Reliability pays off in long run

Without Uncle Sam's largesse, you're not likely to get a decent price on a trade-in today.

That car that grandma only drove to church on Sunday with low miles and all the extras that you got and now want to use to get something a bit more hip?

Chances are you'll be offered far below the book value from a dealer.

Sell it on your own instead.

Especially if you've got a Toyota, Honda or Ford, the top brands for reliability, according to the 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey from Consumer Reports magazine that was released Tuesday.

In the annual survey, Asian automakers still rule for reliability, but Ford Motor Co. is staking a claim to that title.

Striving for reliability

That's great news for Ford. And one of the benchmarks it, General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC need to continue to aspire to if they're going to survive and thrive.

After all, selling a car ought to be as good an experience as buying one.

That became clear to me two years ago when I unloaded my 1999 Honda Accord for a new GMC Acadia and realized used cars can be sold for more than scrap.

The Accord, which I bought grudgingly because it so put me into the adultosphere, was the most reliable car I've ever owned.

Bought it in 1999 for around $18,000. Drove it for eight years and put 125,000 miles on it without needing to invest in tie rod repairs, a new water pump, or any of the other myriad issues that befall cars driven for nearly a decade.

Dealers make low offers

The dealers I talked to tried to rob me blind, as if I was asking them to take possession of my long departed AMC Eagle wagon instead.

"Yeah, it's nice, but all I can offer is a couple thousand dollars," I was told. "We simply won't get much more than that off the lot."

Of course that wasn't true. A cursory Internet search showed that Accords of similar ilk were selling for $6,000 or more, which is what I got from the first guy who called.

Though Detroiters cringe at the mere mention of this, Toyota and Honda still have the most reliable models on the market. Of the 48 with top reliability scores, 26 are from those two companies, based on consumer surveys turned in and tests the magazine performs.

Ford isn't far behind. About 90 percent of its products have "average" or "better reliability" and the Fusion/Mercury Milan beat the Accord and Toyota Camry for the second straight year. GM had 20 of its 48 vehicles score "average." Chrysler, well they're not even in the same ballpark right now.

That's not good enough for the long haul.

What will truly make a difference is when you can sell your used Ford or GM car for a third of the purchase price.

Then we'll know that reliability not only matters, but it also pays.

mlopez@detnews.com">mlopez@detnews.com (313) 222-2536 Auto Editor Manny Lopez's column runs Thursday.