
116. Chevrolet Silverado 1500/2500 ext. cab
117. Acura RL
118. GMC Sierra 1500/2500
119. GMC Sierra 1500/2500 ext. cab
120. Chevrolet S-10 Pickup
121. Chevrolet S-10 Pickup extended cab
122. BMW 5 Series Sedan
123. BMW 7 Series
124. Jaguar XJ
125. Infiniti FX-Series
126. BMW X5
127. Cadillac CTS
128. Dodge Durango
129. Pontiac Grand Prix Coupe
130. Pontiac Grand Prix Sedan
131. Audi A4/S4
132. Mercedes-Benz E-Class
133. Lincoln LS
134. Chevrolet Venture
135. Toyota Tacoma
136. Mazda Tribute
137. Nissan Frontier
138. Nissan Frontier 4-door
139. Nissan Frontier extended cab
140. Lexus IS 300/IS 300 SportCross
141. Acura MDX
142. Dodge Dakota 4-door
143. Dodge Dakota extended cab
144. Chevrolet Avalanche
145. Mercury Mountaineer
146. Ford Expedition
147. Lincoln Navigator
148. Saturn LW Wagon
149. Chevrolet Cavalier Coupe
150. Chevrolet Cavalier Sedan
151. Subaru Outback Sport
152. Scion xB
153. Audi A6
154. Chrysler 300M
155. Subaru Legacy
156. Subaru Outback
157. Ford Taurus
158. Chrysler PT Cruiser
159. GMC Envoy
160. Chevrolet Blazer
161. Jeep Wrangler
162. Ford F-250/F-350
163. Chevrolet TrailBlazer
164. Nissan Sentra
165. Saturn LS Sedan
166. Hyundai XG350
167. Hyundai Elantra
168. Volvo S80
169. Mitsubishi Galant
170. Volvo S60
171. Volvo V70
172. Mercedes-Benz C-Class
173. Volvo C70
174. Hyundai Tiburon
175. Kia Optima
176. Suzuki XL-7
177. Dodge Neon
178. Ford Focus 2-door
179. Ford Focus 4-door
180. MINI Cooper
181. Nissan Murano
182. Saturn VUE
183. Mitsubishi Outlander
184. Lincoln Aviator
185. Suzuki Verona
186. Toyota Matrix
187. Volvo XC90
188. Nissan Altima
189. Acura RSX
190. Lexus ES 330
191. Acura TL
192. Mazda MPV
193. Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
194. Jeep Liberty
195. Dodge Intrepid
196. Kia Sedona
197. Chevrolet Tracker 2-door
198. Chevrolet Tracker 4-door
199. Nissan Maxima
200. BMW 3 Series Convertible
201. BMW 3 Series Coupe
202. BMW 3 Series Sport Wagon
203. BMW 3 Series Sedan
204. Volkswagen Passat
205. Saab 9-3 Sedan
206. Dodge SRT-4
207. Saab 9-5 Sedan/Wagon
208. Mazda 6
209. Saab 9-3 Cpe/Conv
210. Nissan Quest
211. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
212. Jaguar X-Type
213. HUMMER H2
214. Chrysler Sebring Sedan
215. Dodge Stratus Sedan
216. Chrysler Sebring Convertible
217. Jeep Grand Cherokee
218. Ford Explorer
219. Ford Explorer Sport
220. Volvo S40
221. Volvo V40
222. Mercury Marauder
223. Subaru Impreza
224. Audi allroad quattro
225. Kia Spectra
226. Kia Rio
227. Nissan Xterra
228. Chevrolet Astro
229. Mazda 3
230. Infiniti G35
231. Mitsubishi Endeavor
232. Scion xA
233. Mazda RX-8
234. Chevrolet Equinox
235. Chrysler 300Series
236. Porsche Boxster
237. Subaru Baja
238. Pontiac GTO
239. GMC Savana
240. BMW Z4
241. GMC Canyon
242. BMW 6 Series
243. Volkswagen Golf
244. Volkswagen GTI
245. Mazda Miata
246. Mitsubishi Eclipse
247. Mitsubishi Lancer/LancerSportback
248. Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
249. Kia Amanti
250. Suzuki Vitara/GrandVitara
251. Land Rover Freelander
252. Chevrolet Aveo
253. Suzuki Aerio/AerioSX
254. Nissan Pathfinder
255. Chrysler SebringCpe
256. Mazda B-Series
257. Isuzu Rodeo
258. Oldsmobile Bravada
259. Isuzu Ascender

 

Weird. Consumer reports puts the corolla as very high in quality year after year. Different criteria? I have had some awesome corollas.

CR Good Bets

These models represent the best of both worlds: They have performed well in Consumer Reports tests over the years and have had much-better-than-average reliability for multiple years. They are listed alphabetically.

