I was surprised to see Fiat in 3rd position in the reliability index (www.reliabilityindex.co.uk), one place above Honda.
Does this put paid to all the flak thrown at Fiats recently in some of the posts?
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Well all three of my fiats have never broken down.
However they do suffer niggly little squeaks and rattles and general annoyances that are all beyond of the wit of Fiat to Fix. (the window winder handle falls off if you get too rough with it).
But they dont break down..
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...But they dont break down..
Kiss of death, surely!
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Well, that reliability index doesn't actually mean Fiat's break down less often than Honda. It only means Fiats sold with extended warranty break down less often than Hondas. It's fair enough, because you don't see that many 10 year old Tipos or Unos sold by garages with extended warranty, do you? 10 year old Civic, that's a 1.5-2k worth of car, likely to have Warranty Direct package added...
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My brief experience of Fiats suggests they are as relaible as this survey appears to be:-)
madf
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...perhaps he had the page upside down...LOL
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It doesn't even mean this.
What it means is that the average cost of repairing a FIAT over the period of the warranty is less than that of a Honda.
If the average Honda repair was to cost five times that of a FIAT then if FIATs only broke down 4.9 timkes more often the average repair cost would be less.
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I'm too long in the tooth not to recognise marketing BS being used to coverlousy quality when I see it.
Clearly then this sort of spin is manifest nonsense and has nothing to do with reliability in the sense of being able to use my car as opposed to it being in the shop, which I have a reasonable right to expect to do because that is what I bought it for. As the saying goes: there are lies, damned lies and statistics.
I'd take the Honda if it breaks down 4.9 times less, thank you.
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Figures for Honda Civic:
Reliabilty Index 46
Average Age 5.11
Average Mileage 45219
Time off the Road 1.56
Average Repair Cost £223.45
Air Conditioning -
Axle & Suspension 31.58%
Braking System 15.79%
Cooling and Heating System 23.68%
Electrical 15.79%
Engine -
Fuel System 2.63%
Transmission 10.53%
Figures for Fiat Brava/o:
Reliabilty Index 30
Average Age 2.90
Average Mileage 31176
Time off the Road 2.71
Average Repair Cost £210.36
Air Conditioning 1.82%
Axle & Suspension 38.18%
Braking System 1.82%
Cooling and Heating System 7.27%
Electrical 18.18%
Engine 10.91%
Fuel System 9.09%
Transmission 12.73%
Both very similar on electrical faults, Honda significantly worse on cooling/heating, and (scarily) on braking. The fact that there is no figure for Honda engine problems might suggest that when Fiat cooling fails it fails big. I think on balance, given the lower initial cost of the Fiat I'd go for that as there really is not much in it: in fact I'd go as far as to say that the Fiat seems a more even package.
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So if I am reading the stats correctly the average Honda is getting on for twice as old as the average Fiat; yet spends roughly half the time off the road. So Fiat is 'better'......
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But the Honda is doing far fewer miles per year...
Honda 45219 / 5.11 years = 8849 miles per year
Fiat 31176 / 2.9 years = 10750 miles per year
Given the cost difference I don't think that's too bad. Firstly because the higher mileage suggests the Fiats are getting worked harder in general--lots are hire cars, are they not? Plus the Honda has some real bugbears: brakes and cooling. Interesting that they were similar on electrical faults, don't you think?
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Are those "numbers" refering to a Japanese Honda or a European one?
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Presumably UK registered Hondas, so who knows where they originate? Do you reckon it makes a difference? The climate/type of use certainly might.
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Just hazarding Asian build quality would probably be better. Then you have the perception issue (having maligned the marketing pimples, perhaps for once unjustly, because they might have a point here) which suggests what would you rather be seen in, a Fiat or a Honda?
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I'm pretty sure that the Hondas in question would be Japanese-built.
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Then they should be rock-solid. Honda Japan has now outsourced their transmission production to a new plant in the Philippines, which exports to Thailand and neighbouring countries. So we must be doing something right. No sign of Fiats here yet, though LOL.
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Meant also to add that your next Honda may have a Philippines built tranny in it!
tinyurl.com/kuxn
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>your next Honda may have a Philippines built tranny in it!
Honda must be desperate if you get a free "lady boy" with every car ;-)
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Interesting that the Fiat was a Bravo/a, a car now out of production, as far as UK is concerned.
As I've said before, a vehicle well into its manufacturers life cycle, or towards the end, will have been made as good as it will get. No niggles from new model gremlins & the like.
Saying that I think Fiat an under-rated brand & Bravo still looks a modern design, as well as being a 'lot of car for the £$£$' in the used market.
Be interesting to see what the man from Ford will do for Fiat, assuming he takes his new job offer!
VB
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Vansboy
The reliability league table was for FIAT group as a whole. I just picked the Brava/o as being a representative FIAT and the Civic as its nearest Honda competitor.
I agree with you: for the money you get a lot more FIAT than you do Honda (optional extras notwithstanding--see above).
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