Consumer Reports ranks the best used car brands and models for the first time

REPORTS ABOUT WHAT WENT INTO THE TESTING. THE HIGH COST ASSOCIATED WITH NEW CARS MEANS THERE'S A BIG MARKET FOR USED VEHICLES. FOR ANYONE LOOKING FOR A BETTER BARGAIN. I'M JOINED BY ALEX KNIZEK, THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF AUTO TEST DEVELOPMENT FOR CONSUMER REPORTS, TO RUN DOWN THESE NEW RECOMMENDATIONS. ALEX, THANK YOU. GREAT TO TALK TO YOU TODAY. SO TELL US, WHY DID CONSUMER REPORTS DECIDE IT WAS TIME TO RANK USED CARS? DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH THE PRICES? IT ABSOLUTELY DOES. I MEAN, YEAH, WE KNOW THE AVERAGE NEW CAR TRANSACTION PRICE IS AROUND $48,000, WHICH IS A TON OF MONEY. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU. I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO SPEND THAT. AND WE ALSO SEE THAT THE USED CAR MARKET SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, THE INVENTORY IS REBOUNDING A BIT COMPARED TO THE PANDEMIC AND PRICES ARE FALLING A LITTLE BIT TOO. IN THE LAST YEAR, IT'S BEEN ABOUT 10% DOWN DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF VEHICLE YOU'RE INTERESTED IN. SO YOU KNOW, YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO FIND THAT VEHICLE THAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT AND THAT YOU LIKE. AND HOPEFULLY SPEND, YOU KNOW, A MORE REASONABLE PRICE ON IT. AND WE SEE THROUGH CONSUMER REPORTS OWN SURVEY THAT 40% OF AMERICANS WHO ARE SHOPPING FOR A NEW CAR IN THE NEXT YEAR, THEY'RE NOT EVEN CONSIDERING NEW CARS. THEY'RE ONLY LOOKING AT USED. SO IT'S REALLY THE RIGHT TIME FOR CR TO EXPAND ITS RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULDN'T REALLY HAVE TO SACRIFICE RELIABILITY, SAFETY AND, AND ALL THESE GREAT THINGS IF YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO SAVE A LITTLE MONEY ON A CAR. SO WHAT KIND OF ANALYSIS GOES INTO THESE RATINGS? HOW DO YOU COMPARE THE BRANDS? SURE. YEAH. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE EVER DONE A BRAND RANKING FOR USED CARS. AND WHAT IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO FIRST AND FOREMOST IS RELIABILITY. WE KNOW THAT RELIABILITY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN YOU'RE SHOPPING FOR A USED CAR. IF YOU'RE TRYING TO SAVE MONEY AND IF YOU BUY SOMETHING RELIABLE, IT'S HOPEFULLY GOING TO HAVE FEWER PROBLEMS AND BE LESS OF A HASSLE OVER TIME. IT'S REALLY GOING TO HELP YOU SAVE THAT MONEY. SO WE GET OUR RELIABILITY INFORMATION FROM OUR MEMBERS THAT WE SURVEY EVERY YEAR HERE AT CONSUMER REPORTS, AND THEY'RE TELLING US ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROBLEMS THAT THEY'VE HAD IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS WITH THEIR CAR. EVERYTHING FROM MAJOR ISSUES LIKE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION TO MORE MINOR THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SQUEAKS AND RATTLES AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO ALL OF THIS INFORMATION COMES TOGETHER AND WE'RE ABLE TO COME UP WITH A RELIABILITY VERDICT ON THE CARS. AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE BRAND RANKING FOR USED CARS, WE'RE LOOKING AT VEHICLES THAT ARE 5 TO 10 YEARS OLD AND AVERAGING THE THE RELIABILITY ACROSS THOSE. AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE DATA POINTS FROM 150,000 DIFFERENT CARS. SO A LOT OF DATA COMING IN AND WE'RE BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER. AND AT THE TOP OF OUR LIST WE SEE BRANDS THAT I'M SURE WON'T BE TOO SURPRISING. AND OTHERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH TOYOTA, LEXUS, MAZDA. YOU KNOW, THESE BRANDS TEND TO HAVE FEWER PROBLEMS REPORTED BY CR MEMBERS. AND A REASON FOR THAT IS THEY TEND TO BE MORE CONSERVATIVE WHEN THEY REDESIGN THEIR CARS. SO, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE CAMRY FOR INSTANCE, INSTEAD OF THROWING AWAY LAST YEAR'S DESIGN AND STARTING FRESH, THEY TEND TO ITERATE ON THEIR PRODUCTS, WHICH MAKES THEM MORE RELIABLE OVER TIME. AND WE JUST SEE FEWER ISSUES REPORTED. THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING TOTO HEAR. SO WHAT DOES CONSUMER REPORTS RECOMMEND FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING OUT HEADING OUT ON THEIR OWN, LOOKING FOR A USED CAR? WHAT CAN THEY DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING THAT QUALITY VEHICLE? YEAH, WELL, IT ALL STARTS. AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN WITH RELIABILITY AND YOU CAN GO TO CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG SLASH USED CARS AND YOU CAN LOOK AT THE RELIABILITY INFORMATION ON ALL OF THE MODELS THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AND AND OTHERS TOO. AND BY STARTING WITH A CAR THAT HAS CONSISTENT RELIABILITY, YOU'RE JUST MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S TROUBLE FREE. SO THAT'S YOU KNOW, I CAN'T STRESS IT ENOUGH STARTING THERE AND THEN BEYOND THAT, A USED CAR, YOU KNOW, IT'S HAD AN ENTIRE LIFE BEFORE. YOU'RE STANDING THERE READY TO PURCHASE IT. SO REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU LOOK AT THE CARFAX AND THE THE HISTORY REPORT FOR THAT VEHICLE TO SEE. HEY, WAS THIS A A CAR THAT WAS LEAST OR MAYBE IT WAS A RENTAL CAR. WAS IT MAINTAINED MAINTAINED PROPERLY? YOU WANT TO ENSURE THAT IT'S GOING TO LAST YOU A LONG TIME. AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, TAKING THAT A STEP FURTHER, TEST DRIVING THE VEHICLE, HAVING IT INSPECTED BY A MECHANIC THAT YOU TRUST JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ROADWORTHY AND YOU KNOW, LASTLY, CONSIDER SOMETHING THAT'S CALLED A CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED CAR. I'M SURE PEOPLE HAVE HEARD IT REFERRED TO AS A CPO VEHICLE, AND THESE ARE GREAT OPTIONS. USED CARS THAT ARE BACKED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THEY TEND TO HAVE A WARRANTY ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. THEY'VE BEEN INSPECTED BY THE MECHANIC AT THE DEALERSHIP. AND YES, YOU WILL PAY A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR THAT. CPO VEHICLE COMPARED TO THE NON CPO VERSION OF THAT SAME CAR FROM, SAY, A PRIVATE SELLER. BUT WHAT YOU'RE REALLY PAYING FOR IS PEACE OF MIND CONVENIENCE. AND WE SEE FROM CONSUMER REPORTS SURVEYS THAT MEMBERS THAT GO THIS ROUTE, THEY BUY A CPO CAR. THEY ARE GENERALLY MORE SATISFIED AND THEY REPORT LESS PROBLEMS WITH THESE VEHICLES. REALLY A GREAT CHECKLIST OF THINGS TO DO AND SUPER ADVICE.