- Some drivers face £7,239 costs
According to newly released data one in three motorist in Britain will share an unwanted repair bill of £1.6bn this year, and some face repair bills of a whopping £7,239. The analysis was provided by Warranty Direct, who are the largest direct providers of consumer warranties in the UK. It also shows that one third of the 3-10 year old vehicles registered with the DVLA will suffer some kind of mechanical failure during the next year.
The average garage bill is currently £335, the common faults being electrical. Warranty Direct’s website, Reliablilityindex.com is the only resource where you can check out the inconvenience, cost and rate of failure across thousands of different models of cars. It shows that the highest average bills for repair are those for the Mercedes Benz SL from 2002 onwards, costing £742.10. The Mazda 3, 2004-2009 also has a hefty repair bill of £655.24
Highest average repair costs by model
| Make | Model | Year | Average Repair Cost |
| Mercedes-Benz | SL | (02 – ) | 742.10 |
| Mazda | 3 | (04 – 09) | 655.24 |
| Mercedes-Benz | CL | (00 – 07) | 653.66 |
| Mitsubishi | Shogun | (00 – 07) | 600.13 |
| Jeep | Cherokee | (01 – 08) | 593.63 |
| Mazda | RX-8 | (03 – ) | 577.98 |
| Audi | A8 | (03 – ) | 551.29 |
| Mercedes-Benz | S-Class | (99 – 06) | 546.21 |
| Porsche | Boxster | (04 – ) | 528.75 |
| Volkswagen | Phaeton | (03 – ) | 525.29 |
The largest garage bill handled by Warranty Direct was for a luxury BMW 7 Series. The upshot of its piston and cylinder head damage was a staggering bill of £7,239 for parts and labour.
But big bills are not limited to prestige or expensive cars.
One owner of a 1.3-litre Vauxhall Corsa (06) received a bill of £4,975 when it encountered catastrophic engine failure, requiring a complete rebuild.
Highest individual claims seen by Warranty Direct
| Make | Model | Year | Largest Claim |
| BMW | 7 Series | (01 – 08) | 7,239.00 |
| Audi | A8 | (03 – ) | 7,039.83 |
| BMW | 3 Series | (98 – 06) | 6,800.16 |
| Volvo | XC90 | (02 – ) | 5,604.10 |
| Audi | A4 Convertible | (01 – 05) | 5,297.70 |
| Mercedes-Benz | E-Class | (99 – 03) | 5,085.51 |
| Peugeot | 807 | (02 – ) | 4,975.00 |
| Vauxhall | Corsa | (00 – 06) | 4,975.00 |
| BMW | 3 Series | (05 – ) | 4,963.94 |
| Mercedes-Benz | A-Class | (98 – 05) | 4,869.62 |
According to Warranty Direct, which studied more than 50,000 policies, one in three vehicles will develop a mechanical failure during any 12-month period. However, the figure varies dramatically depending on the make and model. For example, the frequency of failure on a Honda Civic is 8 per cent compared to 61 per cent for a Renault Grand Scenic.
Duncan McClure Fisher of Warranty Direct said: “It’s part and parcel of car ownership that, at some stage, something will go wrong. Even on the most reliable of cars, things still break sometimes.
“The worst part is the unknown – failure could happen at any time and, unfortunately, as we’re all driving evermore complex vehicles, the cost of repair is reflected.”
Warranty Direct cover starts from as little as £15 a month. For more information on the reliability of your vehicle, visit www.reliabilityindex.com, or for a quote on cover www.warrantydirect.co.uk.
