When you’re shopping for a used car, it can be hard to narrow down the list of vehicles you’re interested in looking at. Finding the exact car that’s right for you is even harder, especially since there’s no guarantee the car you want will even be available in your area. Plus, it doesn’t exactly help that even when you’re talking about the same generation of vehicle, reliability can vary from model year to model year.
While we may not be able to tell you which car you should buy — except the Miata, definitely buy the Miata — but our friends at Consumer Reports recently combed through their reliability data to find the used cars with the worst reliability based on model year. That doesn’t mean the model itself is automatically bad, though. It could just be that there were a few problems one year that got fixed the next.
Since this reliability data comes from actual vehicle owners, it’s also possible Consumer Reports didn’t have a large enough sample size to include a vehicle on the list. For example, no Alfa Romeos made the list, and I’m willing to bet it’s much more likely that Consumer Reports subscribers don’t buy Alfas than it is that the Tonale is actually a great buy. So if you want to make sure to avoid the least reliable used cars on the market, be extra careful if you’re looking at buying one of these cars:
Audi
- A6: 2019
- Q3: 2018
- Q7: 2017
- Q8 e-tron: 2024
BMW
- 3 Series: 2024
- iX: 2023
- X5 PHEV: 2024
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
- Blazer: 2019, 2024
- Blazer EV: 2024
- Bolt: 2020, 2021
- Colorado: 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024
- Silverado 1500: 2019
- Suburban: 2016
- Tahoe: 2015, 2017, 2021
- Traverse: 2015
Chrysler
- Pacifica Hybrid: 2018, 2021
Ford
- Bronco Sport: 2021
- Escape: 2021
- Escape Hybrid: 2021, 2022, 2023
- Expedition: 2018, 2019, 2021
- Explorer: 2020
- F-150 Hybrid: 2021, 2022, 2023
- F-150 Lightning: 2023
- F-350: 2017
- Maverick Hybrid: 2022
- Mustang Mach-E: 2021
Genesis
GMC
- Acadia: 2016
- Canyon: 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024
- Sierra 1500: 2019
- Yukon: 2015, 2017, 2021
- Yukon XL: 2016
Hyundai
- Ioniq 5: 2022
- Kona: 2019
- Santa Fe: 2015, 2016
- Santa Fe Hybrid: 2022
- Sonata: 2016
Jeep
- Gladiator: 2020
- Grand Cherokee: 2023
- Grand Cherokee L: 2021, 2023
- Wrangler: 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023
Kia
- Optima: 2016, 2017
- Sorento: 2021
- Sportage Hybrid: 2024
- Sportage Plug-In Hybrid: 2023
Lincoln
Lucid
Mazda
- CX-50: 2024
- CX-90 Plug-In Hybrid: 2024
Mercedes-Benz
- C-Class: 2015
- E-Class: 2019
- GLE: 2021, 2024
Nissan
- Frontier: 2022
- Pathfinder: 2017
- Rogue Select: 2015
- Sentra: 2019
Ram
Rivian
Tesla
Toyota
Volkswagen
- Atlas: 2018, 2021
- ID.4: 2021
