It’s a well-known fact that cars are money pits , especially brand new cars that lose a large portion of their value the instant they’re driven off the dealer lot . Buying a used car will save you money , since the first owner took the brunt of depreciation, but depending on the condition of the used car you buy it can end up costing thousands of dollars in repairs . Unless you’re a part of the one percent , it’s important to do your due diligence when shopping for a reliable used car, and we trust the team at Consumer Reports to do most of the due diligence for us.
We’ve organized the companies that Consumer Reports found to produce the least-reliable five-to-10-year-old cars. It ranked 26 manufacturers in this study in total, but this includes the 15 car brands that performed poorest in this ranking. There are some surprises in here and some that you might expect to find, but either way, these are the brands that produce the least-reliable cars that are five to ten years old.
If you’re in the market for a used car, consider something that doesn’t make an appearance on this list. That said, I do own a used car that makes an appearance on this list, so do whatever you want. 2 / 17 15th: Mini 15th: Mini Mini is a niche carmaker, and Consumer Report s only included a single model’s reliability history in its ranking, the Mini Cooper.
While this writer is a total Mini freak, it’s no secret that Mini’s reliability reputation has had some serious peaks and valleys. According to Consumer Reports ’ rankings, most Mini Coopers from about 2019 and newer are pretty safe bets, but older models score lower. Mini scored 42 out of 100, which actually ties with the manufacturer that just squeaked by without making this list, Cadillac.
3 / 17 14th: Lincoln 14th: Lincoln Lincoln got the same reliability verdict as Mini at 42 out of 100 points, but Consumer Reports used data from more models to determine its score. Lincoln received this placement based upon the reliability of its MKC, MKX, MKZ and Nautilus models, which seems pretty poor, but Lincoln actually falls smack-dab in the middle at 13 out of 26 manufacturers included in this study. 4 / 17 13th : Volkswagen 13th : Volkswagen Volkswagens place just one point below Lincoln at a score of 41 out of 100.
This score was given based on data from the following nine VW models: Atlas, Beetle, Golf, Golf Alltrack, Golf Sportwagen, GTI, Jetta, Passat and Tiguan. Most of these models are all based on the same platform and use the same powertrains as the others. 5 / 17 12th : Volvo 12th : Volvo Volvos have a pretty garbage public perception of reliability, but this placement isn’t all that poor.
Volvo got 40 out of 100, just a couple points behind several other companies. This ranking was assigned based on Consumer Reports data from the following Volvo models: S60, S90, V60, XC40, XC60, XC70 and XC90. This includes the very complicated turbo and supercharged engines from recent years.
6 / 17 11th : Audi 11th : Audi The Volkswagen Group’s luxury arm Audi is the lowest-ranked German brand in this reliability ranking with a score of 39 out of 100. This score was given based on data from Audi’s A3, A4, A5, A6, Allroad, E-Tron, Q3, Q5 and Q7 models from the past five to 10 years. Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW all placed higher than Audi did, though it’s just one point behind Volvo.
7 / 17 10th : Hyundai 10th : Hyundai Hyundai received the same score as its sister company Kia at 38 points out of 100, and Chevrolet actually scored the same, too. The Hyundai models included in this data set were the Elantra, Elantra GT, Genesis, Ioniq, Kona, Kona Electric, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Sport, Santa Fe XL, Sonata and Tucson. 8 / 17 9th : Chevrolet 9th : Chevrolet Chevrolet tied with Hyundai and Kia as far as points go, with a score of 38 out of 100, so I’m not entirely sure why CR ranked them this way.
There were 16 Chevy models included in this data setL Blazer, Bolt, Camaro, Colorado, Corvette, Cruze, Equinox, Impala, Malibu, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500 HD, Suburban, Tahoe, Traverse, Trax and Volt. Chevy scored lower than two other GM companies, Cadillac and Buick, with Buick placing an admirable sixth overall in reliability. 9 / 17 8th : Kia 8th : Kia Our third automaker to receive a score of 38 out of 100 is Kia.
Consumer Reports used data from Kia Forte, Niro, Niro Electric, Optima, Sedona, Sorento, Soul, and Sportage models. 10 / 17 7th : Ford 7th : Ford American car manufacturers hold the remainder of the places on this list, unfortunately. Honestly, it’s surprising to see Ford place this high given the blue oval’s propensity for issuing more recalls than any other single manufacturer so far this year with 31 recalls as of July, 2024.
Ford actually received the same score at 36 out of 100 as the next manufacturer on this list, GMC. The Ford models that led to this ranking were C-Max, Edge, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, F-150, F-250, F-350, Flex, Focus, Fusion, Mustang, Ranger and Taurus. 11 / 17 6th : GMC 6th : GMC GMC earns the title of being the General Motors brand with the least-reliable five-to-10-year-old cars, with a score of 36 out of 100.
The models that earned it this spot on the list were the Acadia, Canyon, Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500HD, Terrain, Yukon and Yukon XL. Usually more features means more issues, but Cadillac placed higher than both GMC and Chevrolet on this list so that might not be the case anymore. 12 / 17 5th : Ram 5th : Ram Ram is Dodge’s truck brand, and it earned 35 out of 100 on reliability.
Only three models made up this score, though: the Ram 1500, 1500 Classic, and 2500. It is the highest-ranked Stellantis brand on this list, however. 13 / 17 4th : Jeep 4th : Jeep Jeeps are vehicles purchased with your heart and not your head usually, and this placement cements that.
Jeep earned a rough score of just 32 out of 100 points based on the reliability of these models: Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Renegade, Wrangler, and Wrangler JK. Jeep still placed higher than two other Stellantis brands. 14 / 17 3rd : Tesla 3rd : Tesla Sure, used Teslas have become quite affordable, but is buying one a good idea? With a reliability ranking of just 30 out of 100, that seems like a big gamble.
This data was gathered from Tesla Model 3, Model S, and Model X EVs. While these vehicles have significantly fewer moving parts than ICE vehicles, they are teeming with software that is known to be buggy, and many Teslas have notoriously poor build quality. 15 / 17 2nd : Dodge 2nd : Dodge Dodge scored even lower than Tesla, earning just 28 points out of 100, though this list only used data from Durango and Grand Caravan models.
I grew up with Dodge Grand Caravans and they were always breaking and always in the service center, so this has been a long-standing issue for Dodge. 16 / 17 The Least-Reliable Used Cars: Chrysler The Least-Reliable Used Cars: Chrysler Chrysler earned the worst reliability ranking for its used cars with a paltry score of 27 points out of 100. This ranking was assigned based on data from the following Chrysler models: 200, 300, Pacifica, Pacifica Hybrid, and Town & Country.
Hopefully Chrysler and its parent company Stellantis are able to turn their respective poor reliability reputations around soon. A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik. 17 / 17.
