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Auto Durability Page 1 Auto Durability Page 2 Auto Durability Page 3 Auto Durability Page 4 Page 5 - Top 20 High Mileage Page 6 - The 2006 Study of Model Year 1998
Page 7 - The 2006 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998 Page 8 - The 2006 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998 Page 9 - The 2007 Dilapidation Rates for Model Years 1998 - 2002 Page 10 - The 2007 Study of Model Year 1999 Page 11 - The 2007 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999 Page 12 - The 2007 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999
Page 13 - 2007 Pickup Durability Updates for Model Years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001          

Auto Durability and Background Information Obtained from Respondents to the Queries for Auto on Info Rosters: 29/04/2001-21/12/2001

It is hoped that this web page offers the most useful auto durability information ever set forth in any medium. Some discussion of its shortcomings appears at the end. It should also be noted that the BMW Roster of high mileage vehicles is new as of early December 2001; consequently, for this year's durability page there is but one entry.

The main purpose of this web page is to help give visitors some idea as to what they can expect from the products of manufacturers with reputations for more mentionable quality and durability. Click here to be taken directly to those sections providing assessments that contrast vehicles made by Toyota and BMW against those made by the Big Three (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler). The symbol is used to highlight those sections.

Reported Background of Listees

 

Gender:
   

Toyota:

12 Males   1 Female
   

BMW:

  1 Male     0 Female
 

Years of Education:
   

Toyota median:

18 years (11 respondents)
   

BMW median:

20 years (1 respondent)
  SAT Score:
   

Toyota median:

1367 (2 respondents)
   

BMW median:

1398 (1 respondent)
  Academic Percentile:
   

Toyota median:

91 (3 respondents)
   

BMW median:

98 (1 respondent)

Reported Background of Vehicles

 

Year:
   

Toyota median:

1985 (13 respondents)
   

BMW median:

1984 (1 respondent)

 

Mileage:
   

Toyota median:

237,600 miles (13 respondents - 10 from the 200,000-300,000 mile group and 3 from the 300,000-400,000 mile group)
   

BMW median:

242,891 miles (1 respondent)

Reported Vehicle Performance

 

Original engine, transmission and air conditioner:
   

Toyota:

9 listees reported having the original engine, transmission, and air conditioner; 4 reported that either the engine or the transmission or the air conditioner is not original.
   

BMW:

The sole listee reported that all three were original.
 

Any significant amount of time or money spent on repair, renovation or cleaning of the original engine, transmission or air conditioner?
   

Toyota:

7 said no; 5 said yes.
   

BMW:

The sole listee said no.
  Some reasons for owning the high mileage vehicle:
   

Toyota:

9 reported, "The vehicle is the embodiment of engineering excellence, which I appreciate."

10 reported, "The vehicle is the embodiment of engineering excellence, which I passionately enjoy."
   

BMW:

The sole listee reported, "The vehicle is the embodiment of engineering excellence, which I appreciate."
  Some descriptions of feelings for vehicle:
   

Toyota:

6 reported respect for its rather flawless performance, 11 reported fondness for its faithful performance, 8 reported an attachment because its utilitarian value is several or many times its current market value, and 7 reported an attachment because its esthetic and engineering value is several or many times its current market value.
   

BMW:

The sole listee reported respect for its rather flawless performance, fondness for its faithful performance, and an attachment because its esthetic and engineering value is many times its current market value.
 

Current engine performance:
   

Toyota:

5 reported, "It runs now as well as it did when it was new."
     

5 reported, "It runs now nearly as well as it did when it was new."
     

1 reported, "It runs some worse now than when it was new."
     

1 reported, "It runs quite noticeably worse now than when it was new."
     

1 reported that he was in the process of replacing the engine.
   

BMW:

The sole listee reported, "It runs now nearly as well as it did when it was new."
  Current performance of mechanical parts other than the engine:
   

Toyota:

 4 reported, "They run now as well as they did when they were new."
      6 reported, "They run now nearly as well as they did when they were new."
      3 reported, "They run some worse now than when they were new.
    BMW: The sole listee reported, "They run now nearly as well as they did when they were new."
  Current operation of electrical parts:
    Toyota: 5 reported, "They operate now as well as they did when they were new."
      6 reported, "They operate now nearly as well as they did when they were new."
      2 reported, "They run some worse now than when they were new.
    BMW: The sole listee reported, "They operated now nearly as well as they did when they were new."
  Change in engine noise from time of purchase as new vehicle:
    Toyota median: 0 (7 respondents)
    BMW median:

No median as sole BMW listee purchased his vehicle used.
  Change in other noise from time of purchase as new vehicle:
    Toyota median:

0 (7 respondents)
    BMW median:

No median as sole BMW listee purchased his vehicle used.
 

