Which car for ease of repairs

Should say the bearing rattle noise is coming from the engine. Nothing to do with the wheels or gearbox. Most easily heard when just at idle.

virtually any japanese one you fancy

Have you checked the timing gear?

Very much better to buy a car that doesn't need working on. You just missed the Which guide!

Basically avoid French, Italian, US owned makes other than Ford. If you must get a VW get a Skoda or at a push Audi and don't get a Spanish one.

Rated Very Good Honda Toyota (though I saw one with Marina taillight syndrome last night, it had a Taxi plate on it) Diahatsu (very small sample - vss) Lexus Mazda Subaru Suzuki

Rated Good Hyundai Mitsubishi Porsche - vss

Average Mini Nissan (avoid cars with French input?) Ford BMW Skoda Kia Proton - very vvs Merc - Benz Audi Jaguar

Rated Poor Vauxhall Citroen Volvo VW Peugot Smart - vss Chevrolet - vss Daewoo - vss Jeep - vss

Rated Very Poor SAAB Seat MG - vss Alfa Romeo (not bottom!!) - vss Rover Fiat Renault (learnt nothing from Nissan and rumored to have affected EU made Nissan by introducing crap to the supply chain) Land Rover Chrysler/Dodge

Note these are range average. There are models in every range of good or very good marques that pull them down. There are models in poor or very poor marques that pull them up. The Which guide had a breakdown of current production by market segment over 4 or so pages. The service and warranty you get on a new car goes a long way to alleviate or blow up any issues. Once out of warranty the crap just dies while the good go on and on.

Is that any good?

The ancient (pre much US presence) rule was avoid British, French and Italian cars...

Did Which? not spot that the British built Civic appears to be letting the side down? My mother has had these for years and the last two have been, frankly, poor. My definition of 'poor' being a car that fails en route or fails to proceed..not a light bulb not working or result of user neglect etc. My other definition of poor is any car that is less reliable than the Alfa I've owned for 8 years purely because Alfas are

Of course, individual models may be better or worse than the average so why is the Civic significant? In central Scotland (according to a mate who's desperate for a very nearly new Accord) there are no Accords on dealer forecourts round here..just Civics. I'm surprised, but we are in a depression..

Having looked at the engine bays of Accords and Civics over the last ten years, all of them looked horrible for access to me. The supposed upside is that you don't need access..

drive it till it dies, probably last for ages....

Just had a look under a bonnet of a Fiat Punto. My god there is acres of spaces. Change a light bulb a dream. But it is a fiat.

I remember looking into my first company Punto ages ago, and thinking 'washing machine'. At a distance the bits looked kind of similar....