Most common parts that fail on pre-owned cars

ALTERNATORS are the most likely part to fail on a used car, according to extensive research by a warranty company.

Warranty Solutions Group (WSG) analysed data exclusively for car dealers from across its policies for every manufacturer it holds more than 500 warranties for and worked out the most common faults for each brand.

Alternators (12 percent of claims), batteries (6.06 percent), coil springs (6.06 percent) and water pumps (3.79 percent) were the most common parts to fail.

Alternators were said to fail due to wear and tear often associated with stop/start technology, which the warranty firm said “added strain to the electrical system”.

Batteries were put under similar pressure while pothole damage was cited as the cause of most coil spring issues.

Internal bearing failures, which led to seals and gaskets going, were the main causes of water pump claims, added the firm.

The most costly claims were unsurprisingly for the most expensive car brands, with McLaren “dual linear solenoids” costing an average of more than £9 000 to fix, Ferrari miscellaneous gearbox issues costing £4 000 and Bentley air compressors at £2 799.

Most reliable car brands

Source: WSG 2023 data, with average repair costs

1. Honda
2. Toyota
3. Hyundai
4. Kia
5. Skoda
6. Nissan
7. Renault
8. BMW
9. Ford
10. Mini

McLaren has three of the most expensive claims in the company’s research, with camshaft phasers costing £6,087 and gearbox ECUs at £3 950 coming behind the £9 000 solenoids.

Insider tips from a used car dealer

When it came to the more volume selling car manufacturers, Subaru catalytic converters were the most expensive repairs to fix at an average of £2 358, Land Rover DPFs cost an average £1 485 and Mazda turbos were £705.

Honda was named the most reliable car brand by the firm, with the lowest claim rate and average claim of £364. Toyota was second and Hyundai third.

Source: WSG 2023 data, with percentage of cars on policy that had to claim

1. Honda Jazz — 2,28 percent
2. Toyota Yaris — 2,98
3. Toyota Aygo — 3,80
4. BMW X3 — 4,98
5. Nissan Note — 5,14
6. Honda Civic — 5,68
7. Hyundai i10 — 6,64
8. Ford Fiesta — 7,72
9. Citroen C1 — 7,92
10. Skoda Fabia — 7,98
11. Ford Ka — 8,33
12. Nissan Juke — 8,51
13. Renault Captur — 8,68
14. BMW X1 — 8,93
15. Renault Clio — 8,97
16. BMW 3 Series — 9,05
17. Citroen C3 — 10,03
18. BMW 2 Series — 10,14
19. Ford Mondeo — 10,31
20. Mercedes A-Class — 10,70

Mr Martin Binnee, WSG operations director, said: “The build quality has improved significantly across all car manufacturers over the last few years and generally vehicles have become more reliable.

“However, rapidly advancing electronics have increased the likelihood of more complicated and expensive faults.

“One knock-on effect of this is smaller independent garages are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with franchised dealers and specialists due to equipment and expertise constraints.” — cardealermagazine.co.uk