The BMW 1 Series (2005-2011) is the most unreliable used car in the UK according to a new survey by What Car? The Toyota Yaris is the most reliable.
We’re somewhat pre-conditioned to think that German cars are amongst the safest of used car buys – great engineering and great build quality – but a new survey by what Car? rather puts paid to that notion.
The survey – of more than 18,000 drivers with cars between four and 10 years old – asked owners how reliable their cars have been over the previous year, the type of problem and whether it was fixed under warranty.
There was no real surprise for the most reliable list, with Japanese car makers taking seven out of the top ten positions, with a trio of Hondas – the Civic, CR-V and Jazz – the Mitsubishi ASX, Lexus CT. Lexus RX and, at the top of the reliable tree, the Toyota Yaris with 99.1 per cent reliability. The other top ten reliable cars were the Audi Q3, SEAT Leon and VW Touareg.
But at the other end of the scale it was the BMW 1 Series (up to 2011) which was the big fat lemon, with a reliability score of just 40.1 per cent.
Also on the least reliable list is the Ford Kuga (20018-2012), the Nissan Qashqai (2007-2013), the Ford Focus (2004-1010), the Land Rover Discovery 4 and another BMW – the 2003-2010 5 Series.
Steve Huntingford, What Car? Editor, 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.
So if you want a reliable used car, avoid the Germans and buy Japanese.
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