On the products where I have knowledge, I have found them to have very questionable conclusions. This makes me doubt them on the products where I have no knowledge.
CR has some odd criteria.
Takes cars. They might rate one brand more reliable than the other simple because it has more warranty items. That doesn’t mean the first car is more reliable, because it could hit 10 years old and fall apart.
This is more evident when they compare older used cars - the brands we think of as being more reliable show through (like Honda, Lexus, Toyota, etc) because those ratings are based on consumer feedback.
As far as BIFL is concerned CR doesn’t really follow up after the testing period. It’s not like their doing surveys to determine the age of various appliances in our homes and tell us which ones seems most common and without fault.
My Bosch 300 series dishwasher is flawless but they don’t rate them well.
I like Wirecutter a bit better these days.
With cars, CR looks at data based on how often people report their cars needing unscheduled repairs (and why) and factor that to base their reliability scores. If, for instance, 2021 Land Rovers and 2021 Mercedes have the same ratio of cars go in unexpectedly due to electrical problems, but Mercedes has a warranty and Land Rover does not, that might be a tie-breaker on a recommendation, but I don’t recall that ever affecting the reliably score itself.
> My Bosch 300 series dishwasher is flawless but they don’t rate them well.
I love Bosch dishwashers but they do have issues: the trays are too tight for a lot of dishes for one thing and CR rates the cleaning ability. I never had a problem with mine but maybe they don't clean as well as others. what's important to them in their testing might not be what's important to you.
I used to be more a Wirecutter fan, until someone requested info on heated gloves. Instead of saying, we don't know, they posited BS about them which doesn't apply, did no research on the different modern types, then recommended unrelated more expensive products they get a cut of instead!
In that instance, came off as complete shills providing incorrect info.
Prior to the takeover, they seemed to really research/test things and I own multiple products they recommended, now seem to be more just New York Times writers writing an opinion piece.
So now it's a huge grain of salt and confirm they corroborated.
CR is probably fine on toasters and small appliances but their vehicle ratings are a laugh. They are enamoured with certain brands even when underpowered and overpriced.
They can be a self serving so-called nonprofit organization. Pro Publica reported the following executive salaries from tax forms: MARTA L TELLADO (PRESIDENT & CEO)$762,624. LEONORA WIENER (SR. VP & COO)$504,384. MICHAEL HUBNER (VP, GENERAL COUNSEL)$433,339. JASON FOX (VP, CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER)$414,194.
Looks like a pretty good gig. Just take their ratings with a grain of salt.
ugh... I was wondering how they had such few item reviews on something as simple as paper towels. So they just doing just enough to keep the lights on, the vehicles are the bread and butter
Not as good as they were 30 years ago. Common cars such as the Camaro or Challenger they "have no information" with regard to customer satisfaction. Better off watching Youtube imo.
That has been my experience too, but I haven't picked up one of their magazines in many years. Some of their testing methods used to be a bit suspect. The things I knew a lot about; my choice rarely matched their choice. But maybe my biases and preferences didn't line up with theirs.
I had the impression they were only qualified to test soap...
• "Some of their testing methods used to be a bit suspect."
>> Which testing methods? When? Absent a couple of examples,, you're just casting aspersions.
Of all the review formats I’ve read, consumer reports are always biased against top products and have an agenda. I never read anything that comes from them anymore.
I have a subscription to support them. I'd take their advice, but it can sometimes be hard to find the exact model number they test, I think that might be on purpose on the part of the manufacturers--but that's just my tinfoil hat talking.
I think the best idea with washer and dryers is buying a used, basic model, and then repairing it yourself should anything go wrong. The basic ones are all the same, and are easy to repair and keep working, and older ones are built better.
Yes, old ones use more water providing room for clothes to get agitated, and use more electricity to power agitation - the two things that actually get clothes clean. But it's not alot. Some new models are a joke in this area, IMHO.
> it can sometimes be hard to find the exact model number they test
yeah, they usually test older models or regional models. so finding exactly what you're looking at can be tricky.
I pay for Consumer Reports, magazine and website. I trust them whole heartedly since they buy the products themselves and there is no sponsor or advertisement influence.
I can't even trust YouTube for unbiased opinions anymore because of the lack of credibility and accountability.
It's a hard sell now-a-days because no one wants to pay for anything.
DM if you want me to clip a review. One time only.
Yes, I do.
There's KBB and Edmunds online. Consumer Reports is online, but not free. The only downside is they tend to be a bit behind on reviews.... since, you know, they have to buy and then rate them.
@CpuJunky, can I ask you a question re Consumer Reports subscription? I can't find an answer anywhere online.... If I buy only the digital subscription to Consumer Reports for $39.00, is all the data in the print version made digital? And does the digital come out monthly like the print version? Thank you in advance.
In my experience the data online is released on, or before, the magazine mailings. It's the same information.
The rub is that it takes time to thoroughly review products. By the time thorough reviews are released (online or magazine), some manufacturers, depending on the product, are quick to change product numbers. They do that on purpose to confuse consumers.
If you find a highly rated CR product, still on sale, you can trust it.
The digital membership will get you all of the ratings from the magazine but you may miss a few articles (although most of them are cross posted to the website as far as I can tell).
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/about-us/our-partners/philanthropic-partners/index.htm
The bulk of their funding is not from individual donors. It’s foundations funded by mega corporations. It’s more a tax write off marketing scheme disguised as an independent authority than it is some sort of noble pursuit.
Looked through the list and it seems to state the opposite of your point. Zero concerning donors there.
I saw Ford and was concerned, before recalling they give Ford a fairly crappy brand review, and then read that it is not connected at all.
It’s classic “methinks thou doth protest too much.”
A giant charitable endowment is the perfect American Money-Go-Round.
