Facelift W211 Mercedes E-Class "Most Reliable European Used Car"

Warranty Direct's used car warranty statistics show that the post 2006 facelift Mercedes W211 E-Class is the most reliable used car by a European manufacturer.
Just one in 10 breaks down on average each year.
Warranty Direct analysed around 20,000 live policies on cars by European manufacturers aged 3 to 6 years for its Reliability Index website (www.reliabilityindex.com).
At the other end of the reliability scale, 85% of Land Rover Discovery 3 models covered by Warranty Direct recorded a fault in the last 12 months, followed by the Bentley Continental GT, of which 78% needed attention.
Skoda builds the second most reliable used car by a European manufacturer, the Fabia from 2007. Only 15% need repairs each year. Next most reliable is the Smart ForTwo fdrom 2007 and the Volvo C70 from 2006.
The most costly single claim among the bottom 10 cars was £10,120 for a BMW 7-Series fault, but a small number of cars typically cost far less. Over the last 12 months even the largest claim for a Skoda Fabia was only £180.
10 most reliable used cars by European manufacturers
Make |
Model |
Model year |
Incident rate** |
Largest claim |
Most common Reason for fault/claim*** |
Mercedes-Benz |
E-Class |
(06 - 09) |
10% |
£637.22 |
Axle & suspension: 49% |
Skoda |
Fabia |
(07 - ) |
15% |
£180.35 |
Electrical: 33% |
Smart |
ForTwo |
(07 - ) |
15% |
£347.32 |
Cooling & heating 28% |
Volvo |
C70 |
(06 - ) |
16% |
£1,888.62 |
Electrical: 41% |
Renault**** |
Scenic |
(03 -09) |
17% |
£967.31 |
Axle & suspension: 28% |
Peugeot |
207 |
(06 - 12) |
17% |
£1,992.70 |
Engine: 24% |
Volvo |
S80 |
(06 - ) |
18% |
£856.31 |
Cooling & heating 25% |
Citroen |
C3 Pluriel |
(03 - 10) |
19% |
£1,544.57 |
Axle & suspension: 30% |
Mini |
One |
(07 - ) |
20% |
£1,078.72 |
Transmission: 25% |
Seat |
Ibiza |
(06 - 09) |
21% |
£343.64 |
Axle & suspension: 46% |
Warranty Direct managing director, Duncan McClure Fisher, said: “It is very interesting to see the Mercedes at the top of the pile for European cars. It’s big and it’s packed with technology, which is not usually the recipe for a reliable car, but it’s proved to be excellent.
“With the imminent opening of the Paris Motor Show, we thought it’d be a good moment to discover which European marque makes the most and least reliable cars.
“Running a car is more expensive than ever, particularly when it moves into its fourth and fifth year and most cars leave the protection of a manufacturer warranty. If you do your research though and buy the right car or at least protect yourself with a warranty, you’re in a much better position.”
10 least reliable used cars by European manufacturers
Make |
Model |
Model year |
Incident rate** |
Largest claim |
Most common reason for fault/claim*** |
Land Rover |
Discovery |
(04 - 09) |
85% |
£2,856.38 |
Axle & suspension: 42% |
Bentley |
Continental GT |
(03 - 10 ) |
78% |
£2,972.09 |
Electrical: 52% |
Renault |
Espace |
(03 - ) |
76% |
£2,756.88 |
Engine: 18% |
Mercedes-Benz |
SL |
(02 - 11) |
67% |
£3,102.76 |
Axle & suspension: 34% |
Land Rover |
Range Rover Sport |
(05 - 10) |
65% |
£6,400.27 |
Axle & suspension: 42% |
Renault**** |
Grand Scenic |
(04 - 09) |
63% |
£2,652.27 |
Electrical: 29% |
Saab |
9-3 |
(02 - ) |
59% |
£3,203.83 |
Electrical: 30% |
BMW |
7 Series |
(01 - 08) |
58% |
£10,120.39 |
Electrical: 36% |
Mercedes-Benz |
CLS |
(05 - ) |
58% |
£1,614.17 |
Axle & suspension: 37% |
Renault |
Megane |
(02 - 09) |
57% |
£2,250.00 |
Electrical: 47% |
Warranty Direct cover starts from as little as £15 a month. For more information or for a quote, go to www.warrantydirect.co.uk.
**Incident rate is the claim rate, meaning the percentage of those vehicles that required a claim each year.
***Reason for fault and the percentage of the total faults that that part of the car contributed. For example, 42% of the Land Rover Discovery’s faults were due to axle and suspension issues.
****A slight problem with the stats is that 2003-2009 Renault Scenics and Grand Scenics have been separated. If they were lumped together the average incident rate would be 40% and avarage cost of repair £1,809.79, so they would be in neither table.
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