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SMALL BUSINESS
Most & Least Reliable Brands
Previous-
Product Reliability Ratings
This year's Annual Product Reliability Survey contains several big surprises. Like a popular, high-end gas range that turns out to be among the most repair-prone.
From home appliances to cars to electronics, see which products are likely to develop problems or go before their time. And of course, see which brands have a consistently good history, too.
Next: Refrigerators -
REFRIGERATORS
Reliable:
GE, Kenmore and Whirlpool for both top-freezer and side-by-side models; Amana and Kenmore for bottom-freezers
Among the more repair-prone:
Sub-Zero for side-by-sides
Most repair-prone:
Maytag for top-freezer models; Sub-Zero built-ins for bottom-freezers
(Years covered: 2002 to mid-2006)
Next: Dishwashers -
DISHWASHERS
Reliable:
Amana and Whirlpool
Most repair-prone:
Asko and Fisher & Paykel
(Years covered: 2001 to mid-2005)
Next: Microwaves -
OVER-THE-RANGE MICROWAVES
Reliable:
Amana, Frigidaire, GE and Maytag
Most repair-prone:
Sharp
(Years covered: 2002 to mid-2006)
Next: Gas Ranges -
GAS RANGES
Reliable:
GE and Hotpoint
Most repair-prone:
Amana, KitchenAid and Viking
(Years covered: 2000 to 2006)
Next: Electric Ranges -
ELECTRIC RANGES
Reliable:
GE, Hotpoint and Whirlpool
Most repair-prone:
Amana, Jenn-Air, KitchenAid and Maytag
(Years covered: 2000 to mid-2006)
Next: Canister Vacuums -
CANISTER VACUUMS
Reliable:
Rainbow
Most repair-prone:
Eureka, Hoover, Kenmore and Miele
(Years covered: 2002 to 2006)
Next: Upright Vacuums -
UPRIGHT VACUUMS
Reliable:
Eureka and Kirby
Among the more repair-prone:
Fantom and Simplicity
Note that canister vacuums tend to be less reliable than uprights.
(Years covered: 2002 to 2006)
Next: Washers -
WASHERS
Reliable:
Frigidaire, GE, Kenmore and Whirlpool for front-loaders; Frigidaire, GE, Kenmore, Roper and Whirlpool for top-loaders
Among the more repair-prone:
Amana, Fisher & Paykel and KitchenAid for top-loaders
Most repair-prone:
Maytag for front-loaders
(Years covered: 2002 to 2006)
Next: Electric Dryers -
ELECTRIC DRYERS
Reliable:
No brand stood out as especially reliable.
Among the more repair-prone:
Amana and KitchenAid
For gas dryers, differences among brands were not meaningful.
Next: Laptops -
Stockdisc
LAPTOPS
Laptops have had the highest repair rates over time of the products Consumer Reports tracks.
No brand in the surveys, covering 2002 through mid-2006, stood out as especially reliable or especially repair-prone.
Next: Desktop PCs -
DESKTOP COMPUTERS
Desktops are less likely to require repairs and are easier and less costly to repair when they do.
During the 2002 to mid-2006 time frame, only Apple desktops stood out as notably reliable, and no brand CR evaluated was especially repair-prone.
Next: Camcorders -
Getty Images
CAMCORDERS
Reliable:
Panasonic and Sony
Most repair-prone:
Canon, JVC and Samsung MiniDV models
(Years covered: 2003 to 2006)
Next: Picture-Tube TVs -
PICTURE-TUBE TVs
Picture-tube TVs have generally been reliable. Here is Consumer Reports' repair data for 30-32-inch models.
Reliable:
JVC, Sharp, Sanyo and Toshiba
More repair-prone:
Samsung, RCA
Next: Plasma TVs -
PLASMA SETS
It's too early to know which brands are likely to be more reliable for these newer types of TV sets. But based on data for sets bought new in 2005 and 2006, here is what CR is seeing for plasma TVs.
Promising reliability:
Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony and Toshiba
More repairs than average:
Philips and Vizio
Next: LCD TVs -
AFP/Getty Images
LCD TVs
Promising reliability:
JVC, Magnavox, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba
More repairs than average:
Dell
Next: Cars -
CARS
Most Reliable:
Honda, Subaru, Toyota
Least Reliable:
Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz
Based on new-car predicted reliability scores for 2007 models.
Next: Lawn Mowers -
LAWN MOWERS
Reliable:
Craftsman, Honda and Toro for push and self-propelled; Yard Machines/Yard-Man for push; and Troy-Bilt for self-propelled
Among the more repair-prone:
John Deere for self-propelled
Most repair-prone:
Lawn-Boy for push mowers
Self-propelled mowers have been more repair-prone than push. (Years covered: 2002 to mid-2006)
Next: Cameras -
DIGITAL CAMERAS
Reliable:
None stood out. (In general, digital cameras have been among the most reliable products in our surveys, regardless of brand.)
Among the more repair-prone:
Vivitar for point-and-shoots
Most repair-prone:
Olympus for SLRs
(Years covered: 2003 to 2006)
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