Oct. 25, 2017—RepairPal has released the first repair-driven Reliability Rating, a study based on millions of vehicle repair orders from RepairPal's Certified Network of over 2,000 shops.
RepairPal said the Reliability Rating is the first dependability metric to derive scores from real-world data.
"While other studies are based on subjective surveys, we are in a unique position with our nationwide network of shops to use actual repair data," says Art Shaw, CEO of RepairPal. "The best way we can help consumers is by providing research tools that enable them to make the most informed decisions about their cars."
Based on all the data pulled, the study found that:
- The average annual repair cost for cars in $620 per year.
- On average, a car visits a repair shop approximately once every two years for major unscheduled repair.
- On average across all models, 11 percent of repairs were considered severe.
Other findings from the study include:
- Asian automakers dominate the ratings with Honda, Lexus, Hyundai, Mazda, Kia, Toyota, and Acura all scoring an Excellent rating of 4.5 out of 5.
- Domestic and European manufacturers rated behind Asian brands with Chrysler and Buick scoring highest for domestic brands and Volkswagen ranking first among European manufacturers.
- Honda led all brands in reliability, with its three most popular CR-V, Civic, and Accord models ranking in the top 10 most reliable cars.
- Lexus was the second most reliable brand overall and highest-ranking luxury brand due to Excellent ratings on the popular ES, IS, and RX models.
- Mazda and Kia were the most consistently reliable brands, ranking fourth and fifth respectively and scoring 4.0 or higher on every model.
- The Toyota Yaris earned the top spot as the most reliable car due to its low cost of ownership and infrequent visits to shops. The BMW 335d scored lowest in reliability due to its high probability of expensive repairs.
RepairPal's Reliability Rating was derived from millions of repair orders on model years between 2010 through 2017. It is based on the cost, frequency, and severity of repairs. Vehicles that did not have sufficient data for statistical significance were omitted.
To see more data from the Reliability Rating study visit: https://repairpal.com/reliability
