JD Power Set To Return To American Hands - Will This Mean More Relevant Industry Studies?

A U.S. private equity firm that recently acquired Autodata Solutions Group has now reached an agreement to buy J.D. Power and Associates, the data analytics and consumer intelligence firm that also has close ties to the auto industry.

Equity firm Thoma Bravo, with offices in San Francisco and Chicago, said late Tuesday that it expects the transaction to acquire J.D. Power to close by year end, subject to customary closing conditions.

Terms were not announced. But Reuters had reported in May that the seller, China-backed equity firm XIO Group, was looking to value J.D. Power at close to $1.9 billion, including debt, citing people familiar with the matter.

Read Article

MDarringer - 7/31/2019 10:27:40 AM

+1 Boost

No. It will mean more data manipulation to constantly churn who is #1 so as to sell the JD Power endorsement which is where the company makes its money. JD Power like the IIHS is 100% marketing and 0% truth.

Truthy - 7/31/2019 12:58:48 PM

+1 Boost

I remember years ago when Consumer Reports loudly reminded everyone that they do not accept advertising. However, they do accept donations.
I am sure shenanigans happen at JD Power too, especially under Chinese ownership.

MD, what is a credible resource for reliability?

TomM - 7/31/2019 3:06:41 PM

+1 Boost

Truthy - there really isn't any "Polling" type company that produces reliable data. To get such date - you would need to get it from the Manufacturers Warranty repair payments themselves..

Simply Polling customers with a script has many FATAL Flaws - not the least of which is people LIE, People don't remember, Depending on how much they paid for the cars - they may minimize certain repairs deliberately. People who spend a lot for a car - tend to maximize the littlest repair - while people who spend the least for the car - tend to minimize repairs. Example - when I bought my Chrysler Mini-van - a test drive showed it had a pulsating brake due to a front rotor being warped - too much run-out. THey replaced it BEFORE they delivered the car - so this would not show up in Warranty repairs - it should show up in Pre-warranty inspection problems.

MDarringer - 8/1/2019 11:34:36 AM

+1 Boost

Hard to get hands on easily, but data on volume of warranty service tells the tale.