Cars in general have become more reliable over the years. Yet there are always some that just seem to keep rolling along, whistling right past the junkyard. Pinpointing exactly how many miles, on average, any given model has racked up is virtually impossible, but we've identified some with exceptional -- sometimes surprising -- endurance and value.
When you combine reliability and best-selling status you get ubiquity. Honda Accords of all years are everywhere, usually in tan, silver or white. If you look up the Honda Accord in Consumer Reports you will see a sea of red dots in the rankings -- a sign that owners have darn few problems with these cars.
Now, the smaller Honda Civic shares the Accord's inherent quality but is more likely to be modified by its owners with spoilers, wings, loud exhausts, that kind of thing -- with maintenance simultaneously neglected. So the Accord gets the nod.
Of all the cars General Motors put out in the 1990s and early 2000s, it's the Buicks that got all the awards from the quality-ranking organization J.D. Power and Associates. And so it is that the Buick LeSabre, along with Centuries, Regals and Park Avenues live on, more so than their Chevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobile equivalents.
One reason these cars endure? They were popular with older drivers, who maintained them well and drove them gently. That makes them a great value to pick up used. Check out that sweet cassette deck!
One reason these cars endure? They were popular with older drivers, who maintained them well and drove them gently. That makes them a great value to pick up used. Check out that sweet cassette deck!
And this is a Geo Prizm. They last forever, too. A what, you ask? Here's the secret: Under the skin, it's actually a Toyota Corolla. So are a number of Chevy Novas, Chevy Prizms and Pontiac Vibes. Makes more sense now, right? It's a Corolla! All these cars were built on the same line in California, at a factory jointly owned by GM and Toyota. That technology-sharing project ended in 2010, but these cars, sometimes into their third decade, roll on.
Find these 3 and many other reliable used cars at our Raleigh, NC used car dealership!