The 10 Least Reliable Used Cars In The UK Have An Average Repair Bill Of £2,051. Five Of Them Are Land Rovers

If you are shopping for a used premium SUV or executive saloon, the 2026 Warrantywise Reliability Index has some numbers you should see before you sign anything. The index, built from 1.6 million repair data points across hundreds of thousands of used cars on warranty in the UK, ranks every make and model by reliability. The bottom ten are all premium vehicles. Five are Land Rovers. Three are BMWs. The average repair bill across the group is £2,051. And in one case, a single repair on a Land Rover Discovery Sport cost £44,401.

At the top of the same index, the Toyota Yaris scores 89.2 out of 100. At the bottom, the Land Rover Discovery scores 17.2. That is a gap of 72 points on the same scale, between a car that costs around £12,000 used and one that costs considerably more and breaks down far more often.

The data does not mean every Land Rover or BMW will leave you stranded. But it does mean that if you are buying into the premium used market, the purchase price is only the beginning of what you will spend.

The Bottom 10

Here is the full list, ranked from least reliable to tenth least reliable, with average and maximum repair costs recorded under warranty:

The Land Rover Discovery sits at the bottom with a score of 17.2 out of 100. The average repair claim is £2,050, and the most expensive single repair recorded was £25,694. The average age at which claims occur is 6.8 years at 70,544 miles.

The BMW 7 Series scores 18.7. It has the highest average repair cost of any car on the list at £2,467, with a maximum recorded claim of £17,342. Average age at repair is 7.1 years at 74,162 miles.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Audi A7 are tied at 19.2. The S-Class averages £1,970 per claim with a maximum of £16,641. The A7 averages £1,862, and its most expensive recorded repair is a comparatively modest £7,464. Both tend to present problems at around seven years and 73,000 to 76,000 miles.

The Land Rover Range Rover Velar scores 19.7. Average repair cost is £2,217, with a maximum of £22,851. It is one of the younger cars on the list, averaging just 6.0 years and 58,936 miles at the point of claim, suggesting problems arrive earlier in the ownership cycle.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport scores 21.1, with an average claim of £2,002 and a maximum of £24,708 at an average age of 7.1 years and 67,706 miles.

The BMW X5 scores 23.6 and has the lowest average repair cost on the list at £1,847, but its most expensive single claim was £30,675. Average age at repair is 7.1 years at 74,646 miles.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport scores 24.1. Its average claim of £2,002 looks unremarkable until you see the maximum: £44,401 for a single repair. That figure is almost certainly more than the car was worth at the time. Average repair age is 7.3 years at 73,368 miles.

The BMW X7 scores 26.5, with an average repair cost of £1,992 and a maximum of £15,934. At 7.3 years and 67,372 miles on average, it sits in the later ownership window.

The Land Rover Defender 110 rounds out the list at 28.0. Its average repair cost is £2,082, with a maximum of £22,911. At an average of just 5.0 years and 52,839 miles at the point of claim, it is the youngest car on the list by some distance. Problems are appearing earlier on the Defender than on any other model in the bottom ten.

What The Data Tells Us

Every car on this list is a premium vehicle that commands a higher price on the used market. The assumption for many buyers is that a higher purchase price means better engineering, better materials and fewer problems. The data says otherwise.

The average repair age of 6 to 7 years and roughly 70,000 miles is significant because that is exactly the window in which most of these cars are being bought as used vehicles. A three-year-old Discovery coming off a PCP deal is likely to be picked up by a second owner who pays a fraction of the original price but inherits the full complexity of the car. By year six or seven, the warranty claims data suggests, the bills start arriving.

Emissions-related faults are the most common repair category across the bottom ten, affecting four of the ten models. Electrical system and suspension issues also appear frequently. These are not wear-and-tear items like brake pads and tyres. They are system-level failures that require specialist diagnosis and expensive parts.

The contrast with the top of the index is stark. The Toyota Yaris at 89.2 out of 100 leads the most reliable list, followed by the Toyota RAV4 at 79.9, the Peugeot 108 at 78.9, the Suzuki Vitara and Citroen C1 both at 78.0, and the Suzuki Swift at 77.5. These are simpler, lighter, less technologically complex cars. They cost less to buy and, according to the data, far less to keep running.

What This Means If You Are Buying Used

None of this means you should not buy a used Range Rover Sport or a BMW X5. These cars are popular for good reasons: they are spacious, comfortable, capable and desirable. The Warrantywise data does not measure how good a car is to drive or live with. It measures how often things go wrong and how much it costs when they do.

The practical takeaway is about budgeting. If you are buying a seven-year-old premium SUV for £15,000 to £25,000, you need to factor in the possibility of repair bills that run into the thousands. An average claim of £2,051 is not a worst-case scenario. It is the average. The worst cases, as the Discovery Sport’s £44,401 figure demonstrates, can exceed the value of the car itself.

Antony Diggins, Managing Director of Warrantywise, said: “Many of the lowest-scoring vehicles sit in premium segments, yet they remain highly desirable for a reason. The key is balancing that appeal with the reality of potential repair costs. Our data shows that price doesn’t always equal reliability, and because our Index is based purely on customer repair data, not cost, it offers a data-led view of what owners can expect.”

He added: “While the lower end of the rankings inevitably attracts attention, it’s important to recognise that there are still strong performers within every segment. These findings do not mean that all vehicles from any one manufacturer will experience problems. Regular servicing, preventative maintenance and appropriate use remain key factors in long-term reliability, particularly for larger, more technologically advanced vehicles.”

Three Things To Do Before You Buy

If you are looking at any of the cars on this list, or anything in the premium used market, three steps can save you from a painful surprise.

First, get a full service history check. The data shows problems tend to surface around 70,000 miles. A car with a complete, stamped service book from a franchised dealer is less likely to have hidden issues than one with gaps in its history.

Second, budget for repairs or buy a warranty. An extended warranty on a premium used car is not an optional extra. It is a hedge against the kind of bills this data reveals. The cost of a warranty is predictable. The cost of a turbocharged V8’s emissions system failing at 72,000 miles is not.

Third, get an independent pre-purchase inspection. A few hundred pounds spent on a thorough inspection before you buy can reveal the problems that are about to become expensive. On a car scoring 17.2 out of 100 for reliability, that inspection is not a luxury.

Sources:

• Warrantywise Reliability Index 2026
• Warrantywise, top 10 most reliable used vehicles