Costing an average of £550 when it breaks down every other month, this is the UK’s ‘nightmare’ car, according to Warranty Direct.
The automotive specialist analysed its 50,000 live policies to concoct the monstrosity, dubbed the Horrific 40RR0R, by combining the worst-performing cars from each of the categories measured by its unique Reliability Index (www.reliabilityindex.com).
With the suspension of an Audi, the gearbox of a Jeep and the electrics of a Mercedes, the fictional vehicle is a Frankenstein’s monster of the least reliable parts, ‘created’ just in time for Halloween night.
The Reliability Index calculates the trustworthiness of vehicles by measuring average cost of repair, frequency of failure, age and mileage. While the average car scores 100 in the Index, with the lower the score the better, this grim creation would be five times more unreliable, with an RI figure of almost 500.
The ‘body parts’ of the ‘Horrific 40RR0R’
| Make and Model | Car part | Range |
| BMW M5 | Engine | (04 – 11) |
| Audi RS6 | Axle and Suspension | (02 – 11) |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | Gearbox | (06 – ) |
| Mercedes-Benz R-Class | Electrics | (04 – ) |
| Fiat Multipla | Braking system | (99 – 05) |
| SEAT Alhambra | Air-conditioning | (96 – ) |
| Chrysler 300C | Steering system | (05 – ) |
Overall, the Reliability Index shows that two in five vehicles need some form of repair each year and, while the average repair costs just over £350, some garage bills can spiral to a scream-inducing £35,000.
Warranty Direct managing director, David Gerrans, said: “The Horrific 40RR0R is a bit of fun that will, thankfully, never be built, as it stitches together the cars that perform worst in each of the mechanical categories we measure.
“This large variety of vehicles that goes into the concoction proves how typically reliable cars can be dragged down by one poorly-performing part.”
Almost two fifths of Audi RS6s require a trip to the workshop to repair axle and suspension components each year, while three in every 10 Mercedes-Benz R Class vehicles report electrical faults.
Gearbox problems are rarer, but still more than one in ten Jeep Grand Cherokees will report gearbox problems annually.
A quarter of BMW M5s require repairs to their engines, while the same proportion of Fiat Multiplas will experience braking system faults.
Chrysler’s 300C is not renowned for its agility in corners but, even so, more than ten percent will require repairs to their steering systems. The same number of SEAT Alhambras will need their air-con fixed during a typical year, so drivers who like keeping their car cool should beware of the big SEAT’s asthmatic ventilation system.
Warranty Direct cover starts from as little as £15 a month. For more information on the reliability of your vehicle, visit www.reliabilityindex.com, or for a quote on cover www.warrantydirect.co.uk.