RE: Europe's most (and least) reliable used cars

RE: Europe's most (and least) reliable used cars

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
Potential curve ball - Look at the brands and models that dominate the 'least reliable' category. Bar the espace they are all premium cars owned by people who mind be a tad more fussy than someone who is driving around in a Fabia.

For example in my Bentley days there was a Conti GT that came in for what I guess this survey would consider an 'electrical fault'. The customer wasn't happy with the way that that the phone system said the number '2' and proceeded to make quite a fuss when he found out that a main dealer did not have the skill or equipment to completely re programme his phone system voice overs.

Very rarely did I receive a car with an actual electrical fault on the job card - Most of the time the customer would be expecting the car to do something that it just couldn't or I'd pick the fault out via inspection, usually something that the customer or anyone else would be completely oblivious to if they weren't in the 'know'.

Interesting figures, but I'll take them with a heaping bowl of salt wink.

robinessex

11,046 posts

180 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
Rubbish. Anyone with an elementary knowledge of statistics could shoot holes in it.

Bradgate

2,819 posts

146 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
BBS-LM said:
Really?

5:00AM BST 26 Jul 2012

"If you're in the market for a used car and crave reliability above all else then seek out a model from Honda, Toyota or Lexus.
That's the advice of an annual survey carried out by What Car? and Warranty Direct, which carried out research based on 50,000 Warranty Direct policies on cars between three and 10 years old."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9426806/A...
The difference appears to be that one survey covers just European brands, but the other includes Japanese brands, which always come out on top of these things.

zebedee

4,589 posts

277 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
Hellbound said:
Beefmeister said:
Is that the only photo you could find of that generation E-Class? One that's been 'slammed and dealt with'?
I know! I wonder why they went out of their way to use that awful pic?
+1, please amend!

mrclav

1,281 posts

222 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
900T-R said:
Right, so the E-Class is the 'most reliable' and the damn-near-identical-under-the-skin CLS among the least reliable...
It's not quite as simple as that. For example the earlier, pre-facelift versions of the W211 model did not have "Pre-Safe" fitted as standard (that didn't come until the major refresh around 2007) whereas all CLS models would have. nerd

In other words, just because one model is "based" on another doesn't necessarily make them "damn-near-identical-under-the-skin" as there can be significant variations between different years of the same model of any car! This could quite possibly contribute to any disparity in reliability reports.

Bradgate

2,819 posts

146 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
279 said:
Potential curve ball - Look at the brands and models that dominate the 'least reliable' category. Bar the espace they are all premium cars owned by people who mind be a tad more fussy than someone who is driving around in a Fabia.
You may have a point, but I would suggest that the complexity of some modern premium cars is also a factor. There is a lot to potentially go wrong on a Discovery (4WD drivetrain, air suspension, hill descent control, switchable off-road modes, bluetooth, infotainment system, auto lights & wipers, DPF, electric seats, climate control, multi-mode transmission etc etc)than on a Fabia (metal box, engine, 4 wheels, seats).

The much simpler car, if built properly, should be inherently more reliable because there is much, much less to go wrong.

tomoleeds

770 posts

185 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
2002 onward Range Rovers,suffer gearbox failure between 100-125k, disco3 when 3-5 years old suffer gearbox and electronic handbrake problems. both suffer the air compressor failure,set aside £5k if you buy one of these for the repairs.

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
just an excuse for marketing of aftermarket warranties based on poor stats

lets face it, if they were all so bad the warranty company couldnt exist and make money, so the vast majority of all cars covered are fine, but the minority headline figures sell policies to people that fear big bills wink

Blackpuddin

16,409 posts

204 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
LankyPaddy said:
Any chance of seeing the full list?
In honour of your quality lurking:

Top 10 most reliable European cars

Mercedes-Benz E-Class (06-09)
Skoda Fabia (07-)
Smart ForTwo (07-)
Volvo C70 (06-)
Renault Scenic (03-09)
Peugeot 207 (06-12)
Volvo S80 (06-)
Citroen C3 Pluriel (03-10)
Mini One (07-)
Seat Ibiza (06-09)

ArmaghMan

2,398 posts

179 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
I would not trust anything that Warranty Direct say.
Shower of dishonest wkers.

GranCab

2,902 posts

145 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
I thought Warranty Direct was just for pensioners who had bought a used Rover 75 from former used car salesman Willson ... jester

PhilJames

234 posts

192 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
bogie said:
just an excuse for marketing of aftermarket warranties based on poor stats

lets face it, if they were all so bad the warranty company couldnt exist and make money, so the vast majority of all cars covered are fine, but the minority headline figures sell policies to people that fear big bills wink
Finally a conspiracy theory that make s sense!

Otispunkmeyer

12,557 posts

154 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
mrclav said:
900T-R said:
Right, so the E-Class is the 'most reliable' and the damn-near-identical-under-the-skin CLS among the least reliable...
It's not quite as simple as that. For example the earlier, pre-facelift versions of the W211 model did not have "Pre-Safe" fitted as standard (that didn't come until the major refresh around 2007) whereas all CLS models would have. nerd

In other words, just because one model is "based" on another doesn't necessarily make them "damn-near-identical-under-the-skin" as there can be significant variations between different years of the same model of any car! This could quite possibly contribute to any disparity in reliability reports.
CLS isnt even in the list? its the SL they put in the bottom five.

RTH

1,057 posts

211 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
Beefmeister said:
Is that the only photo you could find of that generation E-Class? One that's been 'slammed and dealt with'?
Ah yes the 'Mercedes Essex'

Blackpuddin

16,409 posts

204 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
Top 10 least reliable European cars, from the same source:

Land Rover Discovery (04-09)
Bentley Continental GT (03-10 )
Renault Espace (03-)
Mercedes-Benz SL (02-11)
Land Rover Range Rover Sport (05-10)
Renault Grand Scenic (04-09)
Saab 9-3 (02-)
BMW 7 Series (01-08)
Mercedes-Benz CLS (05-)
Renault Megane (02-09)

The 7 Series BM recorded the survey's largest single claim, at £10,120.39.

Ian_C

193 posts

209 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
Blackpuddin said:
Top 10 most reliable European cars

5. Renault Scenic (03-09)
6. Peugeot 207 (06-12)
8. Citroen C3 Pluriel (03-10)
You have got to be kidding me? Don't get me wrong I love French cars but I find these three being in the top ten simply impossible to believe

M@1975

591 posts

226 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
to be fair the inclusion of the Pluriel was mainly from people who could not figure out how to reassemble the stupid roof or who had damaged it by having to carry bits of it around in a completely impractical way when dismantled..

DeltaEvo2

868 posts

191 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
>>I would not trust anything that Warranty Direct say.
Shower of dishonest wkers.

I wouldn't trust anything the Telegraph says...hehe

HowMuchLonger

3,003 posts

192 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
tomoleeds said:
2002 onward Range Rovers,suffer gearbox failure between 100-125k,
Wow!
Does this comment cover all the different types of gearboxes used? I would imagine that there are only a couple of the 8speed boxes that have covered this sort of mileage, so for your facts to stand true of the 2 that have covered 100K+ there must be either a 50% or 100% failure rate.

M666 EVO

1,124 posts

161 months

Monday 24th September 2012
quotequote all
Hellbound said:
Beefmeister said:
Is that the only photo you could find of that generation E-Class? One that's been 'slammed and dealt with'?
I know! I wonder why they went out of their way to use that awful pic?

Agreed. That is one vile car.