Current dilapidation (taking account of noise, poorly functioning or nonfunctional components, loss of trim, loss of exterior color, fading, bleeding, cracking or warping of plastics, etc.) on the following scale:
   
-20         -15         -10         -5         0

barely usable     very great           considerable             some            nearly none
    Toyota median:

-3 (13 respondents)
    BMW median:

-8 (1 respondent)
  Change in comfort from time of purchase as new vehicle:
    Toyota median:

0 (7 respondents):
    BMW median:

No median as sole BMW listee purchased his vehicle used.
 

Change in overall pleasantness from time of purchase as new vehicle:
    Toyota median:

0 (7 respondents)
    BMW median:

No median as sole BMW listee purchased his vehicle used.

Estimate as to when vehicle operated or will operate as a typical Big Three vehicle with 3,000 miles
    Toyota median:

100,000 - 200,000 miles (9 respondents)
    BMW median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (1 respondent)

Estimate as to when vehicle operated or will operate as a typical Big Three vehicle with 6,000 miles
    Toyota median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (9 respondents)
    BMW median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (1 respondent)

Estimate as to when vehicle operated or will operate as a typical Big Three vehicle with 22,000 miles
    Toyota median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (9 respondents)
    BMW median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (1 respondent)

Estimate as to when interior of vehicle aged or will age to that of a typical Big Three vehicle with 25,000 miles
    Toyota median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (9 respondents)
    BMW median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (1 respondent)

Estimate as to when interior of vehicle aged or will age to that of a typical Big Three vehicle with 40,000 miles
    Toyota median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (9 respondents)
    BMW median:

200,000 - 300,000 miles (1 respondent)

Estimate as to when Big Three will have engineered a motor vehicle as reliable, dependable, comfortable, smooth in operation, and quiet as respondent's vehicle
    Toyota median:

10-20 years (10 respondents)
    BMW median:

30-40 years (1 respondent)

Requirement for replacing current vehicle with a new Big Three vehicle
    Toyota median:

Gift of the Big Three vehicle, plus $20,000 compensation for the first year, more subsequently (13 respondents with responses distributed as follows:
        0 5% reduction in the selling price of the Big Three vehicle
        0 20% reduction in the selling price of the Big Three vehicle
        2 50% reduction in the selling price of the Big Three vehicle
        4 Gift of the Big Three vehicle
        1 Gift of the Big Three vehicle plus $20,000 compensation for the first year, more subsequently
        1 Gift of the Big Three vehicle plus $200,000 compensation for the first year, more subsequently
        5 Unwilling to make such a replacement)
    BMW median:

Gift of the Big Three vehicle (1 respondent)

Estimated Life Expectancy of a Toyota motor vehicle from the first half of the 1980s. This query was a recent addition which was replaced by another; hence, there are only two responses.
    Toyota median:

600,000 - 800,000 miles (2 respondents)
    BMW median:

N/A
Estimated Life Expectancy of a Big Three engineered vehicle
    Toyota median:

0 - 200,000 miles (2 respondents)
    BMW median:

0 - 200,000 miles (1 respondent)

The principal shortcoming of the above data and information is the sample size. With a sample of one for BMW, the data and information, save when it may be combined with that for Toyota, is a very poor guide and maybe a meaningless guide for a person with a significantly different SAT score, percentile, or educational achievement. The sample for Toyota also is small and weighted very heavily at the high aptitude end. Nonetheless, the advantage of having such talented samples is that they may have accorded an acumen of observation that only a much larger sample about the norm might have offered.

Another shortcoming is the generality of the questions asked. For example, three queries ask the respondent to estimate when his/her vehicle operated like a typical Big Three vehicle at 3,000 miles, 6,000 miles, and 22,000 miles. One problem with these queries is that riding in or operating a Big Three vehicle may have been so detestable for the Toyota or BMW owner that he/she may not have done it for 5, 10 or 20 years. Consequently, his/her concept of how a Big Three vehicle operates with each of these mileages may be old and may have been updated only by curb side or stopped car observations, which may or may not have been adequate for him/her to accurately characterize the operation of a more current Big Three vehicle. Or the respondent may be simply comparing his/her Toyota/BMW experiences with his/her experiences with Big Three vehicles of a similar vintage, possibly with the thought, right or wrong, that little has changed.

