Land Rover Lowest On JD Power Rankings

August 8, 2008
By: Robert Silverman

Throughout the year, we receive countless calls from folks looking for car buying advice.  Many figure that by calling 1-800 LEMON LAW prior to buying a car, they may be able to prevent problems “down the road” so to speak. For that reason, since 2001, we have teamed up consumer advocate Jack Gillis and the wonderful team at the Center for Auto Safety to provide the Car Complaint Index to consumers.  We feel that an educated consumer is an effective consumer.

Yesterday, JD Power & Associates came out with their dependability rankings and it appears that Land Rover is lowest on the Power totem pole.  While the Car Complaint Index looks at specific models, JD Power looks at brand quality.  They rank their cars based on an average of car problems; how many problems are reported per 100 cars, as experienced by original owners of these cars after three years.  The industry average is 206 problems per 100 cars, roughly averaging 2 problems per car.

Here are the brands that fall below the industry average:  Audi 207, Mercedes Benz 215, Nissan 224, Pontiac 225, GMC 226, Mazda 228, Subaru 228, Chrysler 229, Dodge 230, Mini 233, Chevrolet 239, Hummer 241, Scion 243, Volvo 244, Saturn 250, Jeep 253, Volkswagen 253, Saab 254, Isuzu 274, Kia 278, Suzuki 302, and lastly Land Rover with 344 problems reported per 100 cars.  This is not good news for the SUV manufacturer, which was recently sold by Ford to an Indian company.

So, who’s on top?  Number one with a bullet for the 14th consecutive year is Lexus, followed by Mercury and Cadillac.