Shropshire Star

Nearly a third of buyers avoid certain car brands based on previous poor vehicle reliability

A bad experience with a previous car will affect buyer perception of the brand.

Published
Used car dealership

A previous bad experience with a vehicle’s reliability put nearly a third of in-market buyers off from purchasing from the same brand again, a new survey has found.

What Car? spoke to 1,022 in-market buyers about their ‘perceptions on vehicle reliability and previous experiences’ with cars that they have owned. Of those buyers spoken to, 30.3 per cent said that poor reliability on a car that they had previously owned put them off buying from the same brand again.

The research also questioned whether buyers believe electric vehicles are more reliable than their petrol or diesel-powered counterparts. Despite EVs having fewer moving parts than a car with an internal combustion engine, just 12.8 per cent of respondents believed them to be more reliable, while 42.1 per cent said that they thought petrol and diesel cars have a battery reliability record. The 45.1 per cent remaining were undecided about the two.

Steve Huntingford, editor, What Car?, said: “This data highlights once again just how important a reputation for reliability is for manufacturers.

“It also shows that the advantages of EVs having far fewer moving parts, and therefore less things to go potentially wrong, remains an important message that the industry needs to get out there if it wants to continue to grow consideration among would-be buyers

Of the 137 in-market buyers looking to purchase an EV, 50.4 per cent believe EVs to be more reliable than petrol or diesel alternatives, with 40.2 per cent remaining unsure.

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