The annual What Car? and Warranty Direct used car reliability survey has revealed that used Hondas are the most dependable cars.
A total of 38 manufacturers and 50,000 cars, all of which were between three and eight years old, were accounted for in the survey.
Honda, which once again topped the rankings for the eighth consecutive year, was one of several Far Eastern brands in the top ten.
Suzuki placed second, while Hyundai and Subaru tied in third place, followed by Toyota in fourth.
Those at the bottom of the table included Alfa Romeo, Porsche and Land Rover. Bentley came in last place, with 86 per cent of the Bentleys included in the survey expected to suffer a problem each year.
To see the full results of the survey, scroll down. Each car's "reliability index" is calculated from the number of breakdowns, average repair costs and repair time. The lower the number, the better. As a guideline, the average score is around 100.
Position / Make (average mileage / reliability index / average repair cost):
1. Honda (43,916, 39, £356.46)
2. Suzuki (36,094, 46, £258.03)
3=. Hyundai (48,162, 63, £252.95)
3=. Subaru (50,803, 63, £300.40)
5. Toyota (44,231, 70, £392.40)
6. Lexus (47,610, 81, £432.47)
7. Chevrolet (33,590, 88, £259.20)
8. Mitsubishi (46,543, 89, £422.56)
9=. Ford (47,298, 94, £296.49)
9=. Mazda (42,831, 94, £441.33)
11. Nissan (44,702, 96, £369.80)
12. Fiat (39,141, 97, £272.67)
13=. Citroën (43,954, 101, £308.64)
13=. Skoda (45,134, 101, £319.29)
15. Peugeot (44,730, 105, £285.96)
16. Daewoo (34,847, 117, £337.40)
17. Smart (32,804, 118, £300.32)
18. Kia (44,134, 119, £389.96)
19. SEAT (47,256, 126, £293.58)
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German Cars clever marketing
I have had French cars for years and apart from wear and tear nothing too expensive. I now have a VW and have had to pay out £1000 for electronic problems which caused me to break down twice. BMW is worse! If only everything was as reliable as a VW !
Don't buy a German car if you want to be stranded on the road! Look you French car haters - Citroen is 13 and BMW is 26 Go figure!!!
Anyone Notice, our German
Anyone Notice, our German lovers are absent from this thread, funny that, however I am sure if it was a German brand top and JLR at the bottom they would have been trumpeting their case..
Some truth in the claims...
I think it's unwise to dismiss the findings out of hand. Sure there are some variables to be taken into account but there is no denying the trends pretty much match other similar lists, HonestJohn has good enough on reliability. Which? magazine have done a recent report where the findings are not dissimilar, but with Toyota at the top. VW and other German companies were found not to be as reliable as people perceive. I can vouch for that. I have a 120d and 1.4 Polo both 57 plate. Total repair bills for them both this year? £10,000 (and that is not a typo). I didn't pay the full amount by a long stretch but that's a different story.
I thought about selling the 120d now it's fixed and looked at the 159 which I love the look of. Which? found that 1 in 5 159s reported to them broke down last year...
As for those dismissing warranties, I would not rule them out. I had an AA warranty for a few years and it paid out everytime, saving me a fortune. Warrantywise looks the better bet over Warranty Direct though as they pay the full labour cost irrespective of the car's age. I certainly wish I had taken one out this year... :/