The top 10 high quality, low-cost used cars through mechanics' eyes

Quality. Everybody wants it. But how do you get it in a car without having to pay more money?

This is a question I have dealt with for nearly 15 years of my life as a car dealer, auto auctioneer, and part-owner of an auto auction. My life revolves around trying to "hit em' where they ain't" when it comes to used cars.

Over the years I've seen certain distinct patterns as to which older used cars last, and which ones become rolling money pits. To figure this all out in a statistical way, I co-developed a long-term reliability study that gathers data from the inspectors who rate used vehicles trade-ins at dealerships and auto auctions around the country, and ranks models for their long-term mechanical integrity.

The use of independent professionals, instead of car owners, was done for two important reasons.

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First, owners can often look at their vehicles through rose-colored glasses. A car that shifts funny or has upper engine noise may seem to be perfectly fine to a person who has driven it every day for years on end. Independent professionals and dealers who inspect thousands of vehicles are often easily able to see the very things that these types of owners overlook.

Second, my partners and I wanted to eliminate all forms of brand bias from the study. Owners tend to be more forgiving of vehicles that come from an automaker that has satisfied them in the past. Even if their car is now cheap and trouble prone, their prior car they owned from the same manufacturer may have been a high-quality masterpiece.

The goal of this study was to provide honest and detailed information to the millions of people who buy older used cars. At the moment we now have over 330,000 data samples spread throughout the United States.

The findings?

The most important ingredient in the recipe is still the prior owners. However, it turns out that some cars that are unpopular, or discontinued, can last well beyond their peers at a price thousands less than popular alternatives:

Saturn L200

: Do you know what this is? Neither do the majority of Americans. The L-Series was a one-generation wonder that never caught on. In our study the four cylinder automatic models are proving to be more reliable than their Honda Accord peers, and still offer a steep discount in the retail car market.

Ford Crown Victoria

: The Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis are based on the same platform. For those just looking for a beater, and don't drive very much, the price of a government issued Crown Vic is the cheapest durable buy you can find on a pound-per-pound basis. Government surplus auction models that haven't seen police duty are tough to beat.

Buick Park Avenue

: In our study we're finding that the vehicle kept for the longest time is not Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. It's Buick. The Park Avenue benefits from an outstanding powertrain — the GM 3.8-liter V-6 built for decades — in non-supercharged models, and a mature clientele that's usually willing to invest in a car's proper maintenance.