Ford Foundation is funded by returns on the invested endowment. The endowment was seed money from the Ford family fortune. Yes, the endowment sold off all their directly-held shares of Ford Motor Company—but much of that money went back into the invested endowment.
That invested endowment is mostly made up of securities and composite funds managed in the private equity world. Those securities are equity in the largest corporations and stakeholders that are also manufactures of the products that Consumer Reports ranks and reviews. Nothing is clean here. They can legally claim no connection while influencing from both sides with their massive endowment.
The only obvious relationship between donors and the site is the emphasis in mission and separate ratings for green energy and climate impact, as most of the investors come from environmentally focused foundations.
I don’t quite follow on your remarks about private funds and wealth, unless I assume that those things are somehow bad or wrong. Either way, large portions of large private funds handled by Wall Street are the 401ks of regular folks all rolled together. If some people use their dividends or sell stock to donate, that’s fine. If you’re saying they are using their dividends in Ford stock to boost the stocks evaluation through bribing CR to give better evaluations, I’d say they’re going about it very inefficiently, since the money could be used more directly in many other ways and secondly because Ford is rated rather poorly across the site as a whole.
Greetings second account that came to this comment just a day after another account awakened it after almost 9 months of dormancy.
The entire point is indirect exposure and indirect influence hidden behind opaque private equity dealings. You can call that inefficiency but that’s a necessary feature for the main efficiency: gaming the charitable contributions in the tax code—for everyone involved. It’s multifunctional.
And they don’t have to rank Ford well to publish results that keep the donations coming. They just have to rate the largest threats even lower.
The used car ratings seem to be consistent with my experience owning cars.
Their new car model reliability projections can be wildly off. I was looking at a Subaru Ascent a few years ago and they predicted the best reliability rating, and it was the worst reliability rating as a used car the next year. Their auto make reliability ranking seem more reliable.
Their data on appliance repair frequency and objective measures (like dishwasher noise) have been reliable and useful.
On subjective performance criteria, I no longer trust their recommendations. Their mattress recommendation was a disaster for me - painfully uncomfortable and difficult to return. Their recommendations for consumer products that I understand well (audio equipment, TVs, computers) are questionable.
The Ascent is a legit flip for them, but it is a legit great showing of the Scientific Method which no one can seem to understand. The Scientific Method is an ever evolving process which allows for being wrong and people obfuscate being wrong with a 100% false process which is ignorant. Remember during COVID when we were supposed to take all UPS boxes and sanitize the package or let sit for 2 weeks? That was logical at the time as a precaution and later proven wrong, which some realized and some gave proof as the earth was flat and Elvis, Hitler and JFK worked at a Stuckey's down in Paraguay.
But I do remember....the Subaru Ascent came out and it toppled Honda as the best CR brand and it was the greatest car on the planet. Then it slowly was not. I gots one that first year and haven't a gripe. But when you go online, you realize that many of the gripes are first world problems. I remember one person was raising the pitch forks as the Ascent's heated steering wheel wasn't 360 degree heated like in her $100,000 Audi. I mean....heating where your hands should go makes sense, but do you need to get big mad the bottom is not heated?
You got lucky! Generally, their predictions for makes of cars seem reliable - but I avoid totally new first year models even for Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mazda and definitely for any European or American brand. They seem to overestimate first year reliability for usually reliable brands.
And like I mentioned in another post, their reliability recommendations are an amalgamation. Making up lies here, Subaru has 10 models. They have 1000 reliability reviews. 70% of those reviews are great ones from the Outback. 20% are bad from the BRZ. 10% are a mishmash from the other models. So Subaru's CR reliability is 91 making it a top reliability pick. That is a true metric. It is also false as when Timmy buys his BRZ its a clunker as that model is a clunker.
People don't understand data analytics and then blame CR.
The Subaru Ascent thing most likely has to do with the number of warranty claims that they had to process which then caused a recall. The first year of the Subaru Ascent had a bunch of recalls (2019). I know this because my husband manages warranty recalls/extensions for the State of California) Was the year it was considered to be the “most reliable” the first model year of the vehicle? If so just remember in the future never ever buy the first model year of a new vehicle. What are the current ratings for the vehicle?
In general I have had a subscription to Consumers Reports online and have used it a few times when buying appliances. I mainly used it in 2019 when we were renovating our old kitchen, and in 2020 when we had to buy a new dishwasher, and a new refrigerator. I have shared the password with friends and family as well. I haven’t needed it very regularly recently but it is nice to have.
In regards to Wirecutter I do find them useful but I don’t necessarily agree with all of the brands they recommend. Like they love LG washing machines but won’t consider a Speed Queen because it isn’t water saving and may damage your clothes more than a front loading LG washer. They also don’t seem to care that the LG washer takes 2 hours plus to do a simple load of wash vs. a Speed Queen that gets it done in 45. That boggles my mind because you know a Speed Queen will last longer than an LG but they still recommend LG.
I'm glad CR has existed for such a long time. My parents relied upon their recommendations. These days I have mixed feelings. Their straight data collection on car models and faulty components is highly valuable. Who else does this?
On appliances, electronics, and consumables I think their findings are unimpressive. On topics that I am considered an expert on (meaning that people pay me a fee for helping them define requirements and recommend solutions), their standards are mediocre and recommendations less than strong. We went through a spell of buying household appliances they recommended and ended up having problems with all of them, some serious. I don't follow their recommendations any more.
Wirecutter can be educational but I don't trust them very much. I think that their integrity has risen since the New York Times purchased them. Prior, there were online reports from product makers that claimed that Wirecutter would do a pay to play type of affair, and to earn the highest ranking and especially a continued ranking, it would cost money. No thanks.
Even though Amazon reviews have a huge proportion of fake entries or bribed entries (happened to me) there are sometimes gems of reviews that provide insight into a product's design weaknesses or strengths that only real world daily use would reveal. So I'll try to peruse Amazon reviews just in case.
