Honda crowned most reliable brand, Jaguar repair costs rocket

Honda has taken the top spot as the most reliable car manufacturer for 2023, new research from Warranty Solutions Group (WSG) has revealed.

WSG analysed more than 500 warranties sold for each of the UK’s top 15 volume car manufacturers, across vehicles 3-8 years old, between 2022 and 2023.

Honda took the top spot as the most reliable manufacturer, with a claim rate of just 4.18%. While Honda has experienced a similar claim rate for the last two years, there has been a significant drop in the overall costs of parts, due to the increased availability of aftermarket components. Battery replacements were the most common issue across Honda models, making up 20% of all claims, with an average claim of £220.50.

Toyota was the second most reliable car manufacturer with a claim rate of 4.44%, followed by Hyundai (8.36%) in third position. Starter motors and solenoids were the most common issues for Toyota (5.66%) with an average claim of £324.44, whilst ignition coils were the most common fault for Hyundai models (7.45%) averaging £119.13.

The highest claim rates of the 15 manufacturers were seen across Volkswagen (13.38%), followed by Fiat (13.08%), Citroen (12.83%) and Mercedes-Benz (12.75%).

Jaguar also saw the biggest increase in average claim cost (45.65%), rising to £668.06. The main driver for this change was the availability issues with aftermarket parts.  There has also been an increase in Jaguar owners using specialists or franchise dealers for repairs, incurring increased labour costs.

The most common claims for Volkswagen were ABS wheel speed sensors, alternators and water pumps, averaging repair costs of £173.67, £356.04 and £381.88 respectively.

The most common claims for Fiat were alternators, clutch master cylinders and ignition coils, with average repair costs of £245.53, £307.78 and £195.78.

Martin Binnee, operations director of WSG commented: “The build quality has improved significantly across all car manufacturers over the last few years and generally vehicles have become more reliable.  However, rapidly advancing electronics have increased the likelihood of more complicated and expensive faults.

“One knock-on effect of this is being seen in the SMR sector, where smaller independent garages are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with franchised dealers and specialists due to equipment and expertise constraints.

“Our extensive analysis of live, empirical data has enabled us to showcase the reliability of the top fifteen car manufacturers and models in the UK and highlights the most and least dependable models.”

Top 20 Most Reliable Models

The Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris and Toyota Aygo were the three most reliable used models from WSG’s analysis. Whilst both Honda and Toyota are renowned for their general reliability, this could also be attributed to the lower mileages that small city cars like these typically cover.

BMW had the largest number of models in the lineup (the X3, X1 and 2 Series), but the average claim cost for the 2 Series was the highest out of all 20 models. Automatic transmission, timing chains and torque converters were amongst the highest 2 Series claims, averaging £3,437.50, £2,500 and £2,500 respectively.

Steph Newbery, group marketing director of WSG commented: “The Honda Jazz takes the pole position as the most reliable used car for 2023 – an outstanding achievement for Honda, which was also the most reliable manufacturer in our analysis.

“With an enviable reputation for reliability and longevity, Honda has low claim rates and highly competitive parts prices, making it a great choice for the budget-conscious buyer.”

Overview by Top 3 Models

The Ford Fiesta was the most popular used car in the UK during 2023 (Source: SMMT) and the most popular across the WSG dealer network, making up 3.76% of all car warranty sales during the same period. Fiesta claims accounted for 2% of WSG’s car warranty claims in 2023, and 16.5% of the total Ford claims. The average claim was £360.07, whilst the three most common issues were alternators, coil springs and timing belts.

The Vauxhall Corsa was the second most popular model sold through the WSG network. Whilst the claim rate for all car warranty claims was lower at 3.17%, the Corsa made up almost a quarter of all Vauxhall claims (24.74%).

The third most popular was the VW Golf, which accounted for 2.64% of all car warranty claims. However, Golf claims made up the largest percentage of manufacturer claims in the top three, accounting for almost a third (31.47%) of all claims across the Volkswagen car range.

NB: The data above is based on a minimum of 200 warranty sales per model in 2023.