J.D. Powers EV ownership survey, a summary

bwilson4web

bwilson4web

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I omitted some of the Tesla parts of this article since it comes from a Tesla fanboy site.

Source: https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-jd-powers-first-ev-ownership-study/
. . .
After diving into the quickly-growing electric vehicle community by noting that 27% of U.S. consumers were “likely to purchase an EV in the next four years,” J.D. Power attempted to answer the questions of what is “standard” for electric cars. In the study, variants like the cost of ownership, problems experienced, range, and ease of charging determined what manufacturer was the gold standard in the EV world, a subject that many U.S. licensed drivers are not savvy in. Just under 10,000 owners took part in the survey that polled both battery-electric cars and plug-in hybrids from 2015 to 2021.
. . .
With that being said, there are companies with reasonable showings in the EV space. While battling the adjustments to its MEB platform, Volkswagen is effectively all-in with its EV adoption strategy. In effect, the company has already started phasing out gas-powered models that have ruled the VW brand for 40 years.

In the survey’s mass-market side, the Kia Niro EV took the top spot. This will be surprising for many EV enthusiasts, considering the Model 3 would more fit the bill for “mass-market” and not “luxury.” However, since the Model 3 was considered “luxury” in this survey, it was not included in the other rankings as well.
. . . ​

J.D. Powers screwed up their initial quality report that put Tesla at the bottom. There is speculation this happened because Tesla did not play/pay the J.D. Powers game and provide a nation wide list of Tesla owners. So J.D. Powers made a special survey applied only to research Tesla owners by using State registration data which is different from the method when a car company provides a list of owners. An accurate survey uses the same data collection method including identification of polling candidates and J.D. Powers failed.

The report summary by a Tesla fan site identifies a paywall report that I'm not really interested in funding. Curious does not always dip into my wallet. I suspect non-Tesla fan site would have emphasis on their favorite ride found in the J.D. Powers report.

Bob Wilson
 
Yeah, Tesla came out dead last in this J D Powers survey. Kia did well though.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/25/21302804/tesla-ranks-last-on-influential-jd-power-quality-survey
Doesn't surprise me, as my son has a Tesla M3 (over 3 years old now and high mileage), and he has had it the shop more times in that time, than all the cars I have ever owned, put together. His warranty is over now, and he is a bit worried, as his problems continue. The most recent one is that the glass roof cracked,... very expensive to repair. He is going to live with that one, as it is not worth repairing. His suspension was going bad, too, but got that replaced just before the warranty ended. For now he is just driving it to the ground, as long as the drive train and battery keep going,... so far so good in that regard.
 
Not that I know of. I know he has looked at the Tesla forums early on for information, but doubt he would have posted. He is not that kind of guy (unlike me). But from his discussions with the local Tesla service centre, he says his experiences and problems are quite normal for this car. I think he has more trust in them for info than a forum. The service centre is always very back logged, and he is not very happy with how long it takes to get something fixed. They are now building a second one in our area, to handle the volume.

BTW, it was my son that recommended me to buy the Kona EV, instead of the M3. He likely would have chosen the Kona, too, if it had been available then. But Tesla was pretty well the only car that would meet his requirements (range) back then.

It is no secret that Tesla quality is poor. Just read Consumer Reports and the J D Powers survey that I posted above (Tesla is dead last).
 
R P said:
It is no secret that Tesla quality is poor. Just read Consumer Reports and the J D Powers survey that I posted above (Tesla is dead last).
Click to expand...
Yet owner satisfaction is pegged at the top. The quality issues are treated as minor and not an excuse to return the car.

Bob Wilson
 
bwilson4web said:
Yet owner satisfaction is pegged at the top. The quality issues are treated as minor and not an excuse to return the car.

Bob Wilson
Click to expand...
Yes, not really surprising given the high prices they paid for their cars. Would make them look foolish if they told everyone they made a mistake buying such an expensive car. People always like to justify their purchases, esp if it was a costly one. That's human nature. But will see how long they hang onto their cars. If they are truly satisfied, they will keep them a long time. That is the true measure, and why some other brands, (Toyota, Subaru, Hyundai, etc) have very loyal customers who keep their cars a long time, and stick with the brand. We still don't know that yet about Tesla.
 
R P said:
Yes, not really surprising given the high prices they paid for their cars.
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I don't think that's the reason. I think the main reason is that the car is just fun to drive, AKA the Tesla smile.

What also surprises me is how little the Model 3 standard range plus has depreciated. I see a 2019 going for $37,000. This not far off from the price of a new 2021.
 
marshall said:
I don't think that's the reason. I think the main reason is that the car is just fun to drive, AKA the Tesla smile.

