Honda is the most reliable used car brand in the UK for the seventh year running in a list dominated by Japanese brands.
According to What Car? and Warranty Direct, eight out the top ten most reliable car makers are Japanese with another from Korea (Hyundai) and just one from the US (Chevrolet).
Get a FREE quote on your next
Click below and save up to 30% on a new
Get a FREE quote on your new car
Click below and save up to 30% on a new car
Top of the list was Honda, whose models have only a one-in-ten chance of breaking down over a twelve month period. The research is based on 50,000 Warranty Direct policies on cars between three and 10 years old.
Meanwhile, Toyota and Lexus filled the other top three places as Japan was named the home of the world's most reliable cars.
The shock findings showed premium models such as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar sit in the bottom ten, while Land Rover props up the entire table with a massive 71 per cent of its cars breaking down within their first year.
Land Rover sits below Alfa Romeo at the bottom of the table, a hangover from notoriously unreliable Alfa models of the past.
There are quite a few surprises in the 36-strong table. Skoda is markedly higher than parent brand Volkswagen despite being marketed as a more budget version of several VW cars.
Meanwhile, fellow VW Group-owned brand Porsche suffered the ignominy of being the most expensive car brand to repair at over £650 a time.
Luxury German brands and French manufacturers wallow in mid-table. British brands Vauxhall and Jaguar rank higher than MG, Chrysler and Renault, for example, while the top-ten Nissan is manufactured in the brand's Sunderland plant.
Defunct car maker Rover also surprised by finishing ahead of Jaguar and Mercedes in the rankings despite its car no longer being made.
What Car?'s editor in chief, Chas Hallett, is surprised at how poorly some of the larger manufacturers performed. "Reliability is so important to motorists, especially when times are tough. Japanese car makers really do deliver on reliability and Honda is exceptionally good at this.
"What will be surprising to many is the fact that several of the more desirable brands did not fare so well regarding reliability, and the cost of their repairs are high. They need to do better."
Warranty Direct's managing director, Duncan McClure Fisher, feels used car owners should always look to the East for reliability. "It's a balancing act for used car buyers.
You can get cars that break down less often, but have higher repair bills, or you can buy a car that won't cost you much when it fails, such as a Renault, but lumbers you with more than a 50% chance of doing so. The one thing you do appear to be able to rely upon is buying Japanese."
1: Honda
2: Toyota
3: Lexus
4: Suzuki
5: Subaru
6: Hyundai
6: Mazda
6: Mitsubishi
9: Chevrolet
10: Nissan
Written by John Meadowcroft