Acura Integra
Acura MDX
Acura RL
Acura TL
Buick Regal
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Ford Escort
Geo/Chevrolet Prizm
Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Honda CR-V
Honda Odyssey
Honda Prelude
Honda S2000
Infiniti G20
Infiniti I30, I35
Infiniti QX4
Isuzu Oasis
Lexus ES300
Lexus GS300/GS400,
GS430
Lexus LS400, LS430
Lexus RX300
Lincoln Town Car
(except '03)
Mazda 626
Mazda Millenia
Mazda MPV
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Mazda Protegé
Mercury Tracer
Nissan Altima
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Pathfinder
Subaru Forester
Subaru Impreza
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Toyota 4Runner
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry Solara
Toyota Celica
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Echo
Toyota Highlander
Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota RAV4
Toyota Sequoia
Toyota Sienna
Toyota Tundra

Consumer reports indicates that any one of these would be a good buy as a used car. Jd power does an initial qaulity survey. How these vehicles performed in the first three months. Whats important is how they perform for the first ten years. Dodge was at the top of the list in initial quality when they released the new style dodge. I still dont think is any better.

Here is a better picture.
GM is the only american company that is above average in long term quality.
Here is what really says it all
Judging by this. It looks like toyota stumbled with the corolla but they are now back on task.
toyota won overall quality in 04 with 7 vehicles rated as most reliable. They rate vehicles that are three years old.
Initial quality is bogus because things like high fuel prices and uninspiring looks will make a car have a very low rating. The avalon is an exceptionally high quality vehicle. On par with lexus and in the IQS it had a very poor rating. Mostly based on looks. Looks are not quality.

 

Thanks for those thoughts. The results I posted were done with a custom scan that combined the initial quality survey and the 3 year survey, so I thought it was a good indicator. When you eliminate the intitial quality survey, the list looks a little different (although, oddly, the Malibu is still ranked #1).

re: Consumer Reports. While I'd agree with the high regard they have for the Corolla, they tend to be a bit biased against any domestic products- been true for years. Then again, I've been lucky- the '93 pickup is pushing 200k with a minimum of problems (zero until 100K, actually, when the A/C gave up), and our '98 Grand Marquis has yet to make a non-routine trip to the service department (80K on that one). Our '03 Expy is a little different- a few niggly things that would have really annoyed me more if I had bought it new (and paid $40k for it), but overall I think it was a good value at roughly a 50% discount a year later.

Here's the JD powers list, using durability as the only criterion:

1. Chevrolet Malibu
2. Lexus RX 330
3. Lexus LX 470
4. Toyota 4Runner
5. Chevrolet Tahoe
6. Lexus GS Sedan
7. Honda S2000
8. GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500
9. Buick Century
10. Lexus LS 430
11. Toyota Avalon
12. Honda Odyssey
13. Honda CR-V
14. Ford Ranger
15. Ford Ranger extended cab
16. Lincoln Town Car
17. Mercury Grand Marquis
18. Ford F-150 Light Duty
19. Buick Regal
20. Toyota Highlander
21. Toyota Corolla
22. Nissan Pathfinder Armada
23. Ford E-Series
24. Honda Accord Coupe
25. Honda Accord Sedan
26. Ford F-150 Light Duty ext. cab
27. Ford F-150 Supercrew
28. Ford Crown Victoria
29. Chrysler Concorde
30. Nissan Altima
31. Acura RSX
32. Lexus ES 330
33. Porsche 911
34. Chevrolet Express
35. GMC Yukon
36. GMC Yukon XL
37. Chevrolet Suburban
38. Toyota Prius
39. Oldsmobile Silhouette
40. Buick Lesabre
41. Toyota Sienna
42. Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV
43. Chevrolet Corvette
44. Toyota Sequoia
45. Toyota RAV4
46. Cadillac DeVille
47. Nissan 350Z
48. GMC Sonoma extended cab
49. GMC Sonoma
50. Audi A8
51. Buick Park Avenue
52. Infiniti I35
53. Dodge Caravan
54. Pontiac Montana
55. Toyota Tundra
56. Dodge Grand Caravan
57. Ford Excursion
58. Nissan Titan
59. Kia Sorento
60. Buick Rainier
61. Toyota Camry
62. Toyota Camry Solara
63. Chevrolet Impala
64. Mercury Sable
65. Saturn ION
66. Chevrolet Silverado 1500/2500
67. Chevrolet Silverado 1500/2500 ext. cab
68. Acura RL
69. GMC Sierra 1500/2500
70. GMC Sierra 1500/2500 ext. cab
71. Chevrolet S-10 Pickup
72. Chevrolet S-10 Pickup extended cab
73. Acura TL
74. Mazda MPV
75. Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
76. Jeep Liberty
77. Dodge Intrepid
78. Kia Sedona
79. Chevrolet Tracker 2-door
80. Chevrolet Tracker 4-door
81. Audi TT
82. Lexus SC 430
83. Hyundai Sonata
84. Ford Thunderbird
85. Ford Mustang
86. Ford Mustang convertible
87. Pontiac Grand Am Coupe
88. Pontiac Grand Am Sedan
89. Dodge Stratus Coupe
90. Ford Explorer Sport Trac
91. Dodge Ram Pickup 2500/3500
92. Cadillac XLR
93. Chevrolet Monte Carlo
94. Subaru Forester
95. Toyota Celica
96. Chrysler Crossfire
97. Ford Escape
98. Chrysler Pacifica
99. Chrysler Town & Country
100. Dodge Ram Pickup 1500

 

[QUOTE]Either I'm just the most unfortunate vehicle purchaser to ever come down the pike or there's enough JUNK out there to be had by ALL, no matter which brand you're loyal to.

