11:36 pm, March 21, 2011
WARRANTY Direct has revealed that the UK’s most reliable car is not German, nor is it Japanese – but it’s the Peugeot 207.
The company analysed more than 20,000 live policies on European cars aged between three to seven years for its Reliability Index website, and found that only one in 17 207s break down in the UK in an average year.
The index also found that at the other end of the scale, 47 per cnet of the Mercedes SL models covered by Warranty Direct recorded a fault, with 36 per cent of those suspension-related.
The Fiat Panda is the second most reliable car, with only 14 per cent of owners likely to have to pay for repairs, followed by the Peugeot 206 CC, which, as well as needing relatively little attention, is also cheap to repair when it does go wrong, costing on average £185 to put right.
The Renault Clio is the cheapest to repair at £173 on average, while the most expensive single claim among the bottom five cars was £7,239 for a BMW 7-Series fault.
Warranty Direct managing director, Duncan McClure Fisher, said: ‘Some people might be surprised to see Fiat and Peugeot claiming the top three positions, but the data doesn’t lie – these cars are very dependable. It’s perhaps less surprising to see a couple of VWs in the top ten.
‘Running a car is a costly business, particularly when a car moves into its fourth and fifth year, when most cars leave the protection of a manufacturer warranty. Anything that gives a little extra peace of mind, like getting further warranty cover or simply doing research about the car you’re buying, is worthwhile.’
To measure a car’s overall reliability and running costs, Warranty Direct’s Reliability Index reviews rate of failure, average mileage, age and repair cost to calculate its rating, called Reliability Index.
