Toyota Yaris named most reliable second-hand car while BMW 1 Series fares poorly
Japanese supermini proved to be most reliable used car as Japanese manufacturers dominate top 10
The Toyota Yaris has been named the country’s most reliable second-hand car purchase in a survey of owners, scoring a near-perfect reliability rating of 99.1 per cent.
Consumer magazine What Car? surveyed 18,000 drivers who owned a vehicle between four and 10 years old, with Japanese manufacturers dominating the top 10 most reliable vehicles.
The Yaris took top honours, with just nine per cent of owners reporting a fault with their car. Second place went to a car from Toyota’s sister brand Lexus – the CT. Built from 2011 onwards, the hatchback scored 98.8 per cent, and was followed by the 2011 – 2018 Audi Q3 diesel, which scored 96.5 per cent.
Honda fared very well in the rankings, with three of its recent models – the Civic diesel, CR-V and Jazz – in the top 10. The rest of the list of most reliable cars included the Mitsubishi ASX, Seat Leon, Lexus RX, and Volkswagen Touareg.
However, the survey also revealed the used cars most likely to develop a fault. The dubious honour of least reliable used car went to the BMW 1 Series, built between 2004 and 2011, scoring just 40.1 per cent. Nearly a third of owners reported a fault with their car, with battery and engine problems being the most common issues. Repairs for the German hatchback cost up to £1,500.
It was followed by the 2008 – 2012 Ford Kuga, which scored 44.2 per cent, while Nissan was the only Japanese manufacturer to be found near the bottom of the table – its popular Qashqai crossover received a reliability rating of just 55.4 per cent.
Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “Reliability is often at the forefront of any vehicle purchase. With nearly eight million used vehicles sold last year, there is huge scope for things to go wrong.
“By shining a light on the reliability of various makes and models, we hope to help buyers make the right decision when choosing their next used purchase.”
The survey found that across all vehicles, nearly a third of owners had suffered a fault with their car, but 22 per cent said the manufacturer had picked up the repair bill under warranty.
