How Does Consumer Reports Get Cars For Review?

If you are a car enthusiast, you’ll know that Consumer Reports is the oldest and most trusted name in testing and reviewing cars. The organization is known for its thorough reviews of cars using facts obtained directly from consumers and car owners.

One thing about Consumer Reports is that they have reviews about practically every car that has graced the market. If you are conversant with them, you’ll start wondering if they buy these cars for review purposes or if the companies gift them.

How Does Consumer Reports Get Cars For Review?

Surprisingly, Consumer Reports purchases every single car that they review. This means that the team at Consumer Reports purchases over 50 cars in one year for review. Equally of interest is that the team at Consumer Reports buys all their cars anonymously. When purchasing cars, they focus on trim levels that average car buyers will go for.

Acquiring these many cars in a year is not cheap. Consumer Reports spends over 1 Billion Naira annually to purchase and review cars.

Why Do Consumer Reports Buy Cars Instead

While purchasing these cars is very expensive for Consumer Reports, it is necessary for the thorough and honest reviews the publication writes about cars each year. Acquiring cars themselves helps them bring value to consumers who need honest feedback on these cars.

The truth is, when publications receive car gifts from car manufacturers, they tend to write reviews of interest to the manufacturer. But, Consumer Reports shy away from such deals because it creates biases and sometimes misinform car enthusiasts about a particular car.

A car company may give a reviewer a higher trim level of a vehicle, which may perform better than the lower trims that most buyers go after. By purchasing cars themselves, Consumer Reports ensures that the staff tests the type of cars consumers are likely to buy. Anonymously buying them also helps the staff prevent preferential treatment from car dealerships.

Buying their cars also helps Consumer Reports to take their time to test and review a car. According to Consumer Reports, before a car review is published, the car goes through 50 tests from its staff. And before each of the tests takes place, Consumer Reports drives the cars for 2,000 miles.

How Does The Publication Generate Revenue From Car Reviews?

Firstly, Consumer Reports don’t get car gifts from manufacturers, they also don’t offer advertisements on their website. They generate income through subscriptions. It costs $35 to subscribe to their website, giving subscribers access to every article and review they publish. Consumer Reports also has a physical magazine that subscribers can get. Another angle they make money is through donations.

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Conclusion

In general, Consumer Reports has remained an independent car review body over the years, making it one of the most reliable publications for honest car reviews.