MOST RELIABLE 1
BMW 5 Series (2010-2017) What went wrong? Steering 9%, suspension 6%, bodywork 4%, air-con 2%, engine 2%, engine electrics 2%, exhaust 2%
Luxury cars have a lot of kit, so there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong, but the previousgeneration 5 Series bucks this trend with a low fault rate of 16%. More than 80% of problematic cars could still be driven and 83% were put right in less than a week. Even better, most repair bills were below £750.
2 Jaguar XJ (2010-2019)
The XJ stands out as a beacon of dependability compared with the brand’s other models. Non-engine electrics and steering were the only issues among the 18% of cars that had a fault. All cars remained driveable and were fixed in less than a week. And, adding to the feel-good factor, 33% of work was done for free.
3 Mercedes-benz E-class (2009-2016) Although 30% of E-classes went wrong, most issues were minor niggles that left cars driveable and were sorted out in a day or less. Air-con was the most common complaint, followed by steering and exhaust problems. Twelve percent of faults were fixed for free and no bills topped £1000.
The current XF has one of the highest fault rates of all used models in this survey: 53% of cars had troubles and 44% of those cars sat in a workshop for more than a week. The only saving grace is that 44% of remedial work was done for free, but that still left 36% of owners with bills exceeding £751.
2 Audi A6 (2011-2018)
A third of A6 owners reported an issue with their car; most frequently concerning the suspension, non-engine electrics or the steering system. Four out of five cars could still be driven and more than half were put right within a day, but some repair bills were eye-watering: 27% of them came to more than £1000.
3 Jaguar XF (2007-2015)
Older XFS suffered fewer faults (35%) than the latest model and they were mostly non-engine electrical issues and battery problems. However, only 5% of repairs were done for free and 25% of bills came to more than £751. At least most of the faulty cars could still be driven and were sorted out in less than a week.