IF you really want to know what's hot and what's not with cars it is always wise to keep an ear to the ground around people who fix them.
One company which strictly monitors reliability and has never been shy in coming forward with the intelligence is Warranty Direct which has now revealed the certain older cars may be more reliable than their new counterparts.
These Peter Pan cars which show a marked reluctance to age include older versions of the Audi A4, Porsche Boxster and Ford Fiesta.
The data comes from an analysis of 50,000 live policies run by the company.
Other facts reveal that used car buyers looking for a vehicle that breaks down less than the shinier, more recent versions should also consider Vauxhall’s family MPV, the Zafira and commuter favourite, the BMW 3 Series.
The age defying cars also include older model of the Jaguar XJ (97-03) and Renault Espace (93-03.)
Other startling facts revealed include the average repair cost for a Ford Fiesta built between 2002 and ’08 being almost double that paid by owners of a ’95-’02 model, while the largest claim seen by Warranty Direct for the newer car, an eye-watering £2,076.40, dwarfs the largest bill for its older counterpart.
Newer Vauxhall Zafiras are around twice as likely as older models to suffer an electrical fault, with 45% being affected on average each year, while one in three ’05-’09 Audi A4s will have engine woes, as opposed to only one in 10 ’00-’05 cars.
Meanwhile, more recent BMW 3 Series models are three times more prone to picking up brake system problems, with almost one in seven ’05-’11 models requiring workshop visits.
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