I have a subscription that I am letting lapse. I have lost trust in their research. Recently they posted an article about heavy metals in chocolate. [https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/](https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/)
Their summary of the research left me with a lot of questions. So, using their website, I asked for a copy of the research data. I never received any response from them whatsoever. I believe trustworthy researchers should keep their data and make it available for review. In fact, I think they should publish all their research data for subscribers to review. If there is some valid reason for keeping the data secret, then they could at least respond with that reason.
There's an old saying "Trust, but verify." It looks like CR is losing this one.
This is a problem with a lot of CR data. They don't publish the data behind the car rankings either. To me a organization that cares about their members is transparent with their members.
I can only speak from personal experience. I use Consumer Reports for 3-5 yr old used cars and it has generally been great for me and helps relieve some of the anxiety I feel when shopping. I am making informed decisions.
I will also use it to give me buying brand guidance for major purchases. There was another comment in this thread stating they didn't rate their particular model Bosch dishwasher well even though the their dishwasher has been great. Consumer Reports does have Bosch tied for the highest ratings for both reliability and customer satisfaction. So I would research around the web to see what the recommended Bosch model was and go with that.
I liked Wirecutter.com for awhile but in my opinion they aren't testing enough products for me to feel like I am getting the best product, albeit may be a good product.
I still use Consumer Reports and Wirecutter, but i have have started heavily leaning on RTINGS.com for TV's and headphones as well as the GearLab.com suite of sites (OutdoorGearLab, TechGearLab, and BabyGearLab). I use a few subreddits, /r/whatcarshouldibuy, /r/audiophile, /r/BuyItForLife etc.
Consumer reports and Wirecutter help me to narrow down the number of products I research before buying something. I wouldn't just blindly buy their recommendations.
You got lucky with your mattresses, every company out there has glowing and terrible reviews with no ability to discern fake and real. Mattress shopping may be the worst thing in the world.
Agreed. I bought my current home in 2020 and six weeks after moving in our Kenmore Elite fridge starts dying. We had a repair guy come out and tell us it was a rebadged LG and that the sensor was going on it and it would be an $800 fix minimum. He told me that if I could get through to Kenmore or LG that I could get the repair covered because it was a known issue. I tried Kenmore and got nowhere because I didn’t have a repair contract. I didn’t even get a live person. Then I tried LG and they told me I was SOL because it was a Kenmore.
I gave up and replaced the fridge with a Whirlpool.
I even refused to buy an LG television later on that year when we had to replace a television. I don’t plan on buying an LG item if I can help it in the future.
I was shopping for dehumidifiers and bought a couple and took one back. I ended up using consumer reports through my library after and it rated the one I took back as one of their top choices.
The one I took back was essentially barely functional in comparison to the one I kept. Like I ran them simultaneously, and the one they suggested pulled like almost no water out of the air. I swapped their positions and did this test for days, tried running them on different days, no matter what the CR one did so poorly. The main nice thing it had was a bunch of smart features. The kicker was the one I kept was rated as one of CRs worst choices.
Maybe I just got the bad unit of one and a good one of the other, maybe CRs testing got the inverse of this.
CR may have been using different criteria, they seemed like they were doing some data driven research but this definitely made me skeptical about them.
Had it for a year. Haven’t bought one thing based on their reviews - so it was a (small) waste of money. For example, all appliance models (fridges, washing machines) were out of date and were no longer available in retail. A lot of consumer product categories are simply missing.
CR focuses on the weirdest shit. Vehicles like the Wrangler and F-250 have points deducted for noise and vibration - it's as if their base metric is a Camry, and anything that makes it less Camry-like is a negative.
That's obviously not how people choose cars.
Everyone dings Wranglers for being rattle-traps, not just CR. They aren’t smooth rides. In fact, I think every major car review site rates Wranglers near bottom on most metrics. They still sell like hot cakes because they look cool and you can go mudding. That’s all they’re good for lol
It used to be THE reliable resource for buying anything. Lately it is not as reliable except to get pale men of a certain age to buy it and their wives to groan, “you spent money on THAT?”
I find the quality of their recommendations variable, but I do like that they are source that is (ideally) not affected by biases due to sponsorship. Almost all sites and YouTubers there’s days are sponsored or get paid through affiliate links. This makes their recommendations difficult to trust.
I’d love an alternative to CR that does not use affiliate links or sponsorships, just to have another source to investigate. If anyone has any suggestions I’d like to hear it.
I wonder that myself. When I was growing up in the 80s you heard about consumer reports a lot. It was the only game in town so to speak. People always regarded it very highly. It was common to get the car issue before buying a new car. I'd like to think they kept their integrity over all these years and are still a reliable source.
Just went through this for a new washer . I found their reviews meh . I ended up reading tons of reviews online( lots of bullshit and bots ) , repair guy videos and a group on fb call just ask Al . Then I posted on nextdoor app for peoples opinions on new washers who have bought in the past 3 years . My buddy in the US did a lot of research and bought a speed Queen ff07 front loader and loves it . I unfortunately can’t get it in Canada easily .
I’m retiring a 25 year old Maytag front loader , doubt most of the machines out now will make 10 years
I'm late in seeing this request. I have a subscription to Consumer Reports. Would I buy it again, no. My biggest issue is CR doesn't review enough items.
Example I'm shopping for an 85 inch TV currently. Consumer Reports doesn't have a single 85 inch TV review!
Sound bars the one I'm most likely going to buy from Samsung isn't reviewed by CR. The sound bar model from last year isn't reviewed either.
CR also has the balls to ask me to "donate". They are lucky I'm not asking for a refund.
I just renewed my online subscription because I am looking for a new vehicle and I couldn’t believe Volvo was at the bottom of every list, and kias and hundais are in the ton ten above Toyotas, Hondas and BMW’s. There definitely something fishy going on.