What's also surprises me is how little the Model 3 standard range plus has depreciated. I see a 2019 going for $37,000. This not far off from the price of a new 2021.
Click to expand...
Well, like I said, the true measure will be how long they keep their car. I know my son's M3 (RWD, LR) has depreciated a lot. He paid over 70K CAD (incl options and accessories) for it and would probably be lucky to get 1/2 that now in a trade-in. New Tesla prices have come down considerably since then and the car platform still has not changed.

I think a lot of people who bought the early Tesla's (like my son), it was more of a vanity thing. He actually wanted to buy a Leaf,...haha, but his wife wanted the Tesla. Of course it was no contest. Both of them raved about it initially, and showed it off. But not so much lately... The good news is that the drive train and battery is still solid in this car. He can live with his current after warranty problems, for now. They are driving the crap out of it (lots of trips with all the free charging here in BC), so they can justify buying a replacement when it craps out for good.

When I traded in my Prius C for the Kona EV, I got 60% of what I paid for it 5 years earlier (95K kms). That was a very good car for us. Was never in the shop for anything (not even recalls), and only maintenance was oil changes (DIY) and a tire change.

The jury is still out with my Kona EV. Have had my motor and reduction drive replaced (clicking problem), but seems to be good now. But the battery issues (not mine so far) and BMS recalls are worrisome. Rest of the car has been solid, and great range. Was hoping to keep this car a long time, but not so sure about it now. Will see.
 
I think your son would have lost as much if not a larger percentage with a Leaf. However, he would have had kept more of his money with the Leaf.

He certainly would have found long distance trips a problem with a Leaf.

The long range Tesla Model 3 is showing some depreciation as I would expect, but the standard range plus pricing is holding up surprisingly well. So if one is looking for a used Tesla, the long range is the better deal.

For your information, Cargurus is showing a YoY depreciation for the 2019 Kona EV to be 17.83% and the 2019 Model 3 Tesla to 8.93%.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/Hyundai-Kona-Electric-d2699
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/Tesla-Model-3-d2475
 
marshall said:
I don't think that's the reason. I think the main reason is that the car is just fun to drive, AKA the Tesla smile.

What also surprises me is how little the Model 3 standard range plus has depreciated. I see a 2019 going for $37,000. This not far off from the price of a new 2021.
Click to expand...

I think both of you are correct but would also add the fanboy/tech angle to it. It attracts the same irrational love of something like an IPhone/Android or sports team/political party. They love it for un-quantifiable reasons despite all flaws. But at least they are being honest on the issues during the JD Powers questionnaire. The unemotional logical thinkers need that data to make their purchase.
 
marshall said:
I think your son would have lost as much if not a larger percentage with a Leaf. However, he would have had kept more of his money with the Leaf.
He certainly would have found long distance trips a problem with a Leaf.
Click to expand...
He was actually looking at a used Leaf, which even back then (3.5 years ago) was pretty cheap, and still seems to be holding that value. Where I live it is not that hot in the summer, so their batteries hold up better here. But yes, he would not have liked the range, and that's what he really loves about the Tesla, and I like about my Kona. The Leaf would have just been a city/commuter car. They had the money, so I guess considering everything that was available then, it was not a bad decision. At least they are getting good use out of it.

That's one thing I didn't even expect with an EV, is how much more driving and going places (just on a whim) that we do now. We have gone to all kinds of places, and sights, that we didn't think it was worth the gas to drive to in the past. Free charging does make a difference..., at least psychologically,... for an old penny pincher like me,... haha.
 
R P said:
That's one thing I didn't even expect with an EV, is how much more driving and going places (just on a whim) that we do now.
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This x1000. I used to hate the idea of burning fuel just to go somewhere on a whim. Now with an EV charged by solar I'm up for going anywhere anytime.
 
When I was choosing my current EV it boiled down to the Tesla LR and Kona Ultimate. In truth I enjoyed driving the Tesla so much more than the Kona but the Kona had a few neat features that weren’t available on the Tesla plus it was a smaller footprint which I preferred. The thing that really bothered me most about the Tesla wasn’t the misaligned body panels but what that meant, if Tesla didn’t care to assemble the car properly on what I can see what about all the mechanicals that are out of sight? That was my thought at the time, my Kona has proven decent sans the unrequested battery may ignite feature and an irritating USB issue that kicks me out of CarPlay. Don’t know if I made the right decision. I really like the Kona but I sure think about Model 3’s a lot.
 
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