German Cars Aren’t All That Reliable

Thinking of buying a new car? You’d best avoid buying a German marque. That’s according to a survey done by What Car and Warranty Direct when they surveyed over 50,000 car owners in the United Kingdom.

The top brands to look for are pretty much all Japanese companies. Honda, Suzuki and Toyota rounded up the top three for reliability.

In the bottom ranks, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche and Bentley made up four of the bottom six.

Reliability scores were based on how often a car needs to come in for repairs and how much that repair costs.

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Small Japanese cars are known the world over for being reliable if you follow the prescribed maintenance schedule. When something needs to be repaired and mended, it’s usually very cheap to replace.

On the other hand, cars like Mercedes-Benz’s and Porsche’s came in for repairs often. And when it came time to foot the bill, it costs the owners a pretty penny.

Although the data doesn’t lie, the results can be a little misleading.

First of all, the cost of repair for a luxury German car such as a Bently will more than often cost way more than a small Japanese import.

Then there’s the fact that these Japanese juggernauts are known to make tens of thousands of the same vehicle while a German luxury car may only have a limited run. That means it may take longer for German automakers to iron out the kinks in terms of reliability.

If you can afford a costly repair, don’t hesitate choosing German. If you stay on top of your maintenance and heed the warnings given by recalls, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

But if you want the most out of your money and you’re on a budget, your best bet would be to choose a Japanese import.

And if you were wondering, Consumer Reports came up with a similar conclusion themselves a while back.

Finally, here’s Jeremy Clarkson with a historical take and some insight into the apropos issue.