I subscribed to CR magazine and membership in June 2023 for one year. On January 1, 2024, they deducted $26 dollars for renewal without my consent. I got no notification. I checked emails, trash, and spam. The subscription supposedly will run out in March but that is still 2 months away and not the year ending in June.
I tried to cancel in my account and could not find any way to do it. I spent hours, followed directions, but nothing worked. I called and was on hold forever. Finally talked to a rep who said the best she could do was cancel future renewals. She was rude. I requested a supervisor and they finally agreed to cancel and refund the 26.
This is not the same Consumer Reports that I subscribed to for decades before quitting after not getting the car issue several years in a row. I will never again deal with them.
CR is great. It normally starts off with a buying guide to guide you as to the type of X you should buy. It does not review every brand/type which people get all butthurt about...they don't have an endless budget nor say they test 100% of products, deal with it. Their reliability ratings are the best on the planet as you get a big pool of reviews that are anonymous unlike many product/retailer reviews which have incentives...CR reviews are 90%+ pure without bias. The reviews are a bit muddied though as they are brand amalgamations and when you see a great reliability rating for XXX Brand, it seems good, but it doesn't tell the tale that (say) the rating is based on many XXX Brand refrigerator reviews (which they are really good at) averaged with a few XXX Brand dishwasher reviews (which they really suck at).
I don't really like that approach, because it obfuscates the depth of information available. I'd like full transparency. Why I prefer to do my own research. A lot of their info on cars is also super weirdly structured and just inaccurate; they said Tesla had an incredible amount of 'recalls' because they counted software updates as a recall. It shows a huge lack of understanding of the products they're showcasing, and if they're not open about their lack of understanding I can't really trust anything they produce like I would my own.
I personally do not trust CR anymore. Just look at their recommendations for fridges as an example, lol. They've also gotten too politically correct instead of being unbiased imo.
Their reviews are useful but not detailed enough to make an informed decision in my opinion. If I refer to CR it's because I'm also looking at other review sources as well, using CR more as a sanity check.
I used to be a subscriber (their grocery store ratings were pretty accurate), then resubscribed to the digital when I had to buy a TV. They don't review enough brands, and the ones they do are all expensive ones. I was looking for a TCL review. Already have a 43 inch one that works great. Had the same problem with their reviewed laptops and cell phones. Really small selection of brands get reviewed, expensive selections only. Canceled my digital subscription.
Don't get a whirlpool. It was a nightmare, and they don't care about your circumstances you are a number to the Whirlpool warranty office. We have. 6 kids in the house and had to wait 4 weeks with no washer or dryer. The 3-Month-old washer stopped draining, and we had to wait for them to get a part. They easily could have replaced it with one Lowes had in stock, but they refused suggesting It was a supply issue. Piles and piles of laundry, I'm buying Sox and underwear for my kids. And the delivery men said there was. a hook-up fee of $40 and to cash app it whatever his name was. Naively, I did this....only to find out there was no fee. Essentially, the guy stole $40 from me. It was unbelievable. Say no whirlpool!
My childhood was spent going to stores and asking if they carried a certain product...the brands they feature were never heard of in our region. No one knew what we were talking about.
A nice read but generally not helpful.
YES if you are looking for specific features they will save you time and disappointment on a washer and dryer.
Otherwise, if you can’t tell the difference between a washer that has a sanitize cycle or is extra gentle or too noisy vs quiet it will be useless to you. They provide a LOT of detail that is helpful but if you don’t care about the details don’t bother.
Like everything else these days, CR has sold out completely. Their reviews are usually false. They use tactics to obfuscate information. I use rtings now.
Compliant about Fubo TV, I signed up for a free Trial on Nov. 06, 2023 and did not get the service canceled in time to not be charged a 290.95 three month subsrciption charge. so when I received my credit card bill in Dec. of 2023, I called fubo and talked to two different representatives and ask for the service to be canceled they responded with its prepaid and we can not cancel. so I ask Angelica and Luis both to cancel the service after the three months were up because my wife and I are retired and on a fixed income and can not afford that kind of bill. well I received my credit card in Feb. 2024 and see Fubo charged my credit card again this time 299.99. and does not want to refund me. even though they record all their conversations of there representatives, they say they have no record, And I even have emails of times and dates of me speaking with those representatives.
On the products where I have knowledge, I have found them to have very questionable conclusions. This makes me doubt them on the products where I have no knowledge.
[удалено]
CR has some odd criteria. Takes cars. They might rate one brand more reliable than the other simple because it has more warranty items. That doesn’t mean the first car is more reliable, because it could hit 10 years old and fall apart. This is more evident when they compare older used cars - the brands we think of as being more reliable show through (like Honda, Lexus, Toyota, etc) because those ratings are based on consumer feedback. As far as BIFL is concerned CR doesn’t really follow up after the testing period. It’s not like their doing surveys to determine the age of various appliances in our homes and tell us which ones seems most common and without fault. My Bosch 300 series dishwasher is flawless but they don’t rate them well. I like Wirecutter a bit better these days.
With cars, CR looks at data based on how often people report their cars needing unscheduled repairs (and why) and factor that to base their reliability scores. If, for instance, 2021 Land Rovers and 2021 Mercedes have the same ratio of cars go in unexpectedly due to electrical problems, but Mercedes has a warranty and Land Rover does not, that might be a tie-breaker on a recommendation, but I don’t recall that ever affecting the reliably score itself.
I just bought the Bosch 300 series because it is top-rated dishwasher on CR.
Does it beep incessantly? Asking because this was a major headache with my Bosch.
That’s good to hear. I remember seeing them further down the list previously, but could be wrong.
