If you’re in the market for a used car, you might want to take a look at this. Consumer Reports has issued its first ever brand ranking for used vehicles, using reliability data from model years 2014 through 2019, and it has some surprises on it.
While the new car supply issues of peak COVID have waned, higher interest rates than many consumers are used to combined with a cost of living squeeze are pushing consumers into used cars, even if used cars are still more expensive than many are used to. As Alex Knizek, Consumer Reports‘ associate director of auto test development, said to the Detroit Free Press:
Although prices have come down from their pandemic highs, the average cost of a used car is nearly $30,000. That’s why we placed a big emphasis on value in selecting these 10 vehicles, looking for the hidden gems that offered the right blend of reliability, performance, and safety at the most budget-friendly prices
Unsurprisingly, the big winner here is Lexus, followed closely by Toyota. Mazda rounds out the podium, and while the gulf between that brand and Toyota is considerable, the Mazda lineup from 2014 to 2019 still makes for solid used car bets, especially if you’re looking at powertrain reliability. Plus, used Mazdas often aren’t as expensive as used Toyotas or Hondas, so if you’re looking to save some coin, a Mazda could be a sleeper hit.
Further down the list, things start to get weird but in interesting ways. Buick nabbed the sixth place spot, making it the most reliable American car brand by a considerable margin. While there are definitely still engines to avoid in the Buick lineup like the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine in the Verano and the 3.6-liter V6 in older Enclave crossovers, it’s still fascinating to see Buick rank 12 spots higher than Chevrolet.
BMW is in seventh place, ahead of Subaru and Nissan but behind Honda and Buick. Given the brand’s reputation combined with this survey covering a few years of the trouble-prone N20 four-cylinder engine, it’s surprising to see the brand rank so high, but that likely speaks to the reliability gains found with the B48 four-cylinder and B58 six-cylinder engines.
Perhaps contradicting stereotypes around electric vehicles, Tesla ranks way down the list in 24th place, slotting in between Jeep and Dodge. While electric vehicles do have substantially fewer requirements than combustion-powered cars when it comes to regular maintenance, Tesla’s score may be down in the dumps due to a combination of teething issues on early Model S sedans and quality control issues on early Model 3 sedans, since this study only involves cars from 2014 to 2019.
While Consumer Reports‘ overall brand rankings make sense, some of the individual models recommended might not be the best options for you depending on your needs. For instance, the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze recommended as a used car under $10,000 may be feature-rich with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but its turbocharged engine has more potential failure points than a naturally aspirated powerplant including reports of cracked pistons, and while owners are unlikely to run into any issues in the short term, anyone looking to run a car into the ground might want to look at something mechanically simpler.
Likewise, the publication’s recommendation of a 2019 Hyundai Elantra for less than $15,000 is great in the short term, as it does come with a whole bunch of amenities. However, the two-liter Nu engine hasn’t proven to be quite as stout as Mazda’s naturally aspirated Skyactiv inline-four or Toyota’s two-liter four-banger, so if you’re looking to keep a used car for the long haul and value powertrain reliability over everything, it might not be a bad idea to go by brand ranking rather than individual model recommendations.
Still, it’s always interesting to take a gander at reputable used car reliability studies, because the data from them can steer people away from potentially problematic vehicles and possibly even turn some prejudices on their heads. Who knows? Maybe buying that used BMW isn’t such a dumb idea after all.
(Photo credits: Lexus, Consumer Reports, BMW, Tesla, Hyundai)
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The other thing that really bothers me about the CR ratings is that they tell people what’s reliable, then these people buy what the think are reliable cars, and then CR surveys them to see if the car is reliable. It’s built in confirmation bias on the part of the subscribers that are filling out their surveys. I fell for the subaru bug once based on the CR ratings and boy did I feel like a sucker.
The top 10 used car picks from CR are the comically most CR fuddy-duddy cars I’ve ever seen. Boring as hell, maybe reliable, ugly, utilitarian. I guess if what you are after is ONLY reliable transportation, then fine. But life is too short to drive around in a ’17 Chevy Cruze, at least in my opinion.
I don’t get why after 40 years of the stereotype that American cars are less reliable than Asian brands, they still haven’t made any progress to move up from the bottom of the list. Maybe they’re more concerned with profit than reputation?
This list is worthless to me. “Used” means 5-10 years? Please. That’s practically new. In my world “used” means 15-20 years old. Let’s see that list.
