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Guide to car reliability

Published: October 2012

Reliable vehicles

Consumer Reports’ reliability Ratings show how well vehicles have held up and the odds that an owner could be inconvenienced by problems and repairs. A vehicle's reliability can seriously affect how satisfied you'll be with a car over the years, and it can significantly influence resale value when you're ready to replace the vehicle. Consumer Reports surveys our magazine and website subscribers each year to ask about any serious problems they've had with their vehicles in the preceding 12 months. The large-scale survey collects detailed data on about 1.2 million vehicles, giving us a solid source for chronicling past reliability and predicting future performance.

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New car reliability

Most and least reliable new cars
Reliability ratings
How reliability ratings work
History of reliability
Reliability FAQs
Guide to Consumer Reports' Ratings
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Used car reliability

Most and least reliable used cars
Reliability histories
How vehicles age
10 years of trouble
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Owner satisfaction

New car owner satisfaction
Used car owner satisfaction
Most & least satisfying
   

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