A third shortcoming is that we don't have a characterization of the listees' driving and car maintenance habits. For example, the listees may have more gentle driving habits and/or more meticulous car maintenance habits than the average motorist, or they may not. And while there may be reasonable conjectures as to how these habits may affect responses to some of the queries, how these habits may affect the responses to other queries seems entirely unpredictable. To correct for this shortcoming, the questionnaires have been modified to solicit information from future respondents on such habits.

Site manager emphasizes that these are early steps in a new field of enquiry. The immediate objective is to give a very rough idea as to relative life, operational, and esthetic expectancies. Only after many years of enquiry may we be able to associate probabilities and expectancies to particular products and consumer groups. And then the pace of technological change, not to mention the increased Big Three reliance on Japanese components, may make such a task troublesome or impossible.

Finally, an acknowledgment is in order. Via the comments page, a young girl (gender is a conjecture based on manner of expression) or teenager left a message that briefly stated her mother's thoughts on the matter of durability. From these remarks, there appeared a need for one page providing a comprehensive view of all of the durability information gathered to date from Auto on Info's high mileage roster listees. Hence, came this page, and an additional query in the high mileage roster questionnaires.

Links to Other Pages and Sections of Auto on Info: Internet's Auto-Quality News-and-Information Hub since 2001
Durability Tables and Charts
Page 1 - Original Durability Page Page 2 - Results of 2001 Survey Page 3 - CCC's 15 Most Frequently Stolen Page 4 - 2001 Summary of Rosters Page 5 - Top 20 High Mileage Page 6 - The 2006 Study of Model Year 1998 Page 7 - The 2006 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998 Page 8 - The 2006 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998 Page 9 - The 2007 Dilapidation Rates for Model Years 1998 - 2002
Page 10 - The 2007 Study of Model Year 1999 Page 11 - The 2007 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999 Page 12 - The 2007 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999 Page 13 - 2007 Pickup Durability Updates for Model Years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 Roster of 300,000-Mile Vehicles with Statistical Summary        
The 2007 Reliability Percentranks and Grades: A Seventeen-Year History of Vehicles of Various Age Ranges
To view the 2007 tables of Reliability Percentranks and Reliability Grades by vehicle type, click the applicable type.
Small Cars Sports Cars, Sporty Cars and Coupes Family Cars and Large Cars Upscale and Luxury Cars SUVs Minivans Pickups Manufacturer Averages All Autos
To view tables of Reliability Percentranks and Reliability Grades by vehicle line, click the applicable line.
Acura Audi BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Eagle
Ford GMC Honda Hyundai Infiniti Isuzu Jaguar Jeep Kia
Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercury Mini Cooper Mitsubishi Nissan
Oldsmobile Plymouth Pontiac Porsche Saab Saturn Scion Subaru Suzuki
Toyota Volkswagen Volvo            
Beginning with the 2007 updates, the Reliability Grades and Reliability Percentranks of motor vehicle lines and types will appear on the same page. This should quicken comparisons.
To view charts of Reliability Percentrank averages and Percentranks and extrapolations, click the applicable line.
Acura Audi BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Eagle
Ford GMC Honda Hyundai Infiniti Isuzu Jaguar Jeep Kia1
Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercury Mini Cooper1 Mitsubishi1 Nissan
Oldsmobile Plymouth Pontiac Porsche1 Saab Saturn Scion1 Subaru Suzuki1
Toyota Volkswagen Volvo            

1Current data are insufficient to warrant charts.
To view tables of the Best and Worst motor vehicle models, click the applicable year.
Best and Worst of 1988 Best and Worst of 1989 Best and Worst of 1990 Best and Worst of 1991 Best and Worst of 1992 Best and Worst of 1993 Best and Worst of 1994 Best and Worst of 1995 Best and Worst of 1996
Best and Worst of 1997 Best and Worst of 1998 Best and Worst of 1999 Best and Worst of 2000 Best and Worst of 2001 Best and Worst of 2002 Best and Worst of 2003 Best and Worst of 2004 Summary
Chart Summary of 2006 Updates Chart and Table Summary of 2007 Updates Chart and Table Summary of 2008 Updates            
The 2007 Charts of Gaps
Charts of the Great Gaps Extrapolations of the Great Gaps              
The 2007 Reliability Index Tables and Charts: A Thirteen-Year History of 6-to-8-Year-Old Vehicles
Table I - All Models Table I: Part 1: The Top Four Table I: Part 2: The Historic Middle Group Table I: Part 3: VW and GM Table I: Part 4: Ford and Chrysler A Summary of Important Points of Table I Table II - Averages The Bottom Line Chart of the Great Gulf
Chart of the 10 Best and the 10 Worst Chart of SUV RIVs Chart of Minivan RIVs Chart of Family Sedan RIVs Chart of Luxury Sedan RIVs Chart of Pickup RIVs Noteworthy Models The Kingship of Worst-Ness  