CDRJ build quality has absolutely tanked since the Stellantis takeover. Not that it was impressive to begin with, but it’s shockingly bad now.
In my case, I lemoned a 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe over repeated coolant heater issues. I’ve since learned from a tech friend that Stellantis never revised the design – they have a tendency to go bad, and keep getting replaced like a consumable.
Buy a BMW?
I’d rather date a worn out Kardashian sister. YMMV
Buick in 6th, maybe. BMW in that spot though no way. Make me think there is variables they didn’t account for mileage perhaps?
Go Miata!
Is that really a CX-9 in that top 10 list photo? It looks so small compared to real life.
Mazda really is a great value for money, the Skyactiv engine family is extremely robust short of some early 2.5 Turbos having some growing pains. Also a far more upscale interior than you’d expect for the price new or used.
It kind of bums me out to see this list, even though its not surprising at all. I have 2 Siennas right now; they’re completely bulletproof- duh- but I’ve often thought about getting a newer minivan lately and the Pacifica is easily the best looking one on the market. Alas, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole considering its track record of reliability.
It’s like the auto gods are teasing me. We’d so trade in our Honda Odyssey for a PHEV van today. But the only option is a Chrysler. And the Pacifica PHEV rental I had for a week did not instill confidence with an engine that only had 10k miles on it that sounded like it was ready to die.
Since Toyota has no inventory to sell us, we keep looking at the same alternatives over and over. The Pacific PHEV really isn’t bad on paper. And there are some hefty discounts, almost makes you forget about the whole “Chrysler quality” part of it.
Hell, I even thought about buying an extended warranty to hedge my bet, but then you read about dealers who refuse to do warranty work.
I have a 23MY Pacifica non-hyrbid. The numbers for that car are above average for a Stellantis product, so not nearly as horrible as the hybrid. Even still, you can tell it’s American made. Some fit and finish, software glitches, some driveline calibration all show how far behind Chrysler is to Toyota. But I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to get it well past 100k miles. We shall see…
Entirely anecdotal, but backs up the Consumer Reports data – I had a 2015 Mazda 6 and my wife still has a 2015 CX-5. The 6 had no mechanical issues ever and had 145k when I sold it two years ago. My wife’s CX-5 has also never had a mechanical issue and is currently at 174k miles. They’ve been rock solid dependable.
We have a 2015 CX-5 as well. Also rock solid. Had a little slip in the tranny and just changed the fluids and it’s all good. The only issue, and it is mostly a “me” issue, is that the undercarriage is fairly rusty. But I live in New England and go between MA and VT and NEVER ran it through the car wash in the winter to remove the salt. That is on me.
I had a 2010 Mazda6 and after it got T-boned, I got a 2018 Mazda3. Both manual. Great cars. Absolutely love my 3.
The best affordable used truck under $20k in Freedom Buxx is….a decade old Toyota pick up. Not becasue the newer years aren’t reliable, but that’s the breakover point for them to average under $20k. For a nearly DECADE OLD Toyota truck.
Pretty much, just helped my dad get started with private party selling our old Tundra, and despite it being 17 years old and having ~120k miles, KBB says a 11.5k is about right in good condition, which my dad was shocked by, and even I was expecting 10 max and I spend a lot of my free time on FBM and Craigslist
As a shopper for a “cheap truck” the fact that 200k miles trucks are going for what I still consider good money is depressing.
BMW top 10?! HA!
It’s almost like they got something in the arrangement with Toyota in exchange for the Supra.
I wonder if Buick position is based on the idea that their target customers are more active with maintenance and repairs, and generally drive fewer miles…
I was about to post this same idea. Buick has been a cut above the rest of GM on these lists for a while. It has to be because Grandpa keeps the oil changed and doesn’t abuse the car. Meanwhile a Chevy Equinox goes 20k miles on an oil change, conventional oil of course because it is cheaper.
Fiat ranked 30 out of 26.
Fix It Again Tony!
I’ve just decided to buy out the lease of my Audi A6 allroad. I’m pleasantly surprised VAG is only a hair below average.
I guess I like self torture but am too cheap to hire a dominatrix.
Jesus what are your dominatrix standards that an A6 Allroad is cheaper? Who’d you get a quote from, Beyonce?
The Woman
Haha, touché.
Some people will settle for a below-average VAG. Some won’t.
Thought you said that VAG had below average hair.
