On 3/23/2004 1:42 PM, frank wrote:
On 23 Mar 2004 15:57:42 GMT, (Bob Rahe) wrote:


In article ,
Bill Seurer wrote:

Betsy wrote:

The problem as I see it is that people need to know much more about the
longevity of the purchase. CR gives some guidelines, but no actual polling
of actual owners. Nor is there any consistent followup of the product
performing in a real-life situation.

Yes they do. Every year they survey their subscribers. You can see
stuff like car reliability data going back 10 years. Where did you
think they got the brand reliability numbers they put in most reviews?


And such statistics are not reliable. They are not a valid statistical
sample because the population is self-selecting. As in, the reliablity
figures are only valid for the sample that chose to reply to the
survey.


Technically I agree with you but that goes for any survey since I
don't know one that surveys the entire population including the United
States census bureau.

Probably the most reliable survey in the US is on IRS form 1040:

"Do you, or your spouse if filing a joint return, want $3 to go to this
fund?"

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