The German brands are NOT as good as they would have us believe, latest survey confirms this long known fact.

• WarrantyWise survey finds that UK buyers think German cars are among the most reliable on the road, despite WarrantyWise data showing many are ‘below average’
• In a survey of more than 750 people, Mercedes, Audi and BMW were all in the top 10 for reliability – WarrantyWise data, however, puts them at 27^th, 28^th and 29^th respectively
• Fiat, Renault and Vauxhall all perform badly in the public’s perception of their reliability but are actually well above the UK average according to WarrantyWise
• Japanese brands Toyota and Honda are the two most reliable manufacturers as picked by the public – a result also backed up by WarrantyWise’s data

WarrantyWise.co.uk has found that many UK car buyers believe cars produced by big German manufacturers are more reliable than they actually are. WarrantyWise asked more than 750 people who they thought were the most reliable manufacturers in the UK, with Mercedes, Audi and BMW all coming in the top 10. Conversely, WarrantyWise’s data shows those brands a lot further down the rankings, with scores that are ‘below average’.

An open-ended survey question asked users to pick from all manufacturers on sale in the UK, to identify who they believed were the most reliable. Honda came out on top, followed by Toyota and Ford, with BMW in fourth place. But according to WarrantyWise’s Dependability Rating, the public’s perception of BMW’s reliability is wildly different to the reality, with BMW placing 29^th in a list of most reliable manufacturers.

Fellow German brands Mercedes and Audi also placed in the public’s top 10 most reliable manufacturers, but finished well outside of the top 10 in WarrantyWise’s Depdendability Table, in 27^th and 28^th places respectively. Both had scores that are considered ‘below average.’

Each car manufacturer has been ranked by a dependability factor, based on the number of reported faults or breakdowns, with a score of 75 representing the UK average. A rating above 75 is considered good, and below 60 signifies a high incidence of repair work is required.  Average costs, vehicle age and model are also considered in the Warrantywise ranking.

WarrantyWise.co.uk also asked buyers who they believed to be the least reliable manufacturer in the UK, with Fiat, Vauxhall and Renault all in the top five most popular answers. The reality is, though, both brands perform ‘above average’ in the WarrantyWise Dependability Table. Fiat, Vauxhall and Renault finished at 14^th, 17^th and 18^th respectively, with scores of 82, 81 and 81.

WarrantyWise CEO, Lawrence Whittaker, said: “This research proves that you can’t go buying a car on reputation alone; many people will flock to certain brands and stay away from others but our data shows that those prejudices may actually be leading people in the wrong direction. If you will be buying a car soon it’s well worth taking a look at our Dependability Table and then at our after-market warranty offerings – they may just end up saving you from a big bill.”

Dependability score	Make	Average repair cost
93	Honda	£535
93	Toyota	£592
92	Suzuki	£424
89	Mitsubishi	£833
88	Hyundai	£577
88	Mazda	£617
86	Nissan	£521
85	Subaru	£791
85	Ford	£421
84	SEAT	£475
84	Peugeot	£406
83	Smart	£390
82	MINI	£497
82	Volkswagen	£631
82	Fiat	£417
82	Lexus	£603
81	Renault	£441
81	Vauxhall	£467
80	Kia	£522
79	Chevrolet	£548
78	Skoda	£492
77	Land Rover	£453
77	Volvo	£553
77	MG	£399
76	Saab	£425
75	Citroen	£501
74	Mercedes	£751
74	Audi	£620
69	BMW	£701
64	Ferrari	£2046
64	Jeep	£505
64	Chrysler	£464
60	Alfa Romeo	£590
57	Porsche	£842
54	Jaguar	£794
41	Maserati	£1430