New cars cost too much? Consumer Reports offers used model ‘top picks’. Here’s the top 10
Kalea Hall | (TNS) The Detroit News
At a time when average new-vehicle prices near $50,000 are pushing more shoppers to consider the used market, Consumer Reports is releasing brand reliability ratings and “top picks” of pre-owned models for the first time.
The consumer advocacy nonprofit, which is providing used car-specific insights available at ConsumerReports.org/usedcars, on Tuesday released the used-vehicle studies that give the Asian brands higher scores and more spots on the group’s “top picks” list. Among the Detroit Three automakers, only General Motors Co. made the top 10 in the reliability study and had models make the top-picked used vehicle list.
Buyers coming back into the car market after years away often face sticker shock when they see new vehicle prices. That’s led 4 in 10 consumers who looking for a vehicle the past year to only consider used models, according to Consumer Reports, compared with 3 in 10 looking only at new cars.
The average listing price for a new vehicle was $47,307 in July and the average used price was $25,415, according to Cox Automotive. With far fewer new-vehicle offerings under $30,000 today, more customers are evaluating used vehicles. Sixty-eight percent of car buyers consider both new and used vehicles when shopping, according to a 2023 study from Cox Automotive, an automotive services company. That’s up from 55% two years ago.
“There’s a huge opportunity here to help a lot more people than we already are currently find something that’s reliable, safe,” said Alex Knizek, associate director of auto test development for Consumer Reports. “You really shouldn’t have to sacrifice those attributes in a car just because you want to save money buying used.”
Where brands stand
For its first-ever ranking of used vehicle brands, Consumer Reports focused on the reliability of vehicles from 2014 to 2019, asking its members through surveys about problems they’ve had. The organization received data for more than 150,000 vehicles for this study.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus and Toyota top the list of 26 brands, as they did in the nonprofit’s Annual Auto Reliability study of new vehicles released in November 2023. Mazda Motor Corp.’s Mazda brand ranked third, followed by Honda Motor Co.’s Acura and Honda brands, GM’s Buick, BMW AG’s BMW brand, Subaru Corp.’s Subaru brand, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.’s Nissan brand and Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand.
Bottom-ranking brands included Tesla Inc. and Stellantis NV’s Dodge and Chrysler in the 24th, 25th and 26th positions, respectively.
Stellantis’ other brands also ranked in the bottom half, with Ram at No. 22 and Jeep at No. 23. GM’s Cadillac ranked at No. 11, Chevrolet at No. 18 and GMC at No. 21. Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln ranked at No. 13 and the Ford brand at No. 20.
“Brands like Lexus and Toyota have a history of conservative redesigns, incrementally improving their entire product line, rather than introducing many all-new systems,” said Steven Elek, Consumer Reports’ program leader for auto data analytics, in a statement. “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.”
Consumer Reports has for decades named its top 10 new vehicle picks. These vehicles perform the best in the organization’s road tests and receive the highest marks in member surveys.
The group applied similar selection methods on pre-owned models for its first-ever 10 top used car picks. All the vehicles are valued under $20,000, earned a “Consumer Reports Recommendation” when tested brand new, rated above-average for reliability and come standard with electronic stability control.
The top 10 used car picks are:
- Hybrid small sedan under $20,000: 2021 Toyota Corolla Hybrid
- Small SUV under $20,000: 2021 Kia Sportage
- Hybrid SUV under $20,000: 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
- Three-row SUV under $20,000: 2020 Mazda CX-9
- Luxury SUV under $20,000: 2020 Buick Envision
- Pickup truck under $20,000: 2015 Toyota Tacoma
- Sports car under $20,000: 2019 Mazda Miata
- Small sedan under $15,000: 2019 Hyundai Elantra
- Small SUV under $15,000: 2018 Honda HR-V
- Small sedan under $10,000: 2017 Chevrolet Cruze
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