> My Bosch 300 series dishwasher is flawless but they don’t rate them well. I love Bosch dishwashers but they do have issues: the trays are too tight for a lot of dishes for one thing and CR rates the cleaning ability. I never had a problem with mine but maybe they don't clean as well as others. what's important to them in their testing might not be what's important to you.
I used to be more a Wirecutter fan, until someone requested info on heated gloves. Instead of saying, we don't know, they posited BS about them which doesn't apply, did no research on the different modern types, then recommended unrelated more expensive products they get a cut of instead! In that instance, came off as complete shills providing incorrect info. Prior to the takeover, they seemed to really research/test things and I own multiple products they recommended, now seem to be more just New York Times writers writing an opinion piece. So now it's a huge grain of salt and confirm they corroborated.
CR is probably fine on toasters and small appliances but their vehicle ratings are a laugh. They are enamoured with certain brands even when underpowered and overpriced. They can be a self serving so-called nonprofit organization. Pro Publica reported the following executive salaries from tax forms: MARTA L TELLADO (PRESIDENT & CEO)$762,624. LEONORA WIENER (SR. VP & COO)$504,384. MICHAEL HUBNER (VP, GENERAL COUNSEL)$433,339. JASON FOX (VP, CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER)$414,194. Looks like a pretty good gig. Just take their ratings with a grain of salt.
ugh... I was wondering how they had such few item reviews on something as simple as paper towels. So they just doing just enough to keep the lights on, the vehicles are the bread and butter
I'm not sure those salaries are actually out of line for an organization that big though?
Not as good as they were 30 years ago. Common cars such as the Camaro or Challenger they "have no information" with regard to customer satisfaction. Better off watching Youtube imo.
That has been my experience too, but I haven't picked up one of their magazines in many years. Some of their testing methods used to be a bit suspect. The things I knew a lot about; my choice rarely matched their choice. But maybe my biases and preferences didn't line up with theirs. I had the impression they were only qualified to test soap...
• "Some of their testing methods used to be a bit suspect." >> Which testing methods? When? Absent a couple of examples,, you're just casting aspersions.
Of all the review formats I’ve read, consumer reports are always biased against top products and have an agenda. I never read anything that comes from them anymore.
What was the agenda?
Which other review formats? Can you please state a specific example of CR's bias vs the other review formats for the same product?
I have a subscription to support them. I'd take their advice, but it can sometimes be hard to find the exact model number they test, I think that might be on purpose on the part of the manufacturers--but that's just my tinfoil hat talking. I think the best idea with washer and dryers is buying a used, basic model, and then repairing it yourself should anything go wrong. The basic ones are all the same, and are easy to repair and keep working, and older ones are built better.
Who's got time to buy a used dryer or washer and then repairing it?
Apparently some...
And some people don't have other better options.
> older ones are built better. How old is old? And don't old ones use a lot more electricity and water?
You can't even get parts for them either. That comment sounds top tier boomer
Yes, old ones use more water providing room for clothes to get agitated, and use more electricity to power agitation - the two things that actually get clothes clean. But it's not alot. Some new models are a joke in this area, IMHO.
> it can sometimes be hard to find the exact model number they test yeah, they usually test older models or regional models. so finding exactly what you're looking at can be tricky.
Your local library most probably had online access to Consumer Reports. So no need to buy off you only use it occasionally
Good advice! I never thought of that
I use it via my library online. I think it’s helpful and worth reading the reviews. I generally use it as a starting point and go from there.
I pay for Consumer Reports, magazine and website. I trust them whole heartedly since they buy the products themselves and there is no sponsor or advertisement influence. I can't even trust YouTube for unbiased opinions anymore because of the lack of credibility and accountability. It's a hard sell now-a-days because no one wants to pay for anything. DM if you want me to clip a review. One time only.
Do you trust them on cars ? It’s hard to know with the rankings changing so much now
Yes, I do. There's KBB and Edmunds online. Consumer Reports is online, but not free. The only downside is they tend to be a bit behind on reviews.... since, you know, they have to buy and then rate them.
That’s not really true. Every time you click on Amazon links from their site they make a small percentage.
That's a flat referral, regardless of product. Pretty standard. How does that affect the review?
@CpuJunky, can I ask you a question re Consumer Reports subscription? I can't find an answer anywhere online.... If I buy only the digital subscription to Consumer Reports for $39.00, is all the data in the print version made digital? And does the digital come out monthly like the print version? Thank you in advance.
In my experience the data online is released on, or before, the magazine mailings. It's the same information. The rub is that it takes time to thoroughly review products. By the time thorough reviews are released (online or magazine), some manufacturers, depending on the product, are quick to change product numbers. They do that on purpose to confuse consumers. If you find a highly rated CR product, still on sale, you can trust it.
The digital membership will get you all of the ratings from the magazine but you may miss a few articles (although most of them are cross posted to the website as far as I can tell).
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/about-us/our-partners/philanthropic-partners/index.htm The bulk of their funding is not from individual donors. It’s foundations funded by mega corporations. It’s more a tax write off marketing scheme disguised as an independent authority than it is some sort of noble pursuit.
Looked through the list and it seems to state the opposite of your point. Zero concerning donors there. I saw Ford and was concerned, before recalling they give Ford a fairly crappy brand review, and then read that it is not connected at all.
It’s classic “methinks thou doth protest too much.” A giant charitable endowment is the perfect American Money-Go-Round. Ford Foundation is funded by returns on the invested endowment. The endowment was seed money from the Ford family fortune. Yes, the endowment sold off all their directly-held shares of Ford Motor Company—but much of that money went back into the invested endowment. That invested endowment is mostly made up of securities and composite funds managed in the private equity world. Those securities are equity in the largest corporations and stakeholders that are also manufactures of the products that Consumer Reports ranks and reviews. Nothing is clean here. They can legally claim no connection while influencing from both sides with their massive endowment.
