A LEADING used-car warranty provider has named Britain's most unreliable used cars and the results will be a real eye-opener for buyers wanting to make a statement with a second-hand luxury model.

For nine of the ten least reliable models highlighted in the latest annual Warrantywise Reliability Index come from prestige brands including Land Rover, BMW, Porsche, Audi and even Bentley.

The company says its' data, which is based on 131,000 extended warranties on cars that are less than ten years old and which are outside of manufacturer's warranty, suggests the problematic nature of luxury cars, no matter how opulent and seemingly reliable they are.

Scoring as the most unreliable, according to the Reliability Index, the previous generation Land Rover Range Rover rates as the UK's least reliable used buy due to the frequency and cost of repairs.

Warrantywise quotes an average repair cost for the model of £1,607 - an amount that is actually quite low compared to many of the other bottom ten models, says the company - but found one example of repairs costing £23,890. Land Rover's Range Rover Sport was named as third least reliable buy, based on figures collated last year.

The only mass market model to feature in the used car Reliability Index was the Mazda CX-5 which is named as ninth least reliable model on the used car market.

But the rest of the bottom ten in terms of reliability is a horror show for prestige brands with the BMW M5 named as tenth least reliable, the Bentley Continental GT eighth, the Audi Q7 seventh, the Porsche Cayenne sixth, the BMW X6 fifth, the Porsche Panamera fourth, and the BMW M3 second.

Lawrence Whittaker, CEO of Warrantywise says: "The Reliability Index is extremely revealing of how luxury cars, which may seem like they would be reliable because of the costly price tags, aren't always so. The opinion that they should be very reliable, for the price that customers pay for them, is quite a popular one, and this evaluation of our data is helpful for us to guide customers the right way when wanting to make a large purchase on a luxury car."

"Through the Reliability Index, we are able to steer customers the right way when it comes to investing in a car," he adds.