All manufactures sell junk. Junk is relative to the user though.

 

Its weird that the ranger is on the list. Everyone I know that had one. Lost a tranny or a rear end in an untimely manner. Maybe we aught to move it back another 3 years to year 6. The average person only drives 15k a year. These cars dont show their true colors until 100k miles. Thats where quality and durability really count. Not at 45k.

 

Logical Heritic............Average person drives 15 K a year?

IMO........The Insurance companies and other fine Automotive Institutions want you to believe that. I think that is a low figure. More like 20,000 nowadays.

Larger metropolitan areas are probably higher than that. Especially when they have inadequate or no mass transit or decent, affordable housing within their city limits. Dallas, Texas is a prime example. When I lived in Dallas, I drove more than that each year. Some years ago I moved 65 miles east of there to find decent affordable housing......Still stuck with inadequate mass transit, so I commute everyday. 1999 Mercury Sable, 185,000 going strong! Always give it good maintenance, brakes, shocks, tires, oil changes.

 

Priced a New 2005 Mercury Sable LS Premium and Toyota Camry XLE, (whatever it is). Both cars were loaded.

Sable was $6,000 cheaper than the Toyota. Also more incentives on the Sable compared to the Toyota.

Is it really pay for what you get?

If I were to pay $6,000 more for the Toyota, I had better get a heck of alot more! I certainly didn't see it compared to the Sable.

Brand Loyalty?

 

Most rangers Ive seen have over 100,000 miles and had no issues. Ranger is the best small compact truck on the market today fro relaibiliy and depedability. Ive seen more S-10s break down in an umtimly manner then any ranger. Rangers do show there true colors after 100,000 miles. Logical is pro GM we know that.

 

Hit the nail right on the head!!!

 

I know a parts house in town that runs a fleet of 8 Rangers. These trucks have everything going against them- lots of short hops (but 30-40K miles/yr), young drivers, yada yada. Without putting too fine a point on it, they get the living snot beat out of 'em. They typically go 100-150K under that type of use with one clutch and a few sets of brakes. The owner drives a Silverado personally, but those Rangers have been pretty indestructable.

 

Geez...I wish that could make me feel better

My 98 Ranger xlt 4x4/4.0 OHV/auto (loaded!) had so many problems, I'm sure I can't remember them all to list here, but I'll give you the major ones:

Engine assembly replaced at 36k miles - ticking/tapping at idle.
- front engine oil seal replaced TWICE following engine replacement.

left lower control arm replaced - defective ball joint

ALL Door ajar sensors replaced - (3 times)

drive shaft replaced - clunking/slack in driveline

tires replaced (Firestone recall)

driver side floor pan not properly sealed at factory, resulting in wet carpet - caulked it myself - problem solved.

cassette deck making noise like trying to wind or find a cassette when no cassette is installed - this problem went with the truck when I traded it in on my wife's 02 Explorer.

Cruise control cable recall

Check Engine light coming on for no apparent reason. (3 trips to the dealership before this one was fixed - new PCM)

In the first 3 years, my Ranger spent 53 days in the shop - 19 trips back to the dealership. Some of these were repeat trips for the same UNRESOLVED problem...they had a hard time getting it right.

Get this...the dealership tried to get me to pay $400+ to have the engine decarboned - they thought that was causing the tapping - I refused...they did the service anyway...turned out that wasn't the problem and they installed a new engine assembly less than 500 miles later.

That was the "Ranger from HELL" . The problems are REALLY compounded when the service department can't fix them the first visit.

Scott

 

Sounds like you got a lemon.Every model truck from all manufacturers will have some just the nature of mass production. Thats unfortunate but overall the ranger is a good overall truck

 

The ranger thing is news to me. But I will accept it and move on. I dont like compact pickups that much.

I dont know where pro gm came from. I dont like their styling. Im pro me. And pro inline six. If it fits me and has an I6. Ill buy it. Ive owned over a dozen inlines. Love em. Reliable and durable. Forget about hp though. LOL. They tend to hold an auto well though due to the powerband.

Im a ford man through and through. They never shoulda discontinued the 300. Last brand new ford I bought was a 96 300. Last model year of production for the almighty inline. In the last 8 years. I have not bought a ford that was made after 96. NOTGONNADOIT. Wouldnt be prudent. Now gm is back in inlineville. Better fuel economy you know.

The toyota gets as much as 5 more mpg than the sable. 6000 is steep though. I checked resale and you recoup a lot of that 6000 back. Similarly equipped 99s would fetch 11400 and 8400 respectively. So your paying 3000 dollars more to get better mileage and above average quality.

 

Was this one of those POS Mexican-made Rangers? I would not be surprised to hear that about one of them, in fact I HAVE, before!