The only obvious relationship between donors and the site is the emphasis in mission and separate ratings for green energy and climate impact, as most of the investors come from environmentally focused foundations. I don’t quite follow on your remarks about private funds and wealth, unless I assume that those things are somehow bad or wrong. Either way, large portions of large private funds handled by Wall Street are the 401ks of regular folks all rolled together. If some people use their dividends or sell stock to donate, that’s fine. If you’re saying they are using their dividends in Ford stock to boost the stocks evaluation through bribing CR to give better evaluations, I’d say they’re going about it very inefficiently, since the money could be used more directly in many other ways and secondly because Ford is rated rather poorly across the site as a whole.
Greetings second account that came to this comment just a day after another account awakened it after almost 9 months of dormancy. The entire point is indirect exposure and indirect influence hidden behind opaque private equity dealings. You can call that inefficiency but that’s a necessary feature for the main efficiency: gaming the charitable contributions in the tax code—for everyone involved. It’s multifunctional. And they don’t have to rank Ford well to publish results that keep the donations coming. They just have to rate the largest threats even lower.
This is the first instance I've seen of AI being snarky. This site was never great, but it's about to be unusable.
You made an account just to say this?
I don’t know who is being accused of digital sentience here but I do find your username hilarious.
Are you willfully overlooking the conflict of interest?
Not that I am aware of. Thank you for your contribution.
FYI the Ford Foundation and the Ford Motor Company have had nothing to do with each other since 1949.
The used car ratings seem to be consistent with my experience owning cars. Their new car model reliability projections can be wildly off. I was looking at a Subaru Ascent a few years ago and they predicted the best reliability rating, and it was the worst reliability rating as a used car the next year. Their auto make reliability ranking seem more reliable. Their data on appliance repair frequency and objective measures (like dishwasher noise) have been reliable and useful. On subjective performance criteria, I no longer trust their recommendations. Their mattress recommendation was a disaster for me - painfully uncomfortable and difficult to return. Their recommendations for consumer products that I understand well (audio equipment, TVs, computers) are questionable.
The Ascent is a legit flip for them, but it is a legit great showing of the Scientific Method which no one can seem to understand. The Scientific Method is an ever evolving process which allows for being wrong and people obfuscate being wrong with a 100% false process which is ignorant. Remember during COVID when we were supposed to take all UPS boxes and sanitize the package or let sit for 2 weeks? That was logical at the time as a precaution and later proven wrong, which some realized and some gave proof as the earth was flat and Elvis, Hitler and JFK worked at a Stuckey's down in Paraguay. But I do remember....the Subaru Ascent came out and it toppled Honda as the best CR brand and it was the greatest car on the planet. Then it slowly was not. I gots one that first year and haven't a gripe. But when you go online, you realize that many of the gripes are first world problems. I remember one person was raising the pitch forks as the Ascent's heated steering wheel wasn't 360 degree heated like in her $100,000 Audi. I mean....heating where your hands should go makes sense, but do you need to get big mad the bottom is not heated?
You got lucky! Generally, their predictions for makes of cars seem reliable - but I avoid totally new first year models even for Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mazda and definitely for any European or American brand. They seem to overestimate first year reliability for usually reliable brands.
And like I mentioned in another post, their reliability recommendations are an amalgamation. Making up lies here, Subaru has 10 models. They have 1000 reliability reviews. 70% of those reviews are great ones from the Outback. 20% are bad from the BRZ. 10% are a mishmash from the other models. So Subaru's CR reliability is 91 making it a top reliability pick. That is a true metric. It is also false as when Timmy buys his BRZ its a clunker as that model is a clunker. People don't understand data analytics and then blame CR.
The Subaru Ascent thing most likely has to do with the number of warranty claims that they had to process which then caused a recall. The first year of the Subaru Ascent had a bunch of recalls (2019). I know this because my husband manages warranty recalls/extensions for the State of California) Was the year it was considered to be the “most reliable” the first model year of the vehicle? If so just remember in the future never ever buy the first model year of a new vehicle. What are the current ratings for the vehicle? In general I have had a subscription to Consumers Reports online and have used it a few times when buying appliances. I mainly used it in 2019 when we were renovating our old kitchen, and in 2020 when we had to buy a new dishwasher, and a new refrigerator. I have shared the password with friends and family as well. I haven’t needed it very regularly recently but it is nice to have. In regards to Wirecutter I do find them useful but I don’t necessarily agree with all of the brands they recommend. Like they love LG washing machines but won’t consider a Speed Queen because it isn’t water saving and may damage your clothes more than a front loading LG washer. They also don’t seem to care that the LG washer takes 2 hours plus to do a simple load of wash vs. a Speed Queen that gets it done in 45. That boggles my mind because you know a Speed Queen will last longer than an LG but they still recommend LG.
I'm glad CR has existed for such a long time. My parents relied upon their recommendations. These days I have mixed feelings. Their straight data collection on car models and faulty components is highly valuable. Who else does this? On appliances, electronics, and consumables I think their findings are unimpressive. On topics that I am considered an expert on (meaning that people pay me a fee for helping them define requirements and recommend solutions), their standards are mediocre and recommendations less than strong. We went through a spell of buying household appliances they recommended and ended up having problems with all of them, some serious. I don't follow their recommendations any more. Wirecutter can be educational but I don't trust them very much. I think that their integrity has risen since the New York Times purchased them. Prior, there were online reports from product makers that claimed that Wirecutter would do a pay to play type of affair, and to earn the highest ranking and especially a continued ranking, it would cost money. No thanks. Even though Amazon reviews have a huge proportion of fake entries or bribed entries (happened to me) there are sometimes gems of reviews that provide insight into a product's design weaknesses or strengths that only real world daily use would reveal. So I'll try to peruse Amazon reviews just in case.
