It’s always an issue when coming to buy or lease a new vehicle – will it let me down?
And the answer has now been provided by Warranty Direct who have looked at the claim rates for cars aged between 3 and 6 years.
Not surprisingly the Land Rover tops the list with 85% of cars needing attention in the past year. Of those most needed work on the axle and suspension.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class - it's not a 'show stopper'
However, the best car to run is the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. While not a show stopped, it is reliable with just 15% of owners putting in a claim – mainly for axle and suspension issues.
The second best car is the Skoda Fabia with a 15% rate for electrical issues, followed by the Smart ForTwo which has cooling and heating problems.
The Volvo C70 weighs in at fourth with 16% of owners claiming for electrical problems. The largest claim was for an eye-watering £1,888.
I think Renault owners won’t be surprised that their cars appear on the good and bad lists.
Good: Renault Scenic – 17% of owners claimed, mainly for axle and suspension.
Bad: Renault Espace (76%), engine; Grand Scenic (63%), electrical; Megane (57%), electrical.
Other surprises on the ‘Bad’ list include the Bentley Continental in second place with 78% of owners experiencing electrical issues.
The Merc SL and Range Rover Sport have axle and suspension issues; the BMW 7 Series (58%) it’s electrical and the Merc CLS (also 58%) it’s the axle and suspension.
The largest claim was for the BMW 7 Series at an astonishing – and probably borderline write-off – £10,120; the Range Rover had a £6,400 bill and the Merc SL had a £3,102 bill.
Of course, the easiest way to avoid these hefty bills is to lease your car – it’s growing in popularity and the responsibility for any repairs lies with the leasing company.
Time to think again about why we buy new cars?