Drove a 2013 Fiat 500 for a week; Love my Yaris even more

[why?]

Originally Posted by roxy1

that's mini. the point wasn't about mini. the point was that the whole "superior reliability" mantra just isn't supported by empirical data anymore (the way it clearly was 15+ years ago). there are a bunch of other makes that have less repairs than Toyota did just 11 yrs ago...ford, chevy, Nissan, etc...that are not real expensive to repair or maintain (certainly not noticeably more than are Toyotas).

are Toyota's a little more reliable than most other makes? yes, but by an ever shrinking margin. are Toyotas cheaper to maintain and fix than mini or vw? yes, so are most other makes that are pretty close to what it costs to maintain and repair a Toyota.

for me, long gone are the days of having to look at only Hondas and Toyotas...I can look at just about any small car out there and not be too worried about dependability or repair costs (mini and vw not withstanding)

Way to try to sidestep everything. Nothing beats the reliability and the dirt cheap cost of the Yaris. And while all cars are getting better, they still aren't Toyota. Just assuming every car is going to be reliable is the way to find yourself buying a total lemon. like this guy.

Yes, all cars are getting better. But That doesn't make all car experiences equal. Nor does it make all dealer networks equal. And it certainly doesn't make all cost of ownership equal, which again, is so much more important than specific number of problems per car.

Because let's face it, the survey is massively flawed. Like the year oldsmobile closed and all of a sudden all those oldsmobile owners bought kia's and hyundai's and what do you know? All of a sudden kia and hyundai's are at the top of the list. Until those people who are too nice to complain realize those cars are not very good.

Stop harping on one small study and realize there is so much more to a car ownership experience. The big picture is more important than any single small snapshot that 1 survey takes.