In my opinion, 'unreliable' has a new meaning today than it did 25+ years ago, considering how much of an increase in quality there has been in the auto industry.

Unreliable in 1984 was comparing a well made Japan car, with very few issues, to one from GM, Ford or Chrysler where it did break down a lot and wasn't even right when you first got it.

I remember my parents getting a new car in 1980 ish, and my mother having a notebook for the first 2 weeks and writing down everything that was wrong with it. I asked why she was doing it, and she said "this is what you do. You write down all the problems, then you go back to the dealer and have them fix them."

I asked, wise beyond my years "we just paid X thousand for this car....why isn't it right when we buy it?" Mom's answer was "that's just how it is".

Now the contrast to today, where "50% more defects" or "Unreliable" means that you might break down one more time than you would in a Honda, or have 1 more system issue over a 5 year period. Decent odds that if it happens, it happens under warranty, and you end up with a little inconvenience, but if you liked the car a lot better in 7 other areas, well, that might be a good tradeoff.

So while I think buyers SHOULD consider reliability in evaluating a car, it's IMO not as big a factor anymore.