Additional Information Pertaining to Durability and Long-Term Ownership

Articles on Consumer Reports' 2008 Reliability Ratings for Model Years 1998 through 2007
(Each chart is linked to a news article providing additional information.)
Some Charts Pertaining to Durability
(Each chart is linked to a news article providing additional information.)

Additional Charts and Tables appear below the list of news articles.

Some Auto News Articles:

December 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: Honda Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1999 Model of Honda Motor Company Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1999 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age
November 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: Toyota Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1999 Model of Toyota Motor Corporation Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1999 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age
September 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 of the 5 Most Durable Vehicle Lines; General Motors - 5 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical 1999 Toyota or Honda Model Be More Trouble Free at about 20 Years of Age Than a Typical 1999 GM Model at 3?
September 2007: Toyota and Honda Account for All of Consumer Reports' 2007 Long-Run Good Bets
August 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 3-to-5 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 18 of 19 Best, GM - 24 of 61 Worst
July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 4-to-6 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 17 of 17 Best, GM - 24 of 56 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 13 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age?
July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 12 of 13 Best, GM - 19 of 48 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 21 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age?
July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 13 of 13 Best, GM - 18 of 43 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 19 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age?
July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 7-to-9 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 11 of 12 Best, GM - 22 of 41 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 30 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age?
March 2007: Toyota and Honda Increase Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List: Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap
March 2007: Chevrolet Upholds a Tradition: GM's Chevrolet Line Worst by CR's 2007 Vehicles-to-Avoid List
March 2007: GM Expands Lead on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List, a Tad
January 2007: Toyota Expands Dominance on Durability Measure
January 2007: Big Three Dominate 2006 and Cumulative U.S. Safety Recalls
January 2007: In the U.S. in 2006, Consumers Quicken Their Pace to Quality: Toyota Sales Soar and Honda Sales Rise as Big Three Sales Plunge
December 2006: Filling the Quota at the Consumer's Expense? How CR's 1998 GM Recommendations Fared
November 2006: True Value Estimates of GM's 2007 Vehicles
November 2006: The 2006 Updates: Honda Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1998 Model of Honda Motor Company Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1998 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age
November 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1998 Model of Toyota Motor Corporation Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1998 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age
October 2006: Site Manager's 1984 Corolla Passes 500,000 Mark
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 of 5 Most Durable Sport-Utility Vehicles; General Motors - 7 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical 1998 Toyota SUV Be More Trouble Free at 21 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM SUV at 3?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota Tops in Pickup Reliability and Durability: Just How Bad, or Disastrous, Are GM Pickups?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 Most Durable Vehicle Lines; General Motors - 4 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota or Honda 1998 Model Be More Trouble Free at 20 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM Model at 3?
September 2006: Reliability Updates: Best and Worst Cars and Trucks Tables: A Chart Summary
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 7 of 10 Best, GM - 17 of 36 Worst
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 9 of 13 Best, GM - 17 of 42 Worst
August 2006: Fitch Cuts Ford Debt Deeper into Junk, Retains Negative Outlook, Puts Estimated Post-Bankruptcy Recovery at 51-70%; Will GM-Ford Race to Bankruptcy End in Dead Heat?
August 2006: Toyota Dominates Auto on Info's Rosters of High Mileage Vehicles; Honda Places Second: Another Auto Manufacturer Durability Award for Each
August 2006: Ford Announces Recall of 1.2 Million More Incendiaries, But No New Relief for Owners of GM's Runaways, Collapsing Tailgates, and Engine Knockers
January 2006: Toyota Overwhelmingly Dominates Another Measure of Durability
August 2005: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota Garners 7 of Top 10 Reliability Percentranks, General Motors Gathers 23 of Lowest 36