Is Consumer Reports worth it?

[Moses Yoder]

Because we have good credit (both of us score over 800 on one site, close to 800 on the other) it is easy to borrow more money for a vehicle than it is worth. We were a little upside down on our Vue which turned out to be a lemon and the way it ran was coming up to a couple more expensive repair bills. I kind of assumed we would just have to keep driving it until it was paid off, or close to paid off. This turned out not to be true because of our good credit. We bought a 2008 Mazda 5 yesterday without really knowing anything about it, just assuming it will require less than $1000 a year of repairs.

A friend of mine subscribes to the Consumer Reports magazine. I see for $30 a year you can subscribe to their online reviews. This seems like it would be worth it. Do those of you who have experience with Conumer Reports find it worth the money? They also have a $6.95 monthly but that does not seem economical. It is a little late for this car, although if CR says it is complete junk I am sure I could still return it on Monday.

[Chuck Wintle]

I would say that is it worth it to read CR from time to time especially for the annual car issue. Any manufacturer can produce a lemon, built of Monday morning or on a Friday, but for certain models the likelihood of a buying a lemon is greatly reduced for the consumer. CR is supposed to be the unvarnished truth and if it is truly impartial then they do provide a lot of good information. Another site i like is edmunds.com as this is a forum where consumers provide feedback on all models of cars. IMHO direct feedback to a forum is the best place to see if a model is good or bad in terms of repairs, styling, dealer service etc. its all there. Mazdas are supposed to be good cars.

[Jim Matthews]

If you went form the Six cylinder VUE to the Mazda 5, you won't be able to pass your own shadow.

I would go over to "Car Talk" and research the "cars we hate" column of reliable vehicles.
Most of them are Hondas.

If your family is growing, the Honda Odyssey is built for you.
(Just avoid any model year with the PAX "run flat" tires, which are outrageously expensive.)

[Myk Rian]

I do my research "before" buying something.
Because of that, I have never needed CR.

[David Weaver]

I read CR when buying cars for reliability data, and at this point only buy cars that have good reliability history. if a model is completely changed so that the reliability history isn't relevant, they tell you that.

I don't know of any other magazine that does a comprehensive survey of actual reliability data and compiles it over a long period of time, and then provides it by various parts of the car (electrical, engine, transmission, etc.)

[Art Mann]

I think their used car reliability ratings are about as good as you can get because they are based on actual survey data but I consider their new car ratings, as well as their ratings of other consumer goods, to be next to worthless. I used to subscribe to the magazine and follow their recommendations religiously until I kept finding their recommended products were no better and sometimes much worse than competing products that cost less.

[Jamie Buxton]

Yes, Consumer Reports is "worth it" when you've considering a big purchase, like a car or a dishwasher. They provide wide objective comparisons that are generally not available from other sources. And $6.95 is cheap compared to the cost of a car. I don't do enough big-ticket shopping that an annual subscription makes sense. I just give them their $6.95 when I'm shopping for that big-ticket item, and don't read them until the next time I'm looking for something big.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Why pay for something that you can find out for free? We have all the information you'd ever want at our disposal these days, just google it. I actually did have a CR subscription once, ended up buying a washer and dryer that they rated low, while a coworker bought their top set. Theirs had trouble, ours didn't, go figure.

I'm suspicious of survey data, there is no verification that the submitter is competent or unbiased.

[David Weaver]

I wouldn't be suspicious of car survey data, they've never had anything that seemed out of the norm in terms of results.

But, I agree that their ratings on appliances and stuff don't carry as much weight with me as just going out to go through something like amazon reviews. If something is junk, and it's been on amazon for a couple of years, the reviews will show it.

They listed the fisher and paykel ecosmart as an unreliable washer and dryer set. I've replaced one wear bearing set in the dryer in 8 years, which is to be expected, and the W/D combo has done about 2500 loads. I know of three other sets, all with no problems, all about the same age as mine.

MIL went with maytag neptune stuff due to brand loyalty and over the same period of time, she's replaced two washers and a dryer at about double the cost.

