Land Rover Discovery is the most unreliable used car, and Citroën the least reliable make, according to ‘What Car?’ readers…
By Robin Roberts.
The 2004-2017 Discovery model scored just 47.8 per cent in the 2023 What Car? Used Car Reliability Survey, of 25,000 vehicle owners.
Worst brand was Citroën.
The most reliable used car in the survey was the Honda Jazz (2015-2020) which scored 100 per cent while Suzuki was the most reliable used car brand overall, followed by Lexus and Toyota.
Owners were asked to rank their cars in a variety of categories rating 400 different used car models from 30 different brands.
The Land Rover Discovery’s wooden spoon was also given last year, suggesting the brand and dealerships have not learned or improved in 12 months despite a claim by the business that reliability must improve.
What Car? consumer editor Claire Evans has told Car Dealer magazine, ‘Engine and suspension issues were the biggest headaches for the 46 per cent of Discovery owners who told us their car had suffered a fault.
“They also complained about problems with the battery, brakes, electrics and fuel system.
‘And when it comes to repair bills, 50 per cent of people pay up to £750, and 24 per cent pay more than £1,500.’
What Car? said that its newer models were better performers, but it was let down by its older cars which dragged its overall score down.
Land Rover was the second most unreliable car brand overall followed by electric car maker Tesla in a worrying third as the pure EV maker heads sales in the sector.
Most unreliable used car brands 2023
Source: What Car?
1. Citroën – 60.3%
2. Land Rover – 61.3%
3.Tesla – 69.2%
4. Mercedes-Benz – 75.1%
5. Subaru – 75.6%
6. Peugeot – 75.7%
7. Fiat – 76.5%
8. Jaguar – 76.9%
9. Nissan – 77.1%
10. Mini – 77.3%
Survey respondents ranked cars aged between six and 20 years old.
They were asked if their car had gone wrong in the past two years, how long repairs took and how much they cost.
Evans said: ‘Citroen was the lowest scoring brand. Although its newer models tended to score well – older ones like the C3 (2010-2016) didn’t. It’s the worst small car with 53 per cent and this brought its overall score down.
A wide range of issues affected the C3s we were told about, but the most frequent were with the air-con and braking system.’
At the other end of the scale, Suzuki was the most reliable used car brand overall, followed by Lexus and Toyota.