You spend more of your hard-earned money than ever to buy a new car…it should be a satisfying experience.
Next to buying a house, getting a new car is one of life’s biggest purchases, so it makes sense to carry some higher expectations into the process. After all, most of us are committed for a good while to whatever we pick thanks to costly auto loans, but Consumer Reports surveyed members to see which cars buyers were the least satisfied with after taking the plunge.
Their premise for an “owner satisfaction score” is a straightforward one: Would you buy the same new vehicle again?
Expanding on my earlier “expectations” comment, most folks obviously don’t expect something like a Toyota Camry to have the same sort of ambience as, say, a Bentley. Nevertheless, the Camry is not on this list, suggesting its owners are definitely happier with what they do get for their hard-earned cash. Others in CR’s survey come up short, even if they did make a case for themselves in road tests and predicted reliability scores. Owners of these models agree to disagree, with fewer than half saying they would buy any given model again, as a best-case scenario.
How likely would owners be to buy the same car again? The results:
- Nissan Altima: 48%
- Volkswagen Jetta: 47%
- Kia Forte: 47%
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 46%
- Kia Seltos: 45%
- Nissan Kicks: 44%
- Kia Sorento Hybrid: 42%
- Nissan Sentra: 39%
- Volkswagen Taos: 38%
- Infiniti QX50: 25%
While less expensive cars do dominate the results, there are some luxury models here as well. More importantly, it’s not like we see an entire segment’s worth of similar models in the lower-end of the results. There are satisfying compact sedans out there competing against the Nissan Sentra and Volkswagen Jetta. In both cases, at least half of the owners say they’d buy something different if they had to do it again, though that may well mean just buying a Honda Civic, a Mazda 3 or a Toyota Corolla (or something else entirely) instead.
Of course, just looking at the numbers offers up a relatively narrow viewpoint of whether a certain car is generally worth buying. These results don’t delve too deeply into why owners are dissatisfied with their purchases, though you can fill in the blanks yourself if you’re researching your next new car to buy. The survey is still something to consider, though, and results like these emphasize that it is worth shopping around any segment, even if you’ve been brand loyal. Again, it’s a big purchase, so it’s worth taking your time and looking at the options, including owner feedback and testimonials.
