The Most Reliable Used-Car Brands in 2025

Ranked: The Most Reliable Used-Car Brands in 2025

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In today’s environment, buying a new car has become a stretch for many households—fueling demand in the used-car market. But not all used vehicles are created equal, and reliability plays a major role in long-term ownership costs.

For buyers looking to avoid expensive repairs down the road, brand reputation is more important than ever. In this graphic, we ranked the best used-car brands of 2025, using data from Consumer Reports.

Data & Methodology

To come up with these reliability scores, Consumer Reports asked its members to report how many problems they’ve had with their vehicles over the past 12 months.

This analysis focused only on cars from the 2015 to 2020 model year, with a sample size of over 150,000 vehicles.

Rank	Brand	Reliability Verdict
1	🇯🇵 Lexus	81
2	🇯🇵 Toyota	74
3	🇯🇵 Mazda	63
4	🇯🇵 Honda	56
5	🇯🇵 Acura	55
6	🇺🇸 Buick	53
7	🇸🇪 Volvo	49
8	🇯🇵 Nissan	49
9	🇯🇵 Subaru	48
10	🇺🇸 Cadillac	48
11	🇩🇪 Mercedes-Benz	47
12	🇩🇪 BMW	45
13	🇺🇸 Lincoln	43
14	🇩🇪 Audi	42
15	🇺🇸 Tesla	40
16	🇩🇪 Volkswagen	40
17	🇺🇸 Chevrolet	40
18	🇺🇸 Ram	38
19	🇺🇸 Ford	38
20	🇰🇷 Kia	37
21	🇺🇸 GMC	36
22	🇰🇷 Hyundai	36
23	🇬🇧 Mini	33
24	🇺🇸 Dodge	32
25	🇺🇸 Jeep	31
26	🇺🇸 Chrysler	29

From this data we can see that Japanese brands are generally the most reliable when buying used, with the lowest ranked Japanese brand being Subaru, in ninth place. Toyota and its luxury arm, Lexus, hold the top two spots, while Honda and Acura come in fourth and fifth.

Brands like Lexus and Toyota have a history of conservative redesigns, incrementally improving their entire product line rather than introducing many all-new systems. Our data consistently shows over time that cars from those brands are reliable when new, and they continue to be reliable as they age.
Steven Elek, Senior Automotive Data Analyst at Consumer Reports

Top Used-Car Picks in 2025

​Consumer Reports has released its latest list of top used-car picks, all of which offer good reliability, safety, and value across various price points. These selections are based on comprehensive road tests and owner satisfaction surveys.

Category	Top Pick Model (Year)	Generation
Under $10,000	Chevrolet Cruze (2017)	2016–2019
Under $15,000	Hyundai Elantra (2019)	2017–2020
SUV Under $15,000	Honda HR-V (2018)	2016–2022
Hybrid Under $20,000	Toyota Corolla Hybrid (2021)	2020–2024
Small SUV Under $20,000	Kia Sportage (2021)	2017–2022
Hybrid SUV Under $20,000	Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (2018)	2016–2018
3-Row SUV Under $20,000	Mazda CX-9 (2020)	2016–2023
Luxury SUV Under $20,000	Buick Envision (2020)	2016–2020
Pickup Truck Under $20,000	Toyota Tacoma (2015)	2005–2015
Sports Car Under $20,000	Mazda MX-5 Miata (2019)	2016–2024

For more detailed information and additional recommendations, visit the full article on Consumer Reports.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed this post, check out our ranking of the most reliable new-car brands based on data from J.D. Power.