Credibility of Consumer Reports?

[BeaufortTJustice]

Another thread prompted me to post this in order to correct some erroneous information concerning Consumer Reports testing methodology and other aspects of their testing.

It has been previously stated as a fact that CR gets products sent to them by manufacturers...this is untrue. Per the CR website, they purchase their items anonymously.

quote: "After additional research to define a project's scope, staff shoppers?assisted by a network of shoppers in 65 U.S. cities?buy the products we use as test samples."

If you read the information on their website, especially the portion titled, "how we test" you will learn the info firsthand...do not rely upon others with "supposed" inside knowledge to feed you misinformation.

I am not affiliated in any way with CR, but I have a pet-peeve when it comes to so-called "experts" advising people with blatantly erroneous information.

Any other thoughts or experiences with CR? They are probably not perfect, but I believe they have built their company and reputation upon being as unbiased as possible, unlike some other "review" sites and companies.

 

[RicMic]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I have very little confidence in anything they say, I would read their reports, BUT draw my own conclusions. Not all of their comparisons are hard data, much of it is the biased opinions of the tester. I have read their boat tests, that were just silly, either the tester knew very little about boats or there were outside influences.

 

[JB]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I trust CR for most of my purchasing decisions. I have done so for more years than I can remember and have never been disappointed with their advice.

Folk wisdom from shade tree know-it-alls has disappointed me many, many times.

 

[jkust]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

You know when they test things like tv's or washer/dryers or electronics I really pay attention. They test more units than I could ever really test myself to make a decision. We actually chose our house paint based on their reviews. I would never have thought a Walmart paint would outperform the pack. When it comes to cars (since I realize the annual vehicle issue is a big deal) I believe in general what they have to say but make my own decisions regardless. I would rather have the Lexus lx 470 over our SUV or the Honda minivan over our American minivan but they are both just too expensive for us and we accept what is generally toubted as a lesser vehicle. Really the idea of a nonpartisan review of products makes a lot of sense.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

What I don't trust the credibility of is someone who doubts the credibility of consumer reports.

Like JB, I've never been disappointed to use their advice. However, I have been disappointed by going with Bubba's advice.

 

[BuckyBadger]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I would rather have the Lexus lx 470 over our SUV or the Honda minivan over our American minivan but they are both just too expensive for us and we accept what is generally toubted as a lesser vehicle.

That's where I find CR the most valuable. They rank the products but then give their 'best buys' and the best buys are rarely whatever ranks the highest. When I shop I prioritize value and for me the CR Best Buy are usually spot on.

 

[Tig]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

Consumer reports are valuable insight but I do not always agree with the ranking criteria that they use. I'm not saying that it is wrong, it just does not suit me.

edit; Perfect example. They have a Ford Ranger listed in the lowest score category. I love my ranger. It's awesome (for me).

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

Consumer reports are valuable insight but I do not always agree with the ranking criteria that they use. I'm not saying that it is wrong, it just does not suit me.

edit; Perfect example. They have a Ford Ranger listed in the lowest score category. I love my ranger. It's awesome (for me).

That's why you don't work for Consumer Reports.

They don't rank vehicles on how much their owners love them. They are based on current and past reliability and performance, etc. My dad loves his Ford F-150 but it certainly couldn't come near a Toyota or Nissan for reliability.

They do their reports based on raw data. That way they can't show bias. The Ford Ranger has had a long history of reliability issues. That's not to say their owners don't love them, of course they do. But as far as raw data is concerned, it is one of the worst.

My dad LOVES his snapper riding mower. It's also one of the most repair prone brands according to CR. He's had to repair it several times. Does that mean he doesn't love it? No. Does that mean Consumer Reports was wrong? Absolutely not.

What I want to know, Tig, if you had say so over CR, how would you rank items compared to each other, like riding lawnmowers or washers and dryers?

 

[Brewman61]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I think part of the issue is people taking the rankings personally. Like in the Ford Ranger example.
I too have a Ford Ranger- it's a 2002 with about 72,000 miles and has been one of the most unreliable repair prone vehicles I've ever owned, and I've owned it since day one.
In my opinion, it deserves being at the bottom of the rankings, based on my personal experience. But to the guy who owns one that hasn't needed repairs, they'd think the rankings as false.
They're merely reporting on a number of owner surveys. Over many thousand surveys, trends will emerge.
Disagree or agree isn't the point- it's information you can use or choose to ignore. Not unlike the advice solicited in this forum. It's based on all kinds of criteria, including possible personal bias.
Take it for what it's worth to you.

 

[Tig]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

Water, if you reread my first post you'll see that you are agreeing with me as you attack me. I did say they give valuable insight but I differ on the criteria when it come to selecting a vehicle "for me" (not you or anyone else. I have no opinion on that.)
For example, if I take a look at the CR evaluation criteria for an automobile transmission I see "For manual transmissions, the testers evaluate the shift action, how easy it is to move the shift lever through the shifter gate, and they gauge the feel of the stick shift in use. " I really don't care about that enough to consider it. Some of the toughest trannys are not beautys to shift.
As for hard data, if my Ranger is one of the worst in terms of reliability, then my Toyota must be an off the chart piece of junk. That's what my maintenance receipts and driving history show. I have found the Toyota to be much more expensive to own. I figure it's because it does not suit me. Just my experience and it does not apply to anyone else.

 

[RicMic]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

What I don't trust the credibility of is someone who doubts the credibility of consumer reports. .

