Consumer Reports: Ranking the top used car brands

>> ALL RIGHT, SO WE HAD TO BRING YOU OUTSIDE FOR THIS ONE. YOU KNOW, WITH USED CARS AVERAGING BETWEEN $50,000 AND UP NEW MAY NOT BE THE WAY TO GO FOR SOME FOLKS. SOME FOLKS MAY BE CONSIDERING BUYING USED CARS. >> SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING TO BRING IN CONSUMER REPORTS. SO THEY DID A STUDY, OF COURSE, ON WHAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST CARS TO BUY USED. AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TOYOTA TACOMA PICKUP TRUCK LISTED AS REALLY ONE OF THE MOST RELIABLE USED CARS YOU CAN BUY. 2015 APPARENTLY WAS THE YEAR TO GET IT. IF YOU'RE GOING TO GET A USED CAR. RHONDA WALKER HAS MORE ON CONSUMER REPORTS, AND IF YOU ARE SHOPPING FOR A USED VEHICLE ON WHAT YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR, AND ALSO WHAT YOU SHOULD AVOID. >> I'M HERE INSIDE OF HOOD'S CAR CARE CLINIC, TALKING ABOUT THE RED FLAGS. WHEN IT COMES TO BUYING USED CARS, WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BUY TURBO ALL WHEEL DRIVE. HOW TO KNOW IF A CAR HAS BEEN UNDERWATER? I'LL HAVE MORE ON THEIR TIPS IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST CONSUMER REPORTS LIST OF THE BEST BRANDS WHEN IT COMES TO PRE-OWNED. FROM DATA COLLECTED FROM 150,000 VEHICLES FOR QUALITY, SAFETY, RELIABILITY AND VALUE. CHRISTINE AMMERMAN WAS IN THE MARKET FOR A BIGGER CAR FOR HER GROWING FAMILY. SHE DECIDED TO RESEARCH USED CARS. >> I WAS REALLY LOOKING FOR A FAIR PRICE, AND WHILE PRICES HAVE COME DOWN OVER THE PAST YEAR, MOST PEOPLE STILL END UP PAYING AROUND $30,000 FOR A USED CAR. >> SO BUYERS LIKE CHRISTINE KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE A CHOICE THAT WILL LAST FOR THE MILES AND YEARS AHEAD. >> I WAS SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR BRANDS THAT WERE KNOWN TO BE DURABLE, HAVE GREAT SAFETY QUALIFICATIONS, AND SOMETHING THAT WAS FUEL EFFICIENT. >> CONSUMER REPORTS JUST RELEASED ITS FIRST EVER BRAND RANKING FOR USED CARS, TO HELP BUYERS REDUCE THEIR RISK OF EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS. >> OUR SURVEY FOCUSED ON VEHICLES FROM THE 2014 TO 2019 MODEL YEAR, ESSENTIALLY 5 TO 10 YEAR OLD VEHICLES. LOOKING AT DATA FROM 150,000 VEHICLES COLLECTED IN OUR SURVEY, LEXUS AND TOYOTA TOPPED THE LIST OF 26 BRANDS, WITH MAZDA COMING IN THIRD. >> ALL THREE BRANDS HAVE CONSISTENT, AVERAGE OR BETTER RELIABILITY RATINGS OVER THE YEARS. ACURA AND HONDA ROUNDED OUT THE TOP FIVE BRANDS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST TESLA, DODGE, AND CHRYSLER. AND EVEN THOUGH SOME CARS ARE KNOWN TO STAND THE TEST OF TIME, NOT EVERY MODEL YEAR FROM EVERY BRAND, EVEN A SOLID ONE, IS CREATED. >> EQUAL BRAND RELIABILITY CAN DIRECT YOUR INITIAL RESEARCH, BUT AS OUR DATA CONSISTENTLY SHOWS, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR BUYERS TO FOCUS ON THE MODEL AND THE YEAR THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING. >> SEE OUR NAME TEN. USED CARS AS TOP