New Car Buying Guide 2005-2006 [Paperback]

Editors of Consumer Reports (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0890439990 | ISBN-13: 978-0890439999 | Publication Date: June 18, 2005

Consumer Reports is the definitive authority on unbiased automotive ratings. As stated in USA Today, "more than 40% of car shoppers use Consumer Reports for information....That makes Consumer Reports the biggest single source of information car buyers use."

This latest edition of the New Car Buying Guide provides information on more than 210 new car models available in the 2005 car year. This essential guide offers all the tools necessary to negotiate the best price for the best car, including:
- The most comprehensive reliability ratins avaliable, based on Consumer Reports' Annual Questionnaire
- 5 steps to getting the best price
- Profiles on more than 220 cars, SUVs, minivans, and recommended vehicles in 15 categories
- Crash-test results and key safety features
- Guide to auto information on the internet

With the largest and most sophisticated auto-test facility in the world, Consumer Reports provides readers with the information they need to make the best car buying decision.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Since its first auto test fifty years ago, Consumer Reports has become the No. 1 source that car buyers turn to when buying a new or used vehicle." -USA Today

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Consumer Reports (June 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890439990
• ISBN-13: 978-0890439999
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,930,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Consumer Guides

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe I'm the FIRST to review this great resource!, December 14, 2005

By 

Mark Cannon (Larchmont, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Car Buying Guide 2005-2006 (Paperback)

For the great majority of car buyers, this is probably THE BEST resource. Unless you're into super-performance or the finer points of car technology, it's probably the only resource you need.

For any car that you want to check, Consumer Reports tells you clearly what type of car it is and who it's for, how reliable it has been, how satisfied its customers have been, and how much it holds its value. There's also info on performance and various routine "specs," definitely enough for 95% of us. If you're an EXTREME car enthusiast, you may be disappointed; this book isn't like the "harder-core" car publications. But Consumer Reports does an excellent job of including what most of us would want to see -- and can UNDERSTAND! After all, much of the material in the "harder-core" publications is Greek to us, right? And actually some of the technical material in this source is also a little tough-going, but not so much that it's intimidating. I think it's just enough to help us stretch our technical knowledge, without turning our brains to mush.

Consumer Reports is renowned for its "reliability" ratings, and indeed this information is probably the most valuable and most distinctive part of what CR does on cars. And in fact, this aspect should be of interest even to the "enthusiasts," because the harder-core car publications don't have anything like it. The reliability ratings are presented in a form that's easy to learn and easy to grasp at a glance. While a good reliability rating doesn't guarantee that a car will be good, it definitely stacks the deck in your favor.

An aspect of the "reliability" system that Consumer Reports doesn't get enough credit for is how excellent are its criteria for defining and determining reliability. Some other organizations (including very well known ones) use criteria that have little to do with what most of us mean by "reliability" -- their surveys focus mainly on "number of complaints," regardless of how significant the complaints are. For example, complaints about rattles, or radio reception, or about wishing the car had more power, get counted as problems and count against the car. (Often those organizations don't use the word reliability but some other term like "quality," but the media and the public usually don't get the distinction.) Consumer Reports focuses on problems more related to the basic functioning of the car, which is what most of us are more concerned about.

Consumer Reports is also renowned for being perhaps the most objective and neutral evaluator of products, free from influence of manufacturers and other interested parties. From what I've ever been able to tell, the reputation is well deserved.

The one quibble that I have with their car ratings is that they seem perhaps to lean a little too much toward practicality and don't show enough appreciation for certain kinds of upgrades. For example, they tend toward the idea that paying extra for a Mercury Mountaineer over a Ford Explorer is a waste, likewise an Acura over a Honda or a Lexus over a Toyota. But once you realize that apparent bias, you can just take it into account in making your own decisions. And besides, there's a lot to be said for practicality.

1.0 out of 5 stars Did not receive, August 25, 2011

By 

Joseph R. Gage - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: New Car Buying Guide 2005-2006 (Paperback)

Although I did order this item, and am sure I would have enjoyed it, I did not receive the correct book, so I cannot review the product. I can say, however, that the vendor was very responsive in refunding my money.

4.0 out of 5 stars Car book, March 8, 2007

By 

Irene J. Morton "Irene" (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: New Car Buying Guide 2005-2006 (Paperback)

The car guide answered most of my questions but not all. It is a help in evaluating cars you might be interested in buying.