VW Jetta–A Best Bet & On The Car Complaint Index–How Can This Be?

Eagle eyed blog readers may notice that one vehicle, the Volkswagen Jetta, is mentioned both on the 2007 Car Complaint Index (in the number 3 position) and among the compact cars in this year’s Best Bets. How can that be?

“Best Bets” are based on expected performance in ten categories (crash tests, safety features, fuel economy, rollover, overall, maintenance and repair costs, warranties, insurance costs, and complaints), with the greatest emphasis placed on crash test performance and complaints.

The Car Complaint Index compares the number of complaints submitted to the National Traffic Safety Administration to the number of sales. The Jetta has been one of VW’s top selling cars for many years, and with higher sales sometimes comes a higher number of complaints from drivers. As we discussed in a previous blog entry, these comments can be subjective. However, it is important to note that we saw consumers complaining about the same components, namely electrical, so we feel their observations may carry some merit and perhaps this is an issue the manufacturer may want to look into.

On the other side of the coin, the CCI does not take any of the other factors into consideration, most notably VW’s 4 year/50,000 mile warranty, safety features, and fuel economy, all of which are ideal for a consumer looking for a compact vehicle.

Hope this clears up the confusion! Safe driving!

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