Honda's are the most reliable used cars according to What Car?

What Car? has just announced that based on their research alongside Warranty Direct, Honda is considered the most reliable used car manufacturer in the UK.  Honda has proudly held that position for the eighth consecutive year.

The survey included data from 38 manufacturers and 50,000 live Warranty Direct policies on three to eight-year old vehicles. From the list of most reliable used vehicles in the study, it appears that Asian manufacturers came out on top, with Suzuki and Hyundai second and third behind Honda. Having owned a Honda myself at one point, I personally think I’d agree with the survey results. Best little run around I’ve had in my college years. Easy to drive, maintain, and re sell.

What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: “Honda’s success in the reliability stakes is down to low failure rates, and when cars do go wrong they’re easy and cheap to fix."

What Car? has also reported that luxury models such as “Bentley, Land Rover and Porsche are the most likely to break down – 86% of Bentleys suffer a problem each year, making it Britain’s least dependable car maker.”  Plus, according to What Car?, the overall least reliable model is the Audi RS6 and get this, the Porsche 911 is the most expensive to fix “with an eye-watering average repair bill of £1157.04”. Ouch! One would expect makers on the other end of the market, the higher priced side, to come closer to the top 10 after paying so much to buy in the first instance.

So which models did What Car? consider the overall most reliable? That would be the Mitsubishi Lancer and Vauxhall Agila, as they are also considered the cheapest to repair.

If you would like to see where each manufacturer ranked in the survey, below is a table provided in What Car?’s recently published press release.

 

Reliability rating of all manufacturers

Position	Make	Ave   Mileage	RI	Average   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
20	Vauxhall	47,208	127	£310.24
21	Volkswagen	49,192	135	£336.30
22	MINI	38,094	138	£385.57
23	Renault	44,276	142	£266.32
24	Rover	40,281	151	£379.23
25	Saab	51,370	168	£319.70
26=	BMW	51,521	173	£427.32
26=	Volvo	54,597	173	£403.85
28	MG	34,301	183	£406.46
29	Jaguar	45,876	185	£436.19
30	Mercedes-Benz	48,961	219	£468.32
31	Audi	52,963	230	£525.49
32	Jeep	47,357	232	£430.02
33	Chrysler	49,367	246	£403.15
34	Ssangyong	43,782	247	£387.78
35	Alfa   Romeo	47,095	251	£385.54
36	Porsche	36,654	270	£616.22
37	Land   Rover	52,733	325	£437.91
38	Bentley	35,494	482	£560.27

 

It just go to show that despite looking flashy in a luxury car, style over substance is not the way to go if you want reliability and reasonable overall running costs. I actually don't mind being seen in a Honda Civic, but I also think I'd look just as good in a Lexus GS. What do you say? Let me know your thoughts on this survey via the blog or Twitter page.