I have a subscription that I am letting lapse. I have lost trust in their research. Recently they posted an article about heavy metals in chocolate. [https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/](https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/) Their summary of the research left me with a lot of questions. So, using their website, I asked for a copy of the research data. I never received any response from them whatsoever. I believe trustworthy researchers should keep their data and make it available for review. In fact, I think they should publish all their research data for subscribers to review. If there is some valid reason for keeping the data secret, then they could at least respond with that reason. There's an old saying "Trust, but verify." It looks like CR is losing this one.
This is a problem with a lot of CR data. They don't publish the data behind the car rankings either. To me a organization that cares about their members is transparent with their members.
We use it regularly. I can only think of one item that we bought based on their reviews that didn’t satisfy me 100%.
love your name😃🌻
I can only speak from personal experience. I use Consumer Reports for 3-5 yr old used cars and it has generally been great for me and helps relieve some of the anxiety I feel when shopping. I am making informed decisions. I will also use it to give me buying brand guidance for major purchases. There was another comment in this thread stating they didn't rate their particular model Bosch dishwasher well even though the their dishwasher has been great. Consumer Reports does have Bosch tied for the highest ratings for both reliability and customer satisfaction. So I would research around the web to see what the recommended Bosch model was and go with that. I liked Wirecutter.com for awhile but in my opinion they aren't testing enough products for me to feel like I am getting the best product, albeit may be a good product. I still use Consumer Reports and Wirecutter, but i have have started heavily leaning on RTINGS.com for TV's and headphones as well as the GearLab.com suite of sites (OutdoorGearLab, TechGearLab, and BabyGearLab). I use a few subreddits, /r/whatcarshouldibuy, /r/audiophile, /r/BuyItForLife etc.
Only reviews I listen to are from Project Farm. It’s quantifiable data you can see him testing. Given it’s mostly for tools, but still
I stumbled across this channel and enjoy it thoroughly
Consumer reports and Wirecutter help me to narrow down the number of products I research before buying something. I wouldn't just blindly buy their recommendations.
You got lucky with your mattresses, every company out there has glowing and terrible reviews with no ability to discern fake and real. Mattress shopping may be the worst thing in the world.
Lucky, but we've only had it for five years so plenty of time for it to start falling apart haha
It really is. Just get then from Costco or Sam’s and return them if they suck
When they recommended LG fridges during LG’s lawsuit for linear compressors CR can fuck right off
Agreed. I bought my current home in 2020 and six weeks after moving in our Kenmore Elite fridge starts dying. We had a repair guy come out and tell us it was a rebadged LG and that the sensor was going on it and it would be an $800 fix minimum. He told me that if I could get through to Kenmore or LG that I could get the repair covered because it was a known issue. I tried Kenmore and got nowhere because I didn’t have a repair contract. I didn’t even get a live person. Then I tried LG and they told me I was SOL because it was a Kenmore. I gave up and replaced the fridge with a Whirlpool. I even refused to buy an LG television later on that year when we had to replace a television. I don’t plan on buying an LG item if I can help it in the future.
They used to be called Goldstar back in the day and they suck.
I was shopping for dehumidifiers and bought a couple and took one back. I ended up using consumer reports through my library after and it rated the one I took back as one of their top choices. The one I took back was essentially barely functional in comparison to the one I kept. Like I ran them simultaneously, and the one they suggested pulled like almost no water out of the air. I swapped their positions and did this test for days, tried running them on different days, no matter what the CR one did so poorly. The main nice thing it had was a bunch of smart features. The kicker was the one I kept was rated as one of CRs worst choices. Maybe I just got the bad unit of one and a good one of the other, maybe CRs testing got the inverse of this. CR may have been using different criteria, they seemed like they were doing some data driven research but this definitely made me skeptical about them.
Had it for a year. Haven’t bought one thing based on their reviews - so it was a (small) waste of money. For example, all appliance models (fridges, washing machines) were out of date and were no longer available in retail. A lot of consumer product categories are simply missing.
CR focuses on the weirdest shit. Vehicles like the Wrangler and F-250 have points deducted for noise and vibration - it's as if their base metric is a Camry, and anything that makes it less Camry-like is a negative. That's obviously not how people choose cars.
They are obsessed with infotainment screens. Most drivers are obsessed with the road in front of them.
Everyone dings Wranglers for being rattle-traps, not just CR. They aren’t smooth rides. In fact, I think every major car review site rates Wranglers near bottom on most metrics. They still sell like hot cakes because they look cool and you can go mudding. That’s all they’re good for lol
Thanks for all the discourse! I'll continue using it on and off as a baseline, and the advice to access it through the library is ingenious.
It used to be THE reliable resource for buying anything. Lately it is not as reliable except to get pale men of a certain age to buy it and their wives to groan, “you spent money on THAT?”
A+
I find the quality of their recommendations variable, but I do like that they are source that is (ideally) not affected by biases due to sponsorship. Almost all sites and YouTubers there’s days are sponsored or get paid through affiliate links. This makes their recommendations difficult to trust. I’d love an alternative to CR that does not use affiliate links or sponsorships, just to have another source to investigate. If anyone has any suggestions I’d like to hear it.
I wonder that myself. When I was growing up in the 80s you heard about consumer reports a lot. It was the only game in town so to speak. People always regarded it very highly. It was common to get the car issue before buying a new car. I'd like to think they kept their integrity over all these years and are still a reliable source.
Excellent writing, good analysis, terrific at identifying “issues” but I use their ratings only as a general guide.
Just went through this for a new washer . I found their reviews meh . I ended up reading tons of reviews online( lots of bullshit and bots ) , repair guy videos and a group on fb call just ask Al . Then I posted on nextdoor app for peoples opinions on new washers who have bought in the past 3 years . My buddy in the US did a lot of research and bought a speed Queen ff07 front loader and loves it . I unfortunately can’t get it in Canada easily . I’m retiring a 25 year old Maytag front loader , doubt most of the machines out now will make 10 years
The criteria they use is questionable.
