IF you want to get a handle on how reliable a particular model of car is, it makes a lot of sense to ask the people who end up having to pay for repairs, writes William Scholes.
While no-one wants or expects a brand new car to break down or to require expensive repair work, in that case you at least have the reassurance - or ought to - of a manufacturer warranty to lean on.
But when it comes to cars that are out of warranty and bought second-hand, the reliability question is arguably even more relevant.
That's why figures this week from Warrantywise, a company which provides more than 130,000 extended car warranties, caught my eye.
It looked at cars on its books that are less than 10 years old and outside the manufacturer's warranty period, of which it covers more than 100 examples. Warrantywise then examined the number of repair claims it had to pay for, and their cost.
Crunching all these stats together gives each car a score - the higher, the better.
Topping Warrantywise's league table is the Honda Jazz, followed by the Mazda 2, Toyota Auris and Mazda MX-5. Suzuki, Kia and Hyundai fill out the rest of the top 10, with the Peugeot 107 taking 10th spot - though that particular car is a Toyota Aygo by another name...
The 'least reliable' end of the spectrum is filled by big, expensive cars whose real-world durability doesn't reflect the reputations for quality and dependability they have built up over the years.
According to Warrantywise, a Range Rover is the least reliable car, with the Range Rover Sport third worst. In between the British 4x4s is BMW's sporty M3.
Lawrence Whittaker, CEO of Warrantywise said it was revealing that "luxury cars, which may seem like they would be reliable because of the costly price tags, aren't always so".
"It's unsurprising to see Honda top the table, given how reliable its cars have proven to be time and time again," he said.
There's a familiar pattern to charts of this sort. The Honda Jazz is a fixture as the most reliable car, with other Japanese marques - notably Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki - also to the fore, with the Korean brands of Kia and Hyundai scoring well. Land Rover products, on the other hand, tend to be in the 'bad news' category. Caveat emptor...
Top 10 most reliable used cars
Model Highest repair cost Overall score/100
1 Honda Jazz £973.66 93.7
2 Mazda 2 £2,422.31 89.9
3 Toyota Auris £1,841.60 89.7
4 Mazda MX-5 £586.94 86.5
5 Toyota Aygo £1,339.36 85.5
6 Kia Ceed £1,914 85
7 Kia Rio £1,655.39 84.9
8 Suzuki Alto £733.70 83.9
9 Hyundai i20 £2,361.36 82.5
10 Peugeot 107 £1,128.44 81.6
Source: Warrantywise
Top five least reliable used cars
Model Highest repair cost Overall score/100
1 Range Rover £23,890 20.2
2 BMW M3 £12,115 21.4
3 Range Rover Sport £22,358 23.1
4 Porsche Panamera £10,785 23.4
5 BMW X6 £9,613 23.6
Source: Warrantywise
