Buying a used car? These brands make the most reliable options, experts say

• Consumer Reports released an analysis of which car brands have the most reliable used cars.

• The study evaluated the reliability of five to ten-year-old used cars from 26 mainstream brands.

• Lexus and Toyota are the most reliable, while Chrysler, Dodge, and Tesla are the least reliable.

Lexus makes the most reliable used cars, according to Consumer Reports' latest study, published in August.

The Japanese luxury brand finished just ahead of its corporate sister, Toyota, in the magazine's analysis of five- to ten-year-old used cars from 26 mainstream brands on sale in the US.

"Brands like Lexus and Toyota have a history of conservative redesigns, incrementally improving their entire product line, rather than introducing many all-new systems," Steven Elek, Consumer Reports' program leader for auto data analytics, said in a press release. "Our data consistently shows over time that new cars from those brands are reliable when new and they continue to be reliable as they age."

Japanese brands dominated the top of the list, taking the top five spots and seven of the top 10.

Buick is the highest-ranked domestic brand in sixth place, followed by BMW, the highest-ranked European brand in seventh place.

On the other hand, Stellantis-owned brands are prominently featured at the bottom of the list, taking four of the bottom five spots, with Chrysler finishing in 26th and last place.

Tesla finished in 24th place, ahead of Dodge in 25th and behind Jeep in 23rd.

The consumer testing and research organization based its findings on survey results from the owners of more than 150,000 vehicles regarding the issues their 2014-2019 model year vehicles experienced during the last 12 months.

As a result, recent startups like Polestar, Lucid, and Rivian were not included in the study.

Consumer Reports evaluated 20 potential trouble areas that range from nuisances like broken interior trim pieces to major issues like engine and EV battery problems to come up with its used car brand reliability score.

These 14 brands scored the highest:

14. Volkswagen

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 41/100

13. Lincoln

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 42/100

12. Mini

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 42/100

11. Cadillac

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 42/100

10. Mercedes-Benz

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 43/100

9. Nissan

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 45/100

8. Subaru

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 46/100

7. BMW

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 46/100

6. Buick

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 47/100

5. Honda

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 55/100

4. Acura

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 57/100

3. Mazda

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 59/100

2. Toyota

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 72/100

1. Lexus

Consumer Reports Used Brand Reliability Score: 75/100

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