I do value the car stuff (but one could get a temp registration to review their car data when buying a car), but haven't used it for anything else in years.

[Curt Fuller]

I think their used car reliability ratings are about as good as you can get because they are based on actual survey data but I consider their new car ratings, as well as their ratings of other consumer goods, to be next to worthless. I used to subscribe to the magazine and follow their recommendations religiously until I kept finding their recommended products were no better and sometimes much worse than competing products that cost less.
I agree with this. I've subscribed to CR for 20+ years and over that period I've found that the problems I've had with vehicles is almost always mirrored in the CR reliability charts. I happen to be a Toyota fan and they seem to be among the best in reliability. But CR doesn't often give them their blessings in their recommended vehicles. CR seems, at least in recent years, to recommend a lot of vehicles when they're new and then in a few years down the road they put them on their "used cars to avoid" list. As for other products, washers, dryers, refrigerators, tires, cameras, etc. I've had pretty good success sticking with their recommendations. So to answer your question, yes, I think overall CR is worth the money.

[Brian Elfert]

CR's new car ratings and reviews are not much different than how any magazine reviews new cars. They obtain a new car and put it through its paces. It would pretty rare for a new car not to perform great since it is new after all. The ratings of used cars are based on experiences of actual owners. CR has no way to know that a new model is not going to be reliable when it is new.

I put some weight on how CR rates a car when I buy one, but most of the time the car I am buying is a new design that doesn't have much in common with the older models that the survey is based on.

[Jim Koepke]

I think their used car reliability ratings are about as good as you can get because they are based on actual survey data but I consider their new car ratings, as well as their ratings of other consumer goods, to be next to worthless. I used to subscribe to the magazine and follow their recommendations religiously until I kept finding their recommended products were no better and sometimes much worse than competing products that cost less.

From way back CR seems to do car ratings quite well.

I have heard comments from some about how they should stick to what they know... CARS!

On other product reviews it seems to be mostly opinion and sometimes even personal bias.

In my own experience with CR they struck out on three reviews of products I know. There may have been more. I have seldom looked at their publication, it just so happens each time I looked they got it wrong, at least in my opinion.

One was on cookware. The enameled cast iron cookware (Le Creuset) was rated low due to its heavy weight. (It is cast iron for heaven's sake, what do you expect?) They chose some aluminum cookware to be better. The Le Creuset cast iron cookware I purchased 40 years ago is still in use today. I do not know of any aluminum cookware that has lasted that long in constant use. Besides if I wanted to sell, most of my cookware is worth more today used than what I paid for it new. It will likely stay in use by our children and grandchildren.

One time they rated the Ward's Signature refrigerator as the best and the Frigidaire model was low on the list. They didn't notice that they were the same unit both made by General Motors at the time.

When I was a bicycle enthusiast the Schwinn Varsity was the CR highest rated 10 speed. Most bicycling enthusiasts considered the Schwinn an overweight tank. They especially liked the idea of steel rims instead of aluminum rims. If you have done much cycling you know which is easier on a long ride. As I recall they put racing bikes and general riding bikes all in one review. They didn't know the difference.

jtk

[Jason Kowell]

See if your local library has a subscription - a lot of public libraries that have a magazine section get CR either in print or online.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I had an on-line subscription - got it because of a couple impending "durable goods" purchases. Then let it lapse.

Just re-upped, because I need a new printer, and I am maybe going to get a vehicle - which will likely be used. Their history on performance/repairs is very good, IMO.

I have never been steered wrong - I like their ranked scores, with multiple choices for me to select - don't always pick the top-of-the-litter, but at the same time, there is info there that I use to avoid dogs.

They do have a certain bias - in cars, it is safety above all else, hence past years of high-ranking Volvos, which challenged Saab as the most boring vehicles on the planet.

Last - I especially like the fact that there are no advertisers in the background - they walk into a store, and buy the product the same as you and I do.

