Korean Drivers Surveyed

Korea Times

Korean drivers have many complaints about cars produced in the United States and Germany, according to a Korean automobile research company.

The Marketing Insight, a research agency, said on that DaimlerChrysler of the U.S. topped the disgraceful list among domestic and foreign cars here.

In its survey of 1,347 drivers of foreign and domestic cars, the agency has found that DaimlerChrysler buyers are the most discontent with performance and after-sale service.

The U.S. car marked 333 in the index of the stress per hundred vehicles (SPH) calculated by the Marketing Insight, the only carmaker that received a dissatisfaction score surpassing 300.

Customers of Chrysler picked a variety of reasons for their complaints, which included frequent breakdowns and higher repair costs.

Germany-based Audi ranked second with an index of 255. A number of Audi drivers said that the car manufacturer had failed to repair some defects.

About 13 percent of Audi customers responded that they would not buy another Audi, according to the survey.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW ranked third with 233 and fourth with 208, respectively.

Among domestic cars, New Chairman received the highest dissatisfaction score of 189, followed by Equus with 178.

But foreign carmakers argue that drivers have more complaints about domestic cars, saying that the statistical data cannot be regarded as a common view among customers.

We estimate that the satisfaction index among drivers of foreign cars exceeds 90 percent, said an official of Hanbul Motors Corp., which sells French car Peugeot.

He noted that about 40 percent of domestic car-owners said they will buy foreign cars next occasion in a recent survey.

A Porsche official stressed that some foreign cars, including Japanese cars, have fewer breakdowns compared to their Korean competitors. It just takes longer for foreign seers to repair cars because of the lack of auto parts here.

Honda ranked last in the discontent index. The Marketing Insight said the Japanese car marked only 57. The index of Lexus stayed at 111.

A Hyundai Motor executive declined to comment on the survey, saying, We are not in a position to mention the consumer confidence in foreign cars.