These Brands Make The Most Reliable Used Cars
In a recent survey that included the owners of more than 150,000 vehicles made between 2015 and 2020, Consumer Reports found that Lexus is the car brand with the most reliable used vehicles.
One notch behind Lexus sits Toyota, which makes sense since Lexus is the Japanese automaker’s luxury arm. In third place is Mazda, though it’s more than 10 points behind Toyota. Honda and Acura round out the top five.
Top 10 car brands with the most reliable used cars |
|---|
Lexus |
Toyota |
Mazda |
Honda |
Acura |
Buick |
Volvo |
Nissan |
Subaru |
Cadillac |
Steven Elek, Consumer Report’s senior automotive data analyst, said, “Brands like Lexus and Toyota have a history of conservative redesigns, incrementally improving their entire product line rather than introducing many all-new systems.” Of the 10 top-rated brands that the publication says makes the most reliable used cars, seven are Japanese, two are American and one is European.
Consumer Reports cautions that not every car from the same automaker will be equally reliable. “This is why it’s best to check the reliability ratings for each model year when buying a used car,” Elek said. “Making assumptions can prove both costly and inconvenient.”
A total of 20 potential trouble areas are studied for this list, and each of them receives a weighted score to determine the final rankings. Irritations like squeaky brakes aren’t as serious as major powertrain problems.
Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Mini, and Hyundai are the lowest-ranked brands in Consumer Reports’ reliable used car list. Some brands that don’t exactly have stellar reputations for reliability – such as Jaguar and Land Rover – are notably absent from the list due to insufficient data.
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Growing up in a family obsessed with performance and as the son of an automotive engineer, Jeremy Korzeniewski has spent his entire life as a car enthusiast. Also an avid motorcyclist, Jeremy has spent the last two decades writing about the transportation industry and providing insights to many of the largest automotive publications in the world.
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