Choice names Australia's worst new cars

According to a new Australian survey conducted by consumer advocacy group CHOICE, roughly two out of every three new Holden car buyer reported a fault with their vehicle.

The new survey was conducted to shine a light on how many faults are reported for various new car brands and how the faults are resolved by the car companies.

The survey sample was 1505 Australian drivers, who bought a new car between January 2011 and January 2016 and revealed that women were more likely to be denied a resolution to a fault than men.

While 68 per cent of Holden new car buyers reported a fault in the first four years – the highest percentage – Ford was not far behind with 65 per cent reporting issues. Luxury car brand Audi was third with 62 per cent of owners reporting problems.

The full list from the survey includes 15 car makers, with the percentage of faults reported showing Japanese brands to be the most reliable, with Mazda topping the list followed by Honda and Toyota.

Mazda 44%
Honda 49%
Toyota 50%
Suzuki 51%
Subaru 53%
Kia 54%
Mitsubishi 55%
BMW 57%
Hyundai 61%
Nissan 61%
Volkswagen 61%
Jeep 61%
Audi 62%
Ford 65%
Holden 68%

CHOICE observed that across all consumer product lines, cars were unique in the frequency of complaints, higher than all other products.

The most reported faults from new car buyers was Bluetooth connectivity, accounting for 21 per cent of all complaints, considered minor complaints. That said, CHOICE reported that 14 per cent of respondents face major issues.

The survey found that 73 per cent of new cars facing issues over the past five years were covered by the warranty, and the majority of car owners had their problems solved.

But CHOICE noted a "very concerning" trend where a "significant number of car owners received no help at all, with women more likely to be denied a resolution to their problem."

Furthermore, the survey shed light on dealers and car importers forcing car owners to sign non-disclosure agreements in order for their (presumably significant) car faults to be resolved, sometimes resulting in a replacement vehicle.

Such agreements prohibit owners talking about specifics of fault resolutions and CHOICE reports that 16 per cent of car owners surveyed signed a non-disclosure agreement to have an issue resolved.

Sarah Agar, CHOICE campaigns advisor, said gag orders could make a bad situation worse.

"Denying people the right to talk about their problems and share knowledge with regulators, advocates and other consumers exacerbates the issue."

Check out the full CHOICE report on lemon cars and consumer laws for more details.