Interesting Thread.
A 96 Coupe. In once, for getting the alignment straightened up so the steering wheel was straight. 30K miles. Other service was oil change and tires.
A 2002 Vert. Never in shop except for oil change. 8k miles. (new windsheild, but not cars fault.)
A 2003 Vert. Oil change and tires. 30K miles
A 2008 Z. 6 K, not even oil change, yet.
Basic complaint, rear tires wear out about every 10K, and are expensive! Hard to complain about the service record, but then I don't drive as hard as some vett owners do.
I would agree with basic premise of thread, my Toyota is smoother and tighter (and tires last a lot longer), but not near as much fun to drive. I think American Cars get a bad rap on reliability, my wifes Saturn View is as good as the Toyota. Wonder why CR is so tough on American cars?

 

CR's automobile survey is nothing but a damn opinion poll. Nothing scientific, objective or verifiable to it. I've done it twice. The questions asked are subjective. I've owned 7 previous Corvettes and own a 07 vert now. Are they perfect, NO. My Hondas have not been perfect, either. The best car I ever had was a 65 Corvair Corsa Coupe. Little to go wrong. My favorite car of all is my current vette. Screw CR's review, they probably drive a Smart Car.

 

OK, I call ! Anyone who thinks that an average Corvette has better reliability than an average Honda or Toyota just isn't facing reality. Most Hondas & Toyotas are daily drivers and most Vettes are not. Given that, the fact that it is a much higher-performance car and the fact that it is a GM car, lower reliability is bound to happen with a Vette.

 

Really you should just say Who cares!!!

I look at my car and I love it, I drive it and I love it more.
I don't give a S##T who or what magazine has to say. I have never bought a car on any Mag recommendation.

 

 

My wife has a 2007 Civic EX, it's had three recalls so far, no problems, just recalls. My last car, a 2001 Camaro Z28/SS, over 125,000 miles and 0 problems, loved that car.

 

Maybe if we where talking 1970's-1990's GM cars. But since about 2000 GM has been building some reliable cars, Corvette included. The problem is people's attitude hasn't changed. An issue on a domestic car is RARELY given a pass, while an Asian or European car owner will tend to overlook the little things because the models are reliable in the surveys. Basically the attitude becomes with the Euro and Asian cars "Maybe I am the issue" and with the Domestic it is "Obviously it is shoddy engineering," that skews survey results and makes them pretty much worthless.

 

JD Power rates it pretty well.

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/Chevrol.../Coupe/ratings

 

Look, don't take my comments the wrong way. I am very happy with the reliability of my Corvette. I wouldn't have bought a C6 if I didn't think they were great, solid, reliable cars. That said, I didn't buy it to baby it.

In a way, this is an apples-to-oranges issue. My guess is:
1. There are very few Corvettes CONSISTENTLY on the road than most Hondas and Toyotas.
2. MOST of those Corvettes are driven in a harder manner than other cars.
3. MOST of those Corvettes are taking shorter trips and sit longer.
4. There are very few Corvettes sold than other cars so the data is skewed to other cars like Hondas and Toyotas.

 

Vettes aren't unreliable! They're "temperamental."

I have owned a Subaru (groan) and one Ford in my lifetime and all the rest have been GM products (mostly Chevy except for one Trans-Am and one GMC van).

The Chevy products have been most reliable with very little maintenance and I keep them for longer than most people keep their cars...always WAY more than 100,000 miles before I sell them or donate them.

I think, unless you happen to get an occasional lemon, that GM has an excellent reliability track record, especially the trucks.

 

Quoting Caribou Barbie now: "You betcha."

 

My 2004 Ford Explorer (with less than 25k mi.) was in the shop for at least 10 major warranty repairs/recalls before I got rid of it. Included in that was a replacement of the TIMING CHAIN, GAS TANK, REAR AXLE, and body parts (twice) on the rear door.

Trust me, I love my Vette's reliability compared to that!

 

I thought that was a tradition for CR to bash Vettes!!!!!

 

I can't recall ever buying a vehicle with consideration given to what Consumer Reports had to say. My experience with Corvette and other GM vehicles doesn't support their findings. I think it's sad someone might decide against buying a Corvette based on a CR review.

 

I knew what I was getting into when I bought the Corvette and so far I have no complaints. I know the possibility is there. That's why I bought the GMPP that expires in 2012.

 

Consumer reports should be renamed. To Consumer reports on how we hate American products. You would think obama owns this rag. They hate American products with a capital H. They are biased.

I do not buy or even look at this rag. They rate cars, washing machines, and irons. It's a bogus magazine. Do not fret over this useless magazine unless your in the market for a blow dryer or something.

 

WTF ? Shouldn't you be seeing a neurologist for that instead of a Chevy dealership?

 

Consumer reports has always had a bias against domestic cars.

GM's engineering talent is among the best. Much of the modern technology we see starts on GM products. AFAIK knock sensors (and ignition retard) started on the Buick GN. GM was light years adead of everyone on the self diagnostic available through ALDL port. In 1985, you could read trouble codes with a paper clip and reading how many times the trouble light blinked. BTW, Hondas still had carburetors when my Camaro had port fuel injection. Same thing for air bags vs. the seat belt on track on the A pillar. GM was first to bring active handling to a production car (C5) and the F55 type system.

Everyone dumped pushrod engines while they followed the herd. The LSx kicks everyone's *** in terms of HP/ cu ft of underhood space, weight, fuel economy, required maintenance (cough cough timing belt).

My Ford buddies compared the mods on their modular V8's based on how they compare to a stock LS1 . Tayota has to use a 32V motor in it's truck to compete with the 5.3L and 6.0L pushrod motor in the GMs.

Longevity and severe duty seem to be no problem fro the GM engines either.

The list is endless. GM's problem is not it's engineering. It's the upper management and accountants. The crankshaft pulley would be a perfect example. The keyed crankshaft worked for half a century. But they switched to the press on dampener w/ the LS1. That would be an upper management decision based on save a buck or two per unit, not a design issue.

 

Come on guys do you reall think the vette has the reliability that other cars do? What the hell are you smoking? Just because they are reporting issues on reliability it doesnt mean they are biased... maybe the people returning the surveys are biased Ill give you that "Asian import fanboys who wont respond to survey if their car is a lemon" but frankly if you look at defects/million the vette isnt a poster child...

Lets see:
5 weeks total time in dealer with 6 trips to dealer to fix computer issues
Faulty fuel sensor
Faulty climate control
Faulty steering sensor
Crank Pulley Bolt...
All within the first 30K miles

I love my vette but for all of you claiming its reliable you obviously have never driven trully reliable cars i.e. ZERO visits to dealer due to any component failure for 100K miles

Having said all this the problem with "reliability" polls is they dont compare apples to apples... what would be more usefull is "reliability" statistics on say sports cars only.

I think its shallow to shoot the messenger and cancell subscriptions because you dont agree with the results which are gathered from readers...

I wish as many of you that felt this passionate about the vette boycotted the media as they are trully the poster chiild for distorting reality

 

I'm gueesing the political polsters never call you either. I know I've never spoken to either