You can get a mountainous overload of information on the internet. Every idiot with a keyboard can make his voice heard []such as me, here, for instance]. My concern is always with the source.

[Jason Roehl]

See if your local library has a subscription - a lot of public libraries that have a magazine section get CR either in print or online.

^^^^This. Why buy it? More people could stand to set foot in a library more, anyway (myself included).

[John O'Brien]

CR always rates jeep's at the bottom of the list. The Wranglers are "truck like, harsh riding, don't handle well in turns, etc." Well, it's a Jeep, not a low profile sports car. I have an '08 Wrangler Unlimited with 95,000 miles on it. Only real maintenance has been a water pump, other than the normal wear and tear items. According to CR, it's a don't buy it vehicle. I disagree.


And I do have a CR subscription anyway.

John

[Moses Yoder]

Thank you for sharing your opinions. We bought the vehicle without doing research first due to a long string of incidents, of which the main players are a Saturn Vue in need of more expensive repairs, a sale on financing (1.9%) ending this weekend, and a wife with that look in her eyes. We had planned on buying a Chevy Malibu but did not want our payment to increase as much as that car would have increased it (this was realized after the top heavy loan on the Vue was uncovered by the dealer) and they had this really nice Mazda 5 setting there in our price range. Looking around this morning I think it is an okay vehicle except for the fact that the tires seem to wear out fast and some of the transmissions are made on Mondays and Fridays. I will check to see if my library has a CR subscription, that is a good idea. I actually have not been in our library since I got high speed internet.

[Roger Feeley]

I subscribed to CR for many years and used them. But I was in an acquisitive phase of life where I was actually shopping for stuff. Now I have a mower, washing machine and so on and I simply don't need the reference very often. For those things I do need to research, I go to the local library.

I suggest that you go to your local library and research a few purchases. CR is a good idea. They accept no advertising so they are beholden to no one.

[Art Mann]

Refusing to accept advertising does not guarantee no bias. Consumer reports is what I consider overly conscious of environmental issues. They have recommended new electric/hybrid vehicles which could not be justified by any reasonable economic measure.

[Kent A Bathurst]

...... vehicles which could not be justified by any reasonable economic measure.

As opposed to Car & Driver's near 10-year run with their top-rated BMW M3? I think that car is worth every penny - but that is one doggone big pile of pennies. Also difficult to justify by any reasonable economic measure. My "frame" [a-hem] is too big for the 3xx, and my budget is too small for the M5.

Sure they have a bias...........but the research is sound, IMO - just have to read and understand what their point is. They don't focus exclusively on tree-hugger-ism. I find their repair history to be valuable. They have the vehicles broken down by class/group. The way they look at vehicles is not at all the same as Car & Driver, et. al. - boring vehicles with excellent safety ratings score high. Me - I like something with the handling characteristics [like my BMW 5xx] that let me avoid accidents.

I have found a lot of solid info on 2 - 4 year old small SUV-class. Also clothes washer, drier, all-in-one printer, dish washer..................

Waiting for their review of hand planes - curious which side of BD v BU they land on, and LV v LN. My bet is that their traditionalist tendencies end up with the LN #4 top-rated. Iron, not brass. :D

[Ole Anderson]

I have had a subscription for many years. They really seem to have a bias against Detroit iron. They always rated Astro/Safaris very low, personally I loved them. Now I have an Acadia, rated very high, and I love it too. I use their info as one piece of the puzzle to fit together before a major purchase decision. Frankly, I trust product reviews from major retailers as much as CU reviews. Want a camera? Go to B&H and read a review from a pro. You have to take all of them with a grain of salt. Is it worth $30 per year, I would say yes.

[Larry Edgerton]

I don't have much faith in consumers reports, but I can tell you that you bought a great car.

I have run Mazda's for a long time. Our current car is a Mazda3, has 135K on it and has needed NOTHING other than normal wear items. Our next car will be another Mazda. The Mazda5 is a Mazda3 platform, a great handling chassis with a very strong little motor that will deliver very good mileage. Passing will not be a problem.

Larry