The UK’s £3.9 billion annual repair bill for used cars

Britain’s motorists spend almost £4 billion a year repairing cars aged four to eight-years old that break down after their manufacturer warranties expire, according to research from Warranty Direct.

In its newly-published Top 100 list of the nation’s most reliable cars, Warranty Direct revealed that the worst to run cost almost five times more than the most dependable to keep on the road.

The now replaced Jaguar S Type and Audi’s original TT top a league table of the costliest cars, along with similarly sporty, executive models from MG – the MG TF and the ZT and the Lexus IS200 to complete the most expensive five. At an average of £423 for each visit, the Jaguar S Type can cost more than four times the cheapest model, the Toyota Yaris, to repair.

Across 10 of the biggest-selling used cars of 2007, Vauxhall’s Vectra is the costliest to run, with an average bill of £315.28. Thankfully, it is not as likely to break down as often as the hatchbacks from Peugeot and Renault – where a third of the latter’s Megane small family models record a failure and a £246 repair bill every year.

Unsurprisingly given their reputation to date, the cheapest vehicles to run according to Warranty Direct’s Top 100 list are small Japanese cars. Toyota’s Yaris and the Honda Jazz attract average yearly remedial bills of just £89 and £106 respectively, and are joined in the best 10 by the Nissan Micra, Ford Ka and Vauxhall Corsa.

Overall, Renault’s Espace is the least reliable car in the Top 100, which can be viewed at reliabilityindex.co.uk, with an astonishing 71% breaking down in years four or five.

“The cost of parts and labour on some models is shocking, and really comes into play once a car leaves the protection of its manufacturer warranty,” said Warranty Direct’s Duncan McClure Fisher. “A lack of reliability and repeated visits to the workshop mean the only real winner here is the garage.”