On Edmunds.com, the 1999 Daewoo Leganza received a “Consumer Rating” of 8.4 (out of a possible 10 points).  The 2002 Aston Martin DB7 only got an 8.2.  So please, please, please be careful when reading user reviews.

This was one of the takeaway messages of an article by Michael Kanellos.  “Perhaps no other time in human history has there been so much nitpicking,” he writes.  “All you have to do is troll a site like Yelp.com for a few minutes to find a cavalcade of complaints disguised as constructive criticism or - just as bad - positive, and largely tangential, compliments.”

Indeed.  Aston Martin can get away with charging over $100,000 for its base model; Daewoo couldn’t even keep its U.S. arm in business.  Which company do you think sells the better car?

Now, if you happen to own a company, this nuttiness may play out in your favor.  Daewoo certainly didn’t mind those positive reviews, and Kanellos’s research led him to believe that a fast food joint could score as well as “Campton Place and other celebrity chef restaurants.”  (Kanellos’s research also led Andy Beal to write about him, and I owe a hat tip to our friend at Marketing Pilgrim.)

But if you’re approaching user reviews from a buyer’s perspective - this bears repeating - please, please, please be careful.

Oh, and if anyone ever lets you choose between a Daewoo and an Aston Martin . . . well, I’d recommend that you take the latter, sell it, and buy an Acura and a Lotus.

Tags: Online Reviews, Yelp.com, Edmunds.com