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Honda is the most reliable used car brand in the UK, according to the latest What Car? and Warranty Direct reliability survey.
The brand has held the top slot for seven consecutive years with just a one in 10 chance of cars suffering a breakdown in any given 12-month period.
Toyota was rated second and its premium Lexus brand third as Japanese brands once again dominated the ratings with eight of the top 10 positions.
Premium marques fared badly in the ratings with low positions for BMW and Audi, while Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Land Rover were all in the bottom 10.
The research was based on 50,000 Warranty Direct policies on cars between three and 10 years old.
Axle and suspension problems are the most common car faults, accounting for 28.56% of all breakdowns handled by Warranty Direct. Electrical faults came second, accounting for 24.3% of reported problems.
US brand Chevrolet is the only manufacturer from outside the Far East to break into the top 10. It also has the lowest average repair bill, £227, of the most reliable marques.
While Porsche models were found to be the most expensive to repair, with an average garage bill of £623.
Manufacturers’ relaiability ratings
| Make | Ave Mileage |
Reliabity Index * |
Failure Rate |
|
| 1 | Honda | 47,190 | 39 | 10% |
| 2 | Toyota | 47,610 | 68 | 17% |
| 3 | Lexus | 51,016 | 82 | 18% |
| 4 | Suzuki | 35,612 | 50 | 19% |
| 5 | Subaru | 57,403 | 68 | 20% |
| 6= | Hyundai | 51,776 | 68 | 21% |
| 6= | Mazda | 44,510 | 91 | 21% |
| 6= | Mitsubishi | 48,693 | 91 | 21% |
| 9 | Chevrolet | 30,468 | 50 | 22% |
| 10 | Nissan | 46,356 | 96 | 25% |
| 11 | Kia | 44,310 | 95 | 26% |
| 12= | Ford | 51,207 | 87 | 31% |
| 12= | Skoda | 49,827 | 96 | 31% |
| 14 | Citroën | 46,712 | 95 | 32% |
| 15= | Peugeot | 48,770 | 99 | 35% |
| 15= | Daewoo | 40,628 | 102 | 35% |
| 15= | Smart | 36,381 | 104 | 35% |
| 18 | Mini | 40,812 | 146 | 37% |
| 19 | Fiat | 44,214 | 97 | 38% |
| 20= | Seat | 50,223 | 118 | 39% |
| 20= | Volkswagen | 53,000 | 134 | 39% |
| 20= | Volvo | 59,482 | 161 | 39% |
| 20= | Porsche | 38,742 | 243 | 39% |
| 24 | Vauxhall | 50,269 | 123 | 40% |
| 25 | BMW | 57,766 | 175 | 41% |
| 26 | Audi | 56,813 | 197 | 42% |
| 27= | Rover | 49,620 | 167 | 43% |
| 27= | Jaguar | 49,630 | 184 | 43% |
| 29 | Mercedes-Benz | 53,386 | 215 | 45% |
| 30 | MG | 45,005 | 197 | 48% |
| 31= | Saab | 56,149 | 161 | 50% |
| 31= | Chrysler | 51,110 | 207 | 50% |
| 33= | Renault | 47,194 | 137 | 52% |
| 33= | Jeep | 49,084 | 228 | 52% |
| 35 | Alfa Romeo | 52,370 | 202 | 55% |
| 36 | Land Rover | 55,451 | 300 | 71% |
*Relianility Index includes average cost of repair, incident rate, average mileage and average age.
Source: What Car?/Warranty Direct