Wednesday, 17 March 2010

• Is Consumer Reports Reliable?

  
  

  It's 2010 and the newest edition of Consumer Reports is out, with its list of the top ten cars of 2010. Check out this sneak peak on GetRichSlowly.com. Every time I have been in the market for a car, Consumer Reports has been a great resource for finding the best value for the best price. It rates the cars on reliability as well as fuel economy. The report also tells the best cars to buy used, based on how reliable they have been over the past ten years.
  

  
  While it is a great resource, I hold Consumer Reports completely responsible for the 1988 Ford Escort I had to drive all through high school.
  
  Explanation: my mom read Consumer Reports before buying that car, which was listed as the most reliable economy car that year. And it proved true, as the car lasted until well-after 1998 when I got my license and it was passed on to the next desperate high school student.
  
  Unfortunately, Consumer Reports didn't account for the image factor of a 16-year old as they didn't include an ugliest category. Although I doubt my mom would have cared anyway, that car definitely would have been number one in that category as well. But it never broke down, nope never, never gave me any reason to ask for anything new (not that I would have gotten it) or have to borrow mom's new car. But the thing was great on gas, I have to say.
  
  Anyway, it was an important life lesson for me as I learned to deal with being continuously made fun of by my friends (even those who didn't have a car had the nerve to make fun of mine) and how to park as inconspicuously as possible. But I learned that looks aren't everything and reliability in the end is most important, although it took a few years of counseling for it to sink in.
  
  So what do you look for in a new or used car? Have you found Consumer Reports to be accurate?
  
  

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