Media Releases

New Zealand motorists who buy European brands are unwittingly buying some of the world's least reliable cars, says The Dog & Lemon Guide and the Consumers’ Institute.

Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:

“New Zealand motorists think they are buying an upmarket vehicle when they buy a European brand. However, European vehicles are often poorly built, unreliable and expensive to fix.”

Here's the experience of one Dog & Lemon Guide reader, Laurence Scott, who reported the following after buying a Citroën C5:

“I wish I had seen your article before I purchased the first piece of junk. You would think in this day and age that you can buy a car and live happily ever after (WRONG).The problems with the first car (a C5 Manual Wagon) were as follows:

There are a number of different surveys that look at all aspects of car ownership.

Because each survey asks different questions, it gets different answers. For example, in terms of customer satisfaction in Germany, Porsche comes tops. That’s because the survey asks: “Do you like owning and driving this vehicle?”

However, if you ask: was your Porsche reliable, you get a different answer (No, often).

Which? magazine reliability index

United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon has acknowledged a growing concern over the environmental effects of biofuels. Speaking in Brazil, Ban Ki-moon said:

“Some fear that land currently used to grow food will instead be turned over to fuel. Others worry that forests will be cut down to make way for biomass plantations. Still more worry about the effects on the environment and biodiversity.”“Clearly, biofuels have great potential for good and, perhaps, also for harm. It is up to national governments to responsibly balance the social costs and benefits.”