The 'most unreliable car brands' with the biggest repair costs

Motoring Research shows us the five most unreliable car brands in Britain right now.

Just because you bought a big-brand car with an equally big price tag, it doesn't mean that it's reliable.

Claims data from third-party warranty provider Warrantywise reveals big discrepancies between the brands when it comes to reliability and typical repair costs.

Here are what Warrantywise data reveals to be the five least dependable car brands on sale in the UK. If you’re buying one, make sure you check it over very carefully…

5. Chrysler

Dependability score: 64
Average repair cost: £464

The 'most unreliable cars' with the biggest repair costs

Chrysler Ypsilon
Image credit: Motoring Research

Like Chevrolet, Chrysler is an American carmaker that tried and failed to make its mark in the UK. It will mainly be remembered for the brash 300C – and those black Voyager MPVs that ferried around the candidates on The Apprentice.

If you need evidence of where Chrysler went wrong, look no further than the Ypsilon supermini. It’s basically a Fiat 500 with all that car’s retro character and charm removed. There was no compelling reason to buy one, and few did.

4. Alfa Romeo

Dependability score: 60
Average repair cost: £590

The 'most unreliable cars' with the biggest repair costs

Alfa Romeo Giulia
Image credit: Motoring Research

Good old Alfa Romeo: always languishing near the bottom of car reliability charts. Journalists are already hailing the new Giulia saloon – seen here in Ferrari-baiting QV spec – as the best Alfa in years. But will it do better than a dependability score of 60?

Alfa Romeos used to be notorious for rust, which certainly won’t be a problem in the carbon fibre-bodied 4C sports car. These days, electrical issues are more likely to cause headaches – and contribute to the £590 average repair cost.

3. Porsche

Dependability score: 57
Average repair cost: £842

The 'most unreliable cars' with the biggest repair costs

Porsche Cayenne
Image credit: Motoring Research

Porsches generally feel bulletproof, so it’s a shock to see the brand near the bottom of the Warrantywise list. If we were being kind, we suspect many Porsches are driven quite hard. Nonetheless, a dependability score of 57 simply isn’t good enough.

At £842, average Porsche repair costs are predictably high. With new ‘downsized’ engines, such as the four-cylinder units in the 718 Boxster and Cayman, let’s hope future costs will be downsized, too.

2. Jaguar

Dependability score: 54
Average repair cost: £794

The 'most unreliable cars' with the biggest repair costs

Jaguar E-type
Image: Motoring Research

Hype about Jaguar’s new F-Pace SUV has reached fever pitch. However, a woeful dependability score of 54 does rather take the shine off those five-star reviews. It’s also considerably worse than Jaguar’s sister-brand, Land Rover.

Repair costs for Jaguars are high, too – at more than any of its German rivals. Let’s just gaze upon this lovely S1 E-Type (still the most beautiful car ever made) and pretend none of this is happening, shall we?

1. Maserati

Dependability score: 41
Average repair cost: £1,430

The 'most unreliable cars' with the biggest repair costs

Maserati Quattroporte
Image credit: Motoring Research

So here we are: the least reliable brand of all is… Maserati. The marque is keeping the old cliches about temperamental Italian supercars alive, with a shocking dependability score of 41. That’s 13 points below second-placed Jaguar.

Maserati repair costs aren’t quite in the £2k-plus Ferrari league, but nor are they exactly affordable. Owners can typically expect to fork out £1,430 to fix a car that’s outside warranty. No wonder old Maseratis are so cheap to buy.

This article was published with the permission of Motoring Research.

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