HUNDREDS of thousands of new car buyers are having to return cars to their dealer with problems, a study has found.
Electrical gripes, engine woes and rattling interior trim are leaving owners frustrated with their brand new motors.
Driver Power, the UK’s biggest car satisfaction survey, found 12 per cent of owners said their car had gone wrong within the first 12 months.
And with a record-setting 2.69million vehicles registered in 2016, it could mean more than 300,000 have already developed faults and needed repairs.
Figures from the Driver Power study – which quizzed drivers on cars aged between two and 12 months – show the Jaguar XF was the car with the most issues.
Cars with most recorded faults in the first year
- Jaguar XF: 31%
- Jaguar XE: 27%
- Land Rover Discovery Sport: 25%
- Range Rover Evoque: 24%
- Nissan X-Trail: 22%
- Skoda Superb: 21%
- Nissan Pulsar: 21%
- Subaru Forester: 20%
- Citroen C4 Cactus: 20%
- Subaru Outback: 20%
A third of owners (31 per cent) said their car failed in the first year.
And there was more bad news for British makers, too, with the Jaguar XE the next worst following by the Land Rover Discovery Sport – more than a quarter of owners reported problems with both.
The car deemed most reliable over long-term ownership was the Toyota RAV4.
Top 10 most reliable cars
- Toyota RAV4
- Skoda Yeti
- Audi Q3
- SEAT Leon
- Lexus RX
- Kia Cee’d
- Lexus CT
- Suzuki Vitara
- Lexus NX
- Volvo XC60
Dodgy reliability of new vehicles is supported by the record number of contacts The Motor Ombudsman has received for its dispute resolution service.
In the first four months of 2017, it saw a 45 per cent rise in disgruntled customers get in touch compared to 2016.
And the top reason for an owner to contact The Motor Ombudsman related to the quality of the vehicle at the time of purchase.
Holly McAllister, head of customer service and quality at The Motor Ombudsman, said: “Case volumes as a proportion of contacts remain low which demonstrates the great efforts that all parties are going to in order to resolve any disagreements before needing formal adjudication which is very encouraging for all involved.”