PICKS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FOR ITS MEMBERS. LIKE THE 2017 CHEVROLET CRUZE IS A GREAT CHOICE FOR UNDER $10,000, AND THE HONDA HR-V FROM 2018 IS AVAILABLE WITH TOP SAFETY FEATURES. AND IF YOU'RE SHOPPING FOR A PICKUP TRUCK, THE 2015 TOYOTA TACOMA STRIKES THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN DEPENDABILITY AND TOWING POWER. BOTTOM LINE USED CARS HAVE TO BE WELL MAINTAINED OVER ALL ITS YEARS, AND WHEN YOU BUY FROM A PRIVATE SELLER, THERE'S SOME RISKS INVOLVED. UNLIKE CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED, THAT HAVE TO BE INSPECTED BY A MECHANIC AND CONSUMER REPORTS SURVEY SHOWS THAT THOSE VEHICLES HAVE THE LEAST PROBLEMS FOR BUYERS. >> NOW, SHE SAID THIS WAS VIBRATING. IS IT REALLY? IS IT JUST HER BUSH WHEN IT COMES TO USED CARS, WHAT ARE THE RED FLAGS TO LOOK OUT FOR? FIRST WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE CAR ISN'T UNDERWATER. IT HASN'T BEEN UNDERWATER. YOU CAN TELL THAT BY PULLING BACK THE FLOOR MAT. IT SHOULD BE DRY. YOU CAN PULL UP THE SEAT BELT ALL THE WAY UP AND MAKE SURE THERE'S NO WATER. IF YOU TURN YOUR KEY ON AND YOU DO NOT SEE A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, SOMEBODY HAS TAMPERED WITH IT AND SEE IF THE MILEAGE THAT'S ON THE ODOMETER IS REALLY THE TRUE MILEAGE, BECAUSE THE LOWER THE MILEAGE, THE HIGHER THE PRICE. >> BUT YOU ARE ABLE TO DETERMINE IF THE MILEAGE IS QUESTIONABLE OR NOT. >> WE ENCOURAGE OUR CUSTOMERS, CALL ME BEFORE YOU BUY A CAR. TONY BROUGHT IT IN AND SAID, CAN YOU TAKE CAN YOU GO FOR A TEST DRIVE? I HIT THE BRAKES. PULSATION. YOU NEED BRAKES. YOU NEED ROTORS, POSSIBLY SOME FRONT END ISSUES. HE NEGOTIATED THE PRIC OF THE SALE DOWN BECAUSE OF A TEST DRIVE. >> IF YOU SAY, HEY, I WANT TO TAKE THIS TO MY MECHANIC, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S GOOD. IF THEY SAY NO, THEY SAY NO. >> WALK AWAY. THEY GOT THEY HAD SOMETHING. THEY HAD SOMETHING. WALK AWAY. >> WHAT'S THE DRAWBACK FROM HAVING A TURBO VEHICLE? >> TURBOS HAVE A HIGHER MAINTENANCE ISSUE. IF YOU BUY A TURBO, BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN. >> WHAT ARE SOME OTHER RED FLAGS? >> IF YOU DON'T NEED ALL WHEEL DRIVE IN MICHIGAN, MAKE IT FOUR WHEEL DRIVE WHERE YOU HAVE A CHOICE 2 OR 4 ALL WHEEL DRIVE MAINTENANCE IS HIGHER. AGAIN HERE. WE'RE NOT TRYING TO MAKE MONEY. WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE CUSTOMERS. >> YOU'VE BEEN A WEALTH OF INFORMATION. THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT BUSH HAS TO SHARE THAT I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR RIGHT NOW. BUT TOMORROW MORNING AT 7 A.M. OVER ON LOCAL 4 PLUS, I'M GOING TO CONTINUE OUR CONVERSATION WITH MORE OF YOUR WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE. BUT MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAY IS THAT WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO BUY A USED CAR, BRING IT TO A MECHANIC LIKE BUTCH. 56 YEARS EXPERIENCE. DEFINITELY GET THAT ADVICE FIRST BEFORE YOU BUY FROM HOODS CAR CARE CLINIC IN