Which used cars are the most reliable and which are best to avoid?

Many statistics and rankings focus on the reliability of new and used cars. One of these is published by the British motoring magazine What Car?.

Data on used cars is collected directly from the owners. This year, more than 16,000 of them were surveyed and the result is a detailed ranking of which cars are the most (or least) reliable.

How the order of the most reliable cars was created?

Reliability rankings from What Car? is based on a survey of real owners who described whether they have experienced any problems with their car in the last year of use, how long the car had to be serviced and how much it cost to repair.

• Do you know the year your car was made? You most probably don’t

In total, the magazine published a ranking of 178 models from 30 brands up to five years old. Problems were then sorted into 15 specific categories, ranging from air conditioning or bodywork issues to engine or electrical component failures. Which cars are the best and worst in their respective segments can be found on the following pages.

Note: Due to the main focus of our website, we have also added a link to each model’s eventual recalls as well as other owner reviews on our page. You can add your review there too.

• The Most Reliable Small Cars
  (Dacia Sandero, Hyundai i10, Suzuki Swift, …)
• The Most Reliable Family Cars
  (BMW 1 Series, Hyundai i30, Kia XCeed, …)
• The Most Reliable Executive Cars
  (Skoda Superb, Kia Optima, BMW 3 Series, …)
• The Most Reliable Luxury Cars
  (BMW 5 Series, Volvo S90 / V90, Mercedes E-Class, …)
• The Most Reliable Small SUVs
  (Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Citroen C3 Aircross, …)
• The Most Reliable Family SUVs
  (Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, BMW X1, Hyundai Tucson, …)
• The Most Reliable Large SUVs
  (BMW X3, Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, …)
• The Most Reliable Luxury SUVs
  (Porsche Macan, Audi Q7, BMW X5, …)