Their boat test was a silly piece of garbage, but some people like to believe in things like that, after all, it dosn't take much effort to read a magazine.

 

[Cofe]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

Interesting post

For Consumer Reports I like to look at items on Amazon.com. Some things I will not trust for CR are big money items, and tires for example.
Other things like my driveway monitor, or electronics, I rely on CRs.

 

[Rudi2]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

Their boat test was a silly piece of garbage.

I've found most of their tests on items that I am familiar with to be that way. But I guess a little info on an item is better than none, just have to use your best judgement.

 

[ufm82]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I use the reports when I look to purchase electronics, appliances and the like more like a reference than for their opinions. I have had good luck in general but really had to take issue with a dishwasher I bought that they had listed as a Best Buy or whatever their term is. I looked at them all and bought based on CR and price. The unit is AWFUL- it doesn't dry the dishes worth a poop, the "jet dry" feature clogged instantly and has never worked and it's LOUD- despite it having a "quiet package" and CR saying that it was extremely quiet. The piece is a piece and I wish I had never bought it.
However, I've made other purchases and have been very happy. It's just another source of info.

UFM82

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I use the reports when I look to purchase electronics, appliances and the like more like a reference than for their opinions. I have had good luck in general but really had to take issue with a dishwasher I bought that they had listed as a Best Buy or whatever their term is. I looked at them all and bought based on CR and price. The unit is AWFUL- it doesn't dry the dishes worth a poop, the "jet dry" feature clogged instantly and has never worked and it's LOUD- despite it having a "quiet package" and CR saying that it was extremely quiet. The piece is a piece and I wish I had never bought it.
However, I've made other purchases and have been very happy. It's just another source of info.

UFM82

Say, is that the Kenmore unit with the "Turbo zone" feature? If so, I got one based on CR recommendations, and I concur it is a piece of garbage.

 

[Mark SF]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I believe their testing methodology is sound, as is their integrity. For appliances that I own I find I mostly agree with what they say. (TV, Blu-ray player, vacuum, PC, etc.)

For cars they are right on with reliability. If they have a fault they tend to over-stress reliability and not realise that certain something that makes people love their cars. I mean my Jaguar XJ8 doesn't score well on reliability or competitiveness with MB or BMW but it's got something that makes me keep it!

Just treat them as a source of info, not the word and the law.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

What I do, since I'm broke, is go to a brick and mortar type store, write down all the model numbers that I like of a particular type of whatever, and then go home and google each one followed by the word "review." 9 times out of 10 you will get dozens, if not hundreds, of reviews from people just like me and you. For the most part I find the reviews useful, but as with all reviews, you must take them with a grain of salt. Some people don't know how to use a product, and in their frustration, post negative reviews about the product. If a product has 50 good reviews and 2 bad, you can probably bank its a good item.

You must always remember people are more likely to leave a bad review than a good one. If you are happy with your product, most of the time, that's it, you take it, begin using it and long forget about the website you got the reviews for it from. However, if it breaks, or otherwise upsets you or doesn't meet your expectations (which could very well be too high anyway, an example is below) you are more likely to go and post a negative review of the product. That must be taken into consideration when reading reviews.

Each product has it's own unique "quirks" that you must read into a review. For instance, an LCD TV....some people install them in areas with too much glare and then complain about the washed out look of the screen. You can't tell where this person has the tv installed, all you read is that the screen looks washed out. Others might expect a low end, cheap computer to hard core game, and when it doesn't, they give it 1 star and rip it a new one in a review. Neither of these instances is the fault of the item being reviewed, but of the reviewer either not knowing where to install it or expecting too much of it. The reason I give these examples is these are both examples of review issues I ran into in doing research for a TV and computer for my parents.

I was reading reviews on a particular gun. One person said it was bad, all the rest said it was fantastic. Can anyone say, "bad shot?"

And then another one might say "item didn't even work when we took it out the box!!!!" yet what they don't tell you is the huge hole in the side of the box where it was dropped at some point during shipping, or they dropped it themselves trying to install it. Ahh, left out that little tidbit of information....

Just a little info I thought I'd pass on.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

To me its just like reading the news.. Take in lots of sources and then you decide what to think of it..

Sort of like if you go to Edmunds for car reviews. It is not uncommon for the "formal" review to give a lower rasting than the user submitted review. This is the same issue. Both of the review types offer valuable information, but ulitmately you have to understand the perspective of the review before you can judge its applicability to your situation.

I have found CR to be accurate in the times that I have used it. But since there are so many user submitted, experiential reviews, I know look at things like CR to be more of a product comparison and evaluation, as opposed to a recommendation. Then I go to the experiential reviews for depth and confirmation of the evaluation..

 

[Buzz Killington]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I used to read it, now I ignore it. I realized that too often the results were skewed by expectations.

For a simple example, CR always rates Jeep Wranglers poorly across the board, so I went for years without one. I always wanted one, read Edmunds reviews religiously, pored over Jeep forums, and finally bought one. It has been pain-free. Does it suck gas? Yes. Does it ride rough? Yes. Is it loud? But it's a JEEP. Why would I rate it poorly for being precisely what I expected?

My father LIVES by CR reviews. He spends hours reading them and is often not satisfied by what he buys. If I need a radio, for instance, I go to the store, pick something just above the "halfway point" model, and I am invariably satisfied, without agonizing over what anyone else thinks.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Credibility of Consumer Reports?

I don't need no stinkin reports, if harbor freight don't sell it I don't need it.