Buying a used car? – These are the models which have been best maintained

Exclusive analysis by the UK’s leading automotive servicing and repair company has revealed which cars on UK roads are most likely to have had components replaced and potentially be in the best condition as a used car buy. Motorists considering buying a used Hyundai, Citroen or Nissan should take comfort, as they are most likely to find newer components.

More than two million of the UK’s car owners take their vehicles to Kwik Fit centres each year. The company’s analysts looked at which models were disproportionately more likely to be brought in for maintenance in every area of Great Britain.¹ From its inaugural Maintenance Index, Kwik Fit has ranked the models by the number of locations in which owners were most likely to have brought them in to have new components fitted.² 

The analysts assessed replacement of a range of common components including brakes, batteries, exhausts, steering, suspension and shock absorbers, wheels and windscreens. The Kwik Fit team found that this year the ranking is topped by the Hyundai i30, the Citroen Berlingo, the Citroen C1 and the Nissan Note.

The i30 received more new components than the average car in eight areas of Great Britain, while the two Citroen models and the Nissan Note each top the table in seven areas. Models from Ford, Honda, Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and Vauxhall also appear in high ranking spots in the index, as shown in the table below.

Receiving care and attention – the most disproportionately maintained car models in Great Britain

The Kwik Fit Maintenance Index is available online as an interactive map. Users can select any area in Great Britain and find the top three car models most disproportionately receiving new components in that area. (Each model is shown with an index figure for that area. An index of 1.0 represents a model having components replaced in proportion to the total number of those vehicles registered in a particular area. An index figure of 2.0 indicates that the model is twice as likely to be brought into Kwik Fit for replacement components compared with the relative number of those vehicles in the area.)

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “Because we have more than 600 Kwik Fit centres across the country and see more than two million of the UK’s cars each year, we have a huge sample of data on repairs on every make and model for our expert team to analyse. This, along with being independent of any one manufacturer, provides our analysts with a clearer and more comprehensive picture of the current condition of the UK car parc than almost anyone else in the motor industry.

“Of course, while the Maintenance Index has highlighted those models which are most likely to have had new components fitted, our advice is consistent across all vehicles when it comes to repairs and maintenance. Prevention is always better than cure – and usually safer and cheaper in the long run. And when considering a used car, the better buy is usually likely to be one with a record of preventative maintenance.”

Kwik Fit’s Maintenance Index 2024 for repairs can be found here. More details on the index can be found here.

Notes
1 – Areas defined as upper tier local authority areas, eg counties, metropolitan districts, London boroughs
2 – For each local area across Great Britain, Kwik Fit’s data analysis team identified the total number of cars registered in that area, and what proportion comprised each make and model. The analysts then compared this with the numbers of each make and model of car from that area visiting Kwik Fit centres for repairs during Jan – June 2024 across the UK, filtering out rare makes and models. This comparison enabled the team to calculate which models have a greater than proportionate chance of needing repairs and allocate an index score.

The car make and model were then ranked on the basis of the number of areas in which that model topped the local area index.