Suzuki tops list of most-reliable brands for used cars – survey
Lexus and Toyota completed the podium places.
Suzuki has come out on top in a survey of the most reliable brands for cars aged six to 20 years old.
It achieved the highest brand rating of 94.7 per cent in What Car’s Used Car Reliability Survey, helped by strong reliability scores for its Swift and Vitara models. Japanese brands occupied six of the top 10 most-reliable brand places, with Lexus, Toyota and Honda taking second, third and fourth spaces respectively.
At the other end of the scale, Citroen and Land Rover received the lowest brand reliability ratings, scoring 60.3 and 61.3 per cent respectively.
When it came to types of cars, smaller vehicles scored the best with the Honda Jazz posting a perfect 100 per cent score. Luxury SUVs, in contrast, had the lowest average score of 69.5 per cent, with the seven-seater Land Rover Discovery getting the worst rating of all at 47.8 per cent. Compared with the Discovery, the most reliable luxury SUV was the Volkswagen Touareg which posted a score of 89.3 per cent.
As part of the survey, owners were asked if their vehicle had gone wrong in the last 24 months, how long these repairs took to complete and how much they cost. The overall score was then presented as a percentage. What Car gathered feedback from nearly 25,000 owners of cars aged between six and 20 years old, with more than 400 models included from 30 brands.
Claire Evans, What Car? consumer editor, said: “As the rise in living costs becomes ever more acute, buyers are turning to used cars over new models.
“Despite the potential cost savings, used cars are more expensive to buy than a year ago, and reliability is more important than ever if you don’t want to be hit by expensive and potentially time-consuming repair bills.”
Of the drivers who owned older vehicles, 26.5 per cent said that their cars had gone wrong in the past 24 months and, of these, 13.1 per cent were fixed under warranty. Though the majority of repairs bills were under £500, 6.5 per cent said that they had to fork out more than £1,500 to get their cars fixed.