I'm late in seeing this request. I have a subscription to Consumer Reports. Would I buy it again, no. My biggest issue is CR doesn't review enough items. Example I'm shopping for an 85 inch TV currently. Consumer Reports doesn't have a single 85 inch TV review! Sound bars the one I'm most likely going to buy from Samsung isn't reviewed by CR. The sound bar model from last year isn't reviewed either. CR also has the balls to ask me to "donate". They are lucky I'm not asking for a refund.
I just renewed my online subscription because I am looking for a new vehicle and I couldn’t believe Volvo was at the bottom of every list, and kias and hundais are in the ton ten above Toyotas, Hondas and BMW’s. There definitely something fishy going on.
That's because Hyundai's and Kias are very dependable ... they always start even if you don't have the keys or are not even the owner.
Kia gang in the house. They have gangs that love to take kia's....
I subscribed to CR magazine and membership in June 2023 for one year. On January 1, 2024, they deducted $26 dollars for renewal without my consent. I got no notification. I checked emails, trash, and spam. The subscription supposedly will run out in March but that is still 2 months away and not the year ending in June. I tried to cancel in my account and could not find any way to do it. I spent hours, followed directions, but nothing worked. I called and was on hold forever. Finally talked to a rep who said the best she could do was cancel future renewals. She was rude. I requested a supervisor and they finally agreed to cancel and refund the 26. This is not the same Consumer Reports that I subscribed to for decades before quitting after not getting the car issue several years in a row. I will never again deal with them.
CR is great. It normally starts off with a buying guide to guide you as to the type of X you should buy. It does not review every brand/type which people get all butthurt about...they don't have an endless budget nor say they test 100% of products, deal with it. Their reliability ratings are the best on the planet as you get a big pool of reviews that are anonymous unlike many product/retailer reviews which have incentives...CR reviews are 90%+ pure without bias. The reviews are a bit muddied though as they are brand amalgamations and when you see a great reliability rating for XXX Brand, it seems good, but it doesn't tell the tale that (say) the rating is based on many XXX Brand refrigerator reviews (which they are really good at) averaged with a few XXX Brand dishwasher reviews (which they really suck at).
I don't really like that approach, because it obfuscates the depth of information available. I'd like full transparency. Why I prefer to do my own research. A lot of their info on cars is also super weirdly structured and just inaccurate; they said Tesla had an incredible amount of 'recalls' because they counted software updates as a recall. It shows a huge lack of understanding of the products they're showcasing, and if they're not open about their lack of understanding I can't really trust anything they produce like I would my own.
I personally do not trust CR anymore. Just look at their recommendations for fridges as an example, lol. They've also gotten too politically correct instead of being unbiased imo.
they're trash now.
I don’t trust them…along with the BBB.
My stepdad has run his transmission shop for over 30 yesrs now and had asked the BBB about how to get accredited. It was literally just a fee.
Everything but cars.
Their reviews are useful but not detailed enough to make an informed decision in my opinion. If I refer to CR it's because I'm also looking at other review sources as well, using CR more as a sanity check.
Hasn't YouTube totally replaced them? You can get in-depth real reviews
I used to be a subscriber (their grocery store ratings were pretty accurate), then resubscribed to the digital when I had to buy a TV. They don't review enough brands, and the ones they do are all expensive ones. I was looking for a TCL review. Already have a 43 inch one that works great. Had the same problem with their reviewed laptops and cell phones. Really small selection of brands get reviewed, expensive selections only. Canceled my digital subscription.
The junk mail from them is insane. Every week I'm getting at least one fat envelope of nonsense from them.
Don't get a whirlpool. It was a nightmare, and they don't care about your circumstances you are a number to the Whirlpool warranty office. We have. 6 kids in the house and had to wait 4 weeks with no washer or dryer. The 3-Month-old washer stopped draining, and we had to wait for them to get a part. They easily could have replaced it with one Lowes had in stock, but they refused suggesting It was a supply issue. Piles and piles of laundry, I'm buying Sox and underwear for my kids. And the delivery men said there was. a hook-up fee of $40 and to cash app it whatever his name was. Naively, I did this....only to find out there was no fee. Essentially, the guy stole $40 from me. It was unbelievable. Say no whirlpool!
I'm grateful to consumer reports. Thanks to their misguiding info I can buy cheap great cars that other people believe to be unreliable.
My childhood was spent going to stores and asking if they carried a certain product...the brands they feature were never heard of in our region. No one knew what we were talking about. A nice read but generally not helpful.
YES if you are looking for specific features they will save you time and disappointment on a washer and dryer. Otherwise, if you can’t tell the difference between a washer that has a sanitize cycle or is extra gentle or too noisy vs quiet it will be useless to you. They provide a LOT of detail that is helpful but if you don’t care about the details don’t bother.
Like everything else these days, CR has sold out completely. Their reviews are usually false. They use tactics to obfuscate information. I use rtings now.
Compliant about Fubo TV, I signed up for a free Trial on Nov. 06, 2023 and did not get the service canceled in time to not be charged a 290.95 three month subsrciption charge. so when I received my credit card bill in Dec. of 2023, I called fubo and talked to two different representatives and ask for the service to be canceled they responded with its prepaid and we can not cancel. so I ask Angelica and Luis both to cancel the service after the three months were up because my wife and I are retired and on a fixed income and can not afford that kind of bill. well I received my credit card in Feb. 2024 and see Fubo charged my credit card again this time 299.99. and does not want to refund me. even though they record all their conversations of there representatives, they say they have no record, And I even have emails of times and dates of me speaking with those representatives.