I went to engineering school. Beggars can’t be choosers.
That also explains why you enjoy self torture.
Another victim of STEM.
Mmmmm…Allroad.
“I guess I like self torture but am too cheap to hire a dominatrix.”
The trick is to find a dominatrix wannabe whose willing to hire YOU.
Even my mechanic, who has every thing to gain, told me not to buy a German car off-lease/after warranty expires.
Yeah, this list is crap in my book. I work in an area where I have extensive data on auto repairs, frequency, cost, etc, from across the US. “Most reliable” the way they define it is very different from how I define it in that data. I define it as likelihood of powertrain failure, and often measure that not just by count, but by cost of occurrence. I consider that a much more real world perspective. How often, and how much will it cost me if it does happen. And by that measure, BMW is NOT in the top 10.
As always, the “problems” being self-reported and ranked as equivalent no matter their severity makes this list suspect.
Obviously it should be taken with a grain of salt, but looking at it, I’m not seeing anything about the list that doesn’t match my expectations. Especially for the range of 2014-2019.
Overall though, it’s not a tremendously useful chart. When you’re Toyota and you have 3 proven powertrains being shoved into a huge lineup of cars, you’re going to do alright. When you’re Chrysler and one of the three powertrains is the PHEV in the Pacifica…
Part of the problem I think is that in large part our expectations have been set by this type of chart already.
Buick being so different from Chevy or GMC speaks to a reporting issue (or a rash of issues with the few vehicles they don’t share, like trucks).
Especially for vehicles out of warranty like the majority of these are, I would think “average cost of repairs” is more valuable info than “number of problems, which may or may not be severe”. Much harder to measure though.
Agreed, although even trying to rate financially “objectively” would be difficult.
I think of an issue a friend had with a 2014 Corolla–the bottom 3rd of the factory touchscreen stopped registering touches (reportedly a common problem, but one Toyota hasn’t done anything about). Crucially, all the options to connect Bluetooth come up at the bottom of the screen, so they’re completely inaccessible.
If you go to a Toyota dealership, they’ll replace the whole head unit for something like $1000.
Or…you can buy a replacement digitizer for $50 on Amazon (ships from/sold by!), and swap it in in roughly an hour yourself.
Which number should CR report? What’s the “average” person going to do?
I suspect they are still ranking “I can’t figure out how to work the touchscreen” as a problem with the car that affects reliability.
Lexus would be at the bottom then, not the top
Exactly this. Someone bringing in their vehicle for a switchgear rattle is equivalent to a transmission needing replacement. I put very little weight in CR reports.
That’s not what they say they did:
We studied 20 potential trouble areas, from nuisances—such as squeaky brakes and broken interior trim—to major bummers, such as potentially expensive out-of-warranty engine, transmission, electric vehicle battery and EV charging problems, and weighed them accordingly to calculate an overall reliability score
While I hope that’s true, I don’t see it reflected in either the graphic shown in this article or the linked story containing the interview with CR.
I went to the CR article for myself.
Then how do brands like Buick and Chevy place so differently? Every Buick is based on a Chevy model, and 90% of them come out of the same Chevy factories.
Encore is Korean, Envision is Chinese…
This is from a Buick press release:
Buick sales increased 61% in 2023 with sales up across the full portfolio:
Encore GX: 92% increase
Envision: 71% increase
Those are the fastest growing models.
What are you talking about? the 1970’s?
Chevy and GMC sell mostly vehicles with no Buick counterpart.
Shops see a lot of Toyotas. Hmmm… Who sells the most vehicles?
This is why I trust CR and not your gut feeling.
I guess that’s why they ranked the outgoing Chrysler 300 higher than the Avalon in reliability in ’22; after making it for that long it finally became ‘reliable’ by the end.
So what you’re saying is the most unreliable Chevies are the trucks? Because the Encore GX comes from the same factory as the Trailblazer and Trax, and I doubt the Chinese-built Envision is somehow magically a million times more reliable than the Mexican-built Equinox and Blazer, but maybe I stand corrected. If the Envision really is that reliable perhaps GM should just start importing all its cars from SAIC Yantai.
Less problems crop up when you only drive 10 miles a week to church on sundays
I wonder if or how this type of metric might shift as EV’s increase their production ratio for each manufacturer?
We might already be seeing it – Kia and Hyundai are pretty far down, and I thought they had gained in recent years. Still above Tesla and Jeep though!