What is the most reliable used car brand?

In CarVitals data, Lexus ranks highest with an average reliability score of 7.1/10, based on our per-year verdicts built on public NHTSA complaint and recall data.

How are these reliability rankings calculated?

Each model year gets a CarVitals verdict score (0 to 10) from public NHTSA complaint and recall data. We average those scores across a model's years (brands average their models). Only brands with at least three ranked models are ranked.

The most reliable car brands for used buyers, by the data

Brands ranked by the average CarVitals reliability score across their used models (0 to 10, built on NHTSA data). Only brands with at least three ranked models are included, so the average reflects a real track record, not one standout car.

#	Brand	Avg score	Models rated
1	Lexus	7.1/10	5
2	Toyota	6.6/10	10
3	Honda	6.6/10	8
4	Genesis	6.4/10	3
5	Mazda	6.3/10	5
6	Acura	6.0/10	5
7	Tesla	5.8/10	4
8	Infiniti	5.8/10	3
9	Subaru	5.7/10	7
10	Chevrolet	5.6/10	10
11	Ford	5.6/10	9
12	Hyundai	5.6/10	6
13	Kia	5.6/10	6
14	Cadillac	5.6/10	4
15	BMW	5.5/10	9
16	Dodge	5.5/10	5
17	GMC	5.5/10	5
18	Nissan	5.4/10	8
19	Mercedes-Benz	5.4/10	5
20	Audi	5.2/10	5
21	Jeep	5.1/10	6
22	Volkswagen	5.1/10	6
23	Chrysler	5.1/10	3

Scores are CarVitals reliability verdicts built on public NHTSA complaint and recall data, averaged across model years. They rank a model's record in our data, not a guarantee about any single used car, always check the specific car's history and condition too. See how we build these scores, or check any listing free with the CarVitals extension.