Warranty specialist MB&G says that retail drivers are increasingly considering the benefits of extended warranties but fleets are yet to take action to manage the risks associated with some older cars.

Kevin Pearce, a director of MB&G, said: 'You might expect us to encourage fleets to buy a warranty, but with company cars being kept for a fourth and fifth year, it cannot be good practice to fund any component issues or failures through their annual maintenance budget. Modern day cars are reliable, but if something starts to go wrong, it's more likely to be in the fourth or fifth years, or when the mileage reaches 70-100,000 miles.

'Not all cars need covering. Simply by covering higher-mileage, older cars or higher-value cars with a warranty, fleets could manage their fleet maintenance risks more efficiently, enabling them to budget a finite cost,' he added.

MB&G has also released its list of car brands that have generated the fewest claims over the past year in its database, to give an indication of car brand reliability.

The top ten brands on MB&G's list with the least warranty claims were as follows:

1 Honda

2 Lexus

3 Mitsubishi

4 Toyota

5 Suzuki

6 Kia

7 Hyundai

8 Subaru

9 Mazda

10 Nissan