What is "initial quality" as per the commercials?

You keep seeing these commercials that refer to a model being "ranked
first in it's class in initial quality by JD Powers..."

What exactly is "initial quality"?

 

Sound like a lot of advertising Jingo Bullshit which has no merit in the
real world. Do you honestly have the time of day for any F******
advertising?

 

Problems rates during the early days of ownership. I don't recall what
JD Power uses, but I think it is either 3 or 6 months. Some folks call
it "build" quality as it relates to the number of defects essential
built into the vehicle at the factory, as compared to things that fail
in service.

Matt

 

Unfortunately the website is down or something, so I can't give you their
exact definition.

The initial quality survey is a survey of new car buyers trying to capture
problems related to the actual assembly of the cars. Number of initial
defects per XXX number of cars. They do other surveys on customer
satisfaction, and long term reliability.

James Linn

 

I think 'initial quality' refers to all these vehicles you see running
around these days - mostly imports - that use letters and numbers instead of
a real name for their model designation. Such as MPV, RAV4, etc.. Must be
a rating someone does of which one has the best quality initials.

 

Approximately 9/20/03 07:43, Doc uttered for posterity:

You buy a car, you *may* be contacted by JD Powers, Maritz
Marketing, etc. to participate in a survey on the things
you found wrong with the car in the first 30 days. The
dealer is very likely to offer to "help" you with answers
to this survey, so take if from that how valuable it really
is.

 

I don't see how they offer to help you - when I completed one, I
doubt the dealer *knew* I did, though they contacted me about a
complaint I mentioned in the survey itself, where I complained about
the sales staff. I found it sort of patronizing that no one would help
me until the sole black salesman was free, and then HE was incredibly
patronizing, treating me (a 40-year old professional buying a Honda)
like I was some hip-hop-crazed kid more concerned about the stereo
than any other feature on the car.
Emanuel

 

Some sales staff can be real morons. When I went with my wife to buy her
last car, the sales person kept talking to me as if my wife wasn't there,
even when we repeatedly told her the car was for her, and she took the test
drive...

 

Approximately 9/21/03 03:07, Emanuel Brown uttered for posterity:

Dealers don't know that *you* will be getting a survey, however
indeed dealers have been known to simply tell all buyers that
if the buyer *does* receive a survey, the dealership is
very willing if not eager to "help" them with all that complicated
paperwork.

 

And people have fallen for that?
Emanuel

 

A lot of people bought Cavaliers, too.

nate

 

Who knows, who cares- its a made-up term.

"Best initial quality" probably means fewest number of defects when
delivered, or maybe within the first xxx weeks of ownership.

 

Approximately 9/22/03 11:51, Nate Nagel uttered for posterity:

And K Cars. Some even bought more than *one* K Car which pretty
much answers the question.

 

Yup. You can be like Lloyd Parker. Buy a Mercedes 300E and then spend your
days crowing on the American car forums how great the quality is.....

only to find out that the Mercedes E class is at the bottom of the long-term
quality rankings....down there with Volkswagon and Kia.

So it holds together long enough for those initial quality cards to be sent
out and then quickly spirals into a series of expensive repairs and annoying
rattles. Woo hoo. You go, boyeee!!!

C

 

I'm curious where you get the impression that VWs are "at the bottom" of
long term quality rankings. Now I don't particularly follow CR et. al.
but IME if you want a car to last forever you could do a lot worse than
a VW. It's the stupid *little* non-critical problems that drive you
apeshit with them...

nate

 

I donno, could've been something as pesky as fact.

VW's build quality is literally all over the map. If you happen to luck
into a good one, you're good to go for a very long time. If you happen to
luck into a bad one, you're fucked. It will hundred-dollar-bill you to
death UNFIXABLY until you get rid of it.

DS

 

I must just be very lucky because out of 4 VWs I've owned the only one
that gave me any significant grief was a "barn car" and the problems it
had were all exactly the ones you'd expect (alternator, water pump, CVs,
etc.) with the exception of a burned valve. I eventually got it running
right and sold it to a friend who is still driving it. All my others
have been very good to me overall.

nate

 

Most likely due to someone failing to do the required valve adjustment
at the required 3000 mile interval?

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

Leasing for 2-3 years takes the worry out of "long-term" reliability. Car is
in warranty for the entire time.

 

Nope, it was a GTI 16V (hydraulic lifters) - I've actually got the tools
and shims to do the adjustment on my solid lifter cars. ISTR the
service interval being quite a bit longer than 3K miles though...

nate