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Latest Warranty Direct Figures Confirm Honda Most Reliable Cars

Wed, 22 Jul 2009

Japanese manufacturers may still hold sway when it comes to building the most reliable cars but, if you want a vehicle that’s cheap to repair, buy European.

That’s the message from automotive insurance specialist, Warranty Direct, as it unveiled its Manufacturer Reliability Index (www.reliabilityindex.co.uk) of the most dependable used cars (3-6 year old) for 2009.

Honda claims top spot as the brand least likely to break down with fellow Japanese owned manufacturers Mazda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan and Mitsubishi close behind in the Top 10. At the other end of the table, off-road favourite, Land Rover, records failure rates of 47 percent in an average year.

Warranty Direct studied the reliability and cost of repair of 250 of the most popular models during the last 12 months. A total of 30 manufacturers from a database of 50,000 policies were analysed.

“It can be a painful experience owning a car,” says Duncan McClure Fisher, managing director of Warranty Direct. “Perhaps buyers should canvass for Health Warning stickers in the same way the industry has adopted low emissions tax band grading. Maybe that’ll incentivise improved reliability and quality?”

Tables Showing Top 10 Most Reliable Brands / Least Reliable Brands

	Manufacturer	Incidence rate		Manufacturer	Incidence rate
1	Honda	10.59%	1	Land Rover	46.74%
2	Mazda	13.03%	2	Renault	38.54%
3	Toyota	13.08%	3	Saab	38.03%
4	Subaru	13.92%	4	Jeep	36.39%
5	Smart	16.67%	5	Audi	32.74%
6	Nissan	16.79%	6	SEAT	32.04%
7	Mitsubishi	17.18%	7	MG	31.47%
8	Lexus	19.01%	8	Chrysler	30.14%
9	MINI	23.16%	9	Volvo	28.65%
20	Porsche	24.34%	10	Mercedes	28.6%

Renault and Saab also perform badly, both with a 38 percent chance of breaking down in an average year, while Land Rover’s fellow 4x4 make, Jeep, make for a pair of off road manufacturers at the wrong end of the table.

Although Porsche is the 10th most reliable car on the road, the German marque has the most expensive average repair bill (£793.05) of the 30 manufacturers analysed by Warranty Direct.

In comparison, Skoda, is the cheapest to repair, boasting an average yearly garage bill of £215.94. With the exception of Honda, the Czech manufacturer is joined by a clutch of popular European marques – Citroen, Renault, Peugeot, Ford, SEAT, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Fiat - in the 10 least expensive brands to repair.

Table Showing Top 10 Average Repair Costs

	Manufacturer	Average repair cost
1	Skoda	£215.94
2	Citroen	£228.32
3	Renault	£249.51
4	Peugeot	£251.34
5	Ford	£256.03
6	SEAT	£266.15
7	Vauxhall	£269.10
8	Volkswagen	£285.41
9	Honda	£295.42
10	Fiat	£296.20

Table Showing Bottom 10 Average Repair Costs

	Manufacturer	Average repair cost
1	Porsche	£793.05
2	Jeep	£541
3	Jaguar	£484.46
4	Subaru	£479.67
5	Mitsubishi	£454.22
6	Chrysler	£450.23
7	Mercedes	£447.73
8	Land Rover	£438.38
9	Audi	£414.74
10	MG	£400.98

McClure Fisher warned: “Repair bills may be low but the regularity with which you visit the garage could be high, or vice versa.”

Warranty Direct’s Reliability Index uses a formula to calculate overall vehicle reliability, taking into account each car’s rate of failure, average mileage, age and repair cost.

For more information or to find out how your car fares, visit www.reliabilityindex.co.uk