What Car? Reliability Survey - Saab to Subaru

Saab
• League position: 29th
• Claims per 100 vehicles: 42.1
• Average age (years): 4.8
• Average mileage: 55,217
• Average repair cost: £307
• Average time for repair (hours): 2.1

With cars of average age and mileage in the survey, there really is no excuse for such a poor result from what is supposed to be a quality make.

Saab is second from last this year with more than 42 claims for every 100 cars. The cars’ electrics are most likely to force a trip to the garage, while the main culprit is the 9000 CS (manufactured between 1991 and 1997). The 9000 CS sits at 98th in the individual model table, just two from bottom.

The Saab 9-5 (1997-2001) doesn’t do much better at 95th, however, the 900 (1993-’98) sits at a far more respectable 26th place.

Small consolations to Saab owners are the middle of the pack repair costs and average repair times.

Verdict: * With only Land Rover below it, this is a poor performance from a make that prides itself on its quality.

Seat
• League position: 12th
• Claims per 100 vehicles: 27.6
• Average age (years): 3.86
• Average mileage: 43,047
• Average repair cost: £312
• Average time for repair (hours): 2.2

Seat was the highest-placed European brand last year, but has slipped down the table below Skoda and Mercedes in this year’s survey.

Its claims rate has crept up from 22.7 per 100 cars in 2004 to 27.6 this year, despite having the second-youngest cars here.

Seat’s average repair cost may have fallen slightly since last year’s survey – it has dropped by £16 – but owners will still find themselves spending more than BMW and Volkswagen owners do to put problems right.

Electrical faults tend to plague many Seat owners, followed by fuel system problems and glitches with the heating and cooling systems.

Verdict: *** Not a bad showing from Seat, but pricey repairs and an increasing claims rate let it down.

Skoda
• League position: 9th
• Claims per 100 vehicles: 25.2
• Average age (years): 4.09
• Average mileage: 38,829
• Average repair cost: £168
• Average time for repair (hours): 2.5

This is the first time Skoda has appeared in the Warranty Direct reliability survey and its ninth-place position makes it an impressive entry – particularly as it’s the highest-scoring European car manufacturer this year.

Putting its VW and Seat siblings to shame, Skoda has the second-cheapest average repair cost, an average repair time and a lower-than-average claims rate. However, it still has some way to go to catch up with the Japanese makes at the top of the table.

As with many cars in this survey, the majority of problems occur with the axle and suspension, followed by trouble with electrical components.

Verdict: *** An impressive achievement by Skoda, proving mainstream cars can be just as reliable, if not more so, than prestige brands.

Subaru
• League position: 11th
• Claims per 100 vehicles: 26.3
• Average age (years): 5.46
• Average mileage: 55,092
• Average repair cost: £835
• Average time for repair (hours): 8.6

After two years in fifth place, Subaru has slipped to 11th this year.

Its cars have gone from having five-star reliability to just three stars and they are still very expensive, and time-consuming, to fix. When things go wrong, it’s more than likely that the cars’ engines are to blame, with nearly half of the claims relating to engine trouble. This could well explain the high average repair cost, which, at £835, is second only to Porsche in this survey.

As high as it is, Subaru’s repair cost has fallen £159 from £994 in last year’s survey. As well as deep pockets, Subaru owners also need to have a great deal of patience – they have to wait on average an incredible 8.6 hours for their cars to be fixed.

Verdict: *** Reliability is not bad, but when things do go wrong the costs are very high.

Click here to see how the manufacturers compare.

Click here for top 10 most reliable models.

Click here for top 10 least reliable models.