2:22 pm, September 24, 2026
A Mercedes-Benz owner was quoted more than £43,700 for a replacement engine after their seven-year-old car suffered catastrophic mechanical failure with fewer than 49,000 miles on the clock.
The Mercedes E53 AMG suffered extensive engine damage following oil starvation, leaving the vehicle in need of a complete replacement engine.
A brand-new unit was priced at £43,700.95, but warranty provider Warranty Solutions Group (WSG) managed to source a used replacement from Germany for £30,913.30.
The total repair bill came to £31,393.58, with WSG agreeing to cover £29,518.82, including VAT, under the vehicle’s warranty.
It is the largest individual claim approved by the provider since it began operating in 2021.
The owner was left to pay the remaining £1,874.76 for parts and charges excluded from the warranty, including nuts, bolts, screws, clamps, pipes, caps, an environmental charge and a replacement battery.
Steph Newbery, group director at WSG, said: ‘Without substantial warranty support, a repair of this size could leave a motorist facing an extremely difficult decision about whether their vehicle was economically viable to repair.’
The case highlights the potential cost of major mechanical failures on used cars, with WSG’s latest warranty data revealing the faults generating the biggest repair bills.
Engine failures were the most expensive major repair category across the provider’s internal combustion engine claims, costing an average of £3,906.79.
Steering rack and pinion claims averaged £1,708.51, followed by diesel particulate filters at £1,559.62 and gearboxes at £1,380.95.
Dual-mass flywheel repairs cost an average of £1,115.75, while turbocharger claims averaged £1,042.74.
The Mercedes repair was not the only five-figure claim handled by the warranty provider.
A Jaguar F-Pace generated a £23,044.70 repair bill after requiring a replacement engine and associated components, while a Ford Ranger needed £10,311 of repairs, including a new engine and turbocharger.
WSG’s analysis also found substantial differences in claim rates between individual models.
Among internal combustion engine vehicles meeting its minimum data threshold, the Range Rover recorded a claim rate of 52.65%, followed by the Land Rover Discovery at 51.64% and Range Rover Sport at 47.17%.
At the other end of the scale, the Ford Fiesta recorded the lowest claim rate at 9.55%, followed by the Mini Cooper at 11.49% and Volkswagen Polo at 13.89%.
The figures reflect WSG’s own warranty portfolio rather than the wider reliability of vehicles across the UK car parc.
Meanwhile, NOx sensors were the most frequently claimed-for fault, accounting for 2.45% of single claims and costing an average of £590.26 to repair.
Battery failures accounted for 2.20% of claims, with an average repair cost of £255.56.
The figures come after WSG announced in June that it had paid out more than £30m across over 57,000 approved warranty claims since launching in 2021.