Honda has been named the most reliable used car manufacturer for the ninth consecutive year, according to research by What Car? and Warranty Direct. Suzuki and Toyota completed the top three places. Chevrolet, Ford, Skoda, Peugeot and Fiat also forced their way into the top 10.
The annual survey covers 38 manufacturers and analyses 50,000 live Warranty Direct policies on three to eight-year-old vehicles. Warranty Direct’s unique Reliability Index (RI) calculates a score for vehicle’s reliability using a complex formula that takes into account its failure rate, age, mileage and cost of repair. The lower the RI number, the more trustworthy the car.
Luxury and prestige marques traditionally score poorly due to high replacement component and labour costs. Bentley and Porsche were among the poorest scorers. According to Warranty Direct, 93% of Bentleys on its books suffered a problem each year, making it Britain’s least dependable car maker.
However, Bentley rejected the survey's findings, releasing a statement saying: “The Warranty Direct survey is not an accurate reflection of the Bentley ownership experience, as it covers less than four per cent of the Bentley vehicles of comparable age on the road in the UK. It also fails to include any comparable high luxury brands as a benchmark. Due to the very high quality materials and components used throughout our vehicles, the cost of owning and maintaining a Bentley is never going to be directly comparable with the other cars in this survey.
“Bentley has such confidence in the reliability and build quality of its cars that it offers those customers wanting complete peace-of-mind a comprehensive and industry-leading three-year warranty on any Pre-Owned car up to 11 years old. The Bentley warranty covers all mechanical and electrical components, includes cover against consequential damage and MOT test insurance, and has no mileage or claim limit.”
Overall, the most reliable models are the Honda Jazz and Mitsubishi Lancer, both of which also carry reasonable average repair costs. The least reliable model is the Audi RS6, but the mighty Subaru Impreza is the most costly to fix, with an eye-watering average repair bill of £1635.70.
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