07 April 2011

Top of mind when buying a car is the reliability factor: will your dream car end up being a nightmare, costing you loads in repairs – along with potentially losing out on the all important re-sale value?

Well all these questions may now be answered thanks to an annual survey of car reliability measured by JD Power in the US.

The surprising list shows the number of problems survey participants experienced throughout the first three years of their car ownership – with the car brands having the most problems rating low on the scale, and the least rating high on the list.

Ranking not so lucky last was MINI, which apparently comes with maxi problems – 221 were in fact recorded for every 100 cars sold, with Jeep coming in a close second with 214.

Disappointingly, Volkswagen, Suzuki and Mitsubishi all rated high with problems, with Volvo, Subaru and Kia sitting somewhere in the middle. Audi ranked a lowly 161.

The best? As luxury cars, there are no surprises here with Lexus, Jaguar and Porshe all scoring top marks, followed by Toyota above Mercedes, and Hyundai and Ford neck and neck.

JD Powers has been trying for a definitive Aussie version of ratings – stay tuned!