Is Consumer Reports as Reliable as it once was (Page 3): Thye Consumer Reports Foundation raises millions of dollars per year to operate the testing facility, buy the products for...

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Thye Consumer Reports Foundation raises millions of dollars per year to operate the testing facility, buy the products for testing, and pay for all the product testing done. The magazine then publicizes the results of the tests.

DU WANT 1 2 Loc: West Virginia

jgitomer wrote:

If your needs aren't those of the average user take their findings with a grain of salt.

I take them with a grain of salt... a slice of lemon... and a shot of vodka...

DEBJENROB Loc: DELRAY BEACH FL

Los-Angeles-Shooter wrote:

No comment on car reports specifically. But CR is biased as hell in general and occasionally crooked as hell. See, e.g., the infamous "review" of BOSE speakers which led to a lawsuit. CR also has a very active Leftist political lobby and pressure group. BTW, if they're "unbiased" why has CR never reviewed firearms?

congratulations ..... you win ..... yours is the most dumb post ever ....

tomcat

tramsey wrote:

I used to rely on Consumer Reports. But whenever I would go to the store to purchase an item that they listed as their top pick; it would be unavailable, no longer handled, obsolete or just plain no longer stocked. SO when my subscription came up for renewal I canceled it.

I found the same problem with out of date merchandise. I think some of this was due to being so late with reviews--they had to wait months to gather the data and then wait upon a publishing date. Some of the model numbers were localized for a specific stores' brands, so there was not always an exact match. I know it was that way with appliances. The model numbers were never the same at Lowes or Home Depot as what was in the magazine. As for the cars, it takes a while to compile driver experiences, so the comparisons were only good if you were buying the vehicle used. And just because a model was great one year did not make it great in subsequent years---think GM and the lemons they made/make.

The best ratings are from many general websites that compare the products you are looking for. I like to look at Lowes for the appliance or tools customer reviews. Today, the internet is full of comp sites, so I also no longer have a Consumer Reports subscription.

mikenolan Loc: Lincoln Nebraska

I don't know about reliable, but my concern with Consumer Reports has always been that I seldom agree with the factors they consider positive or negative in a review. I haven't subscribed to their publication for decades as a result.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

ecblackiii wrote:

Thye Consumer Reports Foundation raises millions of dollars per year to operate the testing facility, buy the products for testing, and pay for all the product testing done. The magazine then publicizes the results of the tests.

Now isn't that convenient financially. $$$

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

tramsey wrote:

I used to rely on Consumer Reports. But whenever I would go to the store to purchase an item that they listed as their top pick; it would be unavailable, no longer handled, obsolete or just plain no longer stocked. SO when my subscription came up for renewal I canceled it.

I'm not inclined to think that is Consumer Reports' fault, but I have had the same experience.

An example comes to mind, however. A couple years ago I needed a new coffee pot and Consumer Reports had an article on the topic in their current issue - so of course I read it, copied down the model numbers of the top couple of models and went out to find them - which of course I could not. But several of the top models were Mr. Coffee products, a brand I had no experience with. While I couldn't find the specific model shown in the magazine, I did find what appeared to be nearly the same as the top rated model - but with a different model number so I bought it. It has been the best coffee pot I've ever had.

2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond

Whenever I've contemplated buying something electronic, appliances or cars, I've always consulted CR and NEVER was disappointed if I stuck to their top 3 picks.