Car reliability league
Global research of car reliability records
Vauxhall is the least reliable car brand in the UK, according to a new study by Scrap Car Comparison.
The evidence and results come from analysing over 2 million Google searches.
Looking for help
Getting under the bonnet of the particular car makes and models, owners regularly turn to Google. Trouble-shooting assistance in terms of blogs, videos, fault info have become a common use of the search engine.
Analysis was made of breakdown related search volumes for almost 500 different models. The data was then cross-referenced with the sales figures for each model to achieve a fair comparison.
The resulting ‘Crap Car Comparison Index’ reveals that British manufacturer Vauxhall is the least reliable, with over 56,000 Google searches logged per year from Vauxhall owners hunting for advice around a fault, warning light or breakdown.
BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz also featured as some of the 10 manufactures you can rely on least, showing that German engineering maybe isn’t what it once was. Brands such as Toyota and Volkswagen fared better, with comparatively low searches vs. their high yearly sales leaving them outside of the top 15.
The UK’s Least Reliable Car Manufacturers
Rank | Manufacturer | UK Yearly Search Volume for Faults (accumlated from all models) | Cars Sold Per Year (Approx.) | Score (Higher score = Less reliable) |
1 | Vauxhall | 56,670 | 808,576 | 70.08 |
2 | BMW | 52,860 | 2,028,000 | 26.06 |
3 | Ford | 55,750 | 4,200,000 | 13.27 |
4 | Audi | 21,990 | 1,692,773 | 12.99 |
5 | Land Rover | 6,830 | 579,000 | 11.79 |
6 | Nissan | 38,290 | 4,930,000 | 7.76 |
7 | Fiat | 27,560 | 4,300,000 | 6.40 |
8 | Kia | 15,170 | 2,600,000 | 5.83 |
9 | Mazda | 6,950 | 1,243,005 | 5.59 |
10 | Mercedes Benz | 8,690 | 2,164,187 | 4.01 |
11 | Renault | 13,810 | 3,818,411 | 3.61 |
12 | Volvo | 2,230 | 705,452 | 3.16 |
13 | Honda | 12,210 | 4,800,000 | 2.54 |
14 | Peugeot | 7,360 | 3,500,000 | 2.10 |
15 | Hyundai | 9,790 | 7,400,000 | 1.32 |
When breaking the results down further to individual car models, the data revealed a similar story, with the Vauxhall Insignia, Mokka, Zafira and Meriva all ranking as some of the least reliable cars on the market. Although owners of the brand’s most successful model, the Corsa, will be relieved to see the hatchback falling outside of the top 15.
However, taking the unfortunate crown of the least reliable car in the UK was the popular BMW 1 Series. The sporty hatchback has historically gained favourable reviews from motoring critics, however the reality of owning one seems to result in a variety of faults, with over 30,000 searches a year logged for 1 Series breakdown advice.
The UK’s Least Reliable Car Models
Rank | Model | UK Yearly Search Volume for Faults | Cars Sold – All Time (Approx.) | Score (Higher core = Less Reliable) |
1 | BMW 1 Series | 30,910 | 2,225,194 | 13.89 |
2 | Vauxhall Insignia | 10,190 | 955,915 | 10.65 |
3 | Nissan Juke | 12,390 | 1,500,000 | 8.26 |
4 | Vauxhall Mokka | 4,910 | 753,612 | 6.51 |
5 | Audi TT | 5,030 | 1,118,656 | 4.49 |
6 | Nissan Qashqai | 15,560 | 3,500,000 | 4.44 |
7 | Vauxhall Zafira | 9,430 | 2,446,110 | 3.85 |
8 | Mini Cooper | 20,160 | 5,300,000 | 3.80 |
9 | Fiat 500 | 21,570 | 6,000,000 | 3.59 |
10 | Dacia Sandero | 5,340 | 1,700,000 | 3.14 |
11 | Hyundai i10 | 3,150 | 1,042,047 | 3.02 |
12 | Audi A3 | 12,090 | 4,000,000 | 3.02 |
13 | Ford Ranger | 3,510 | 1,189,504 | 2.95 |
14 | Vauxhall Meriva | 4,220 | 1,461,851 | 2.88 |
15 | Peugeot 3008 | 2,310 | 900,000 | 2.56 |
Overseas
Scrap Car Comparison’s research also looked at which cars were troubling owners overseas, and found that Ford is the least reliable brand in the States, receiving more searches vs. cars sold, while Kia’s ‘Stinger’ was the least reliable model in the likes of Australia and Canada.
Dan Gick, Managing Director of Scrap Car Comparison said: “As we see many of the same makes and models getting scrapped on a daily basis, we wanted to find out whether this stacked up against car reliability.
The results seem to show that it does, as the Google search and sales data revealed Ford as the third least reliable brand in the UK. This is something that particularly stood out to me, as Fords and in particular their Focus model have been the most scrapped cars in the UK every year since 2017. We hope the results of our Crap Car Comparison Index can help car buyers in their decision making when looking for their next car.”
To see the full results of the study, including international analysis, visit: www.scrapcarcomparison.co.uk/blog/most-unreliable-cars