Consumer Reports’ Used Car Buying Guide provides the essential information, advice, and Ratings that can help you get a great value. Major topics include: Choose the right vehicle; Cars that stretch your fuel economy, Avoid a lemon; Find the best financing; How to get the best price; Plus more.
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IF YOU'RE READING THIS, you've already made two smart decisions: You've decided to buy a used car, and you've asked CR's experts to help you choose the right one. Yes, used-car prices are still high. But with our help, you can still find one with moderate mileage and in good condition at an attractive price. Buying used also means that you may be able to drive a car with more advanced safety features than you would find in a similarly priced new car. But in today's tight market, it can be tough to find the one that will meet all your needs. That's where we come in. Only CR has bought and tested more than 600 vehicles over the past decade, putting each one through more than 50 evaluations. And only CR…
In This IssueWE ARE CONSUMER REPORTS, the country's preeminent independent, nonprofit consumer-product testing organization. Results of our tests and surveys appear at CR.org, in Consumer Reports magazine, across social media, and in books like this one, Used Cars. Inside you'll find a wealth of information about 2014 to 2023 used cars, SUVs, and trucks. We'll let you know which models are available and how they compare in performance, fuel economy, and safety. We also give you expert advice on determining how much you can afford, the best ways to shop, and how to get the most for your money—even if you hate haggling. Each year, CR conducts its exclusive member surveys for auto reliability and owner satisfaction—we received data on more than 330,000 vehicles in 2023—so you can trust us to tell you which cars…
THE KEY TO MAKING the right choice is finding the vehicle that best fits your priorities, such as price, fuel economy, safety, comfort, and reliability. While finding the right car might seem fun at first, it can get overwhelming—real fast. That's where we can help. Our recommendations are based on hands-on testing, the largest pool of reliability data available anywhere, and our car experts’ accumulated knowledge. This chapter will guide you to the best models and steer you away from those that don't measure up. The Used-Car Sweet Spot With used-car prices softening in the last year, 3- and 4-year-old models remain the best values. That's because 1- and 2-year-old used cars still command a premium. With an older car you'll pay less for collision insurance and taxes. Plus, they have already…
Most vehicles are supposedly designed for a wide range of body types, but many don't accommodate short or tall drivers very well. The shortest tester on our staff is 5 feet, 1 inch tall; the tallest is 6 feet, 2 inches, so we take their experiences into account. To find out which ones are better or worse, we took a look at the scores of recently tested models that are relevant to late-model used cars and equivalent designs. We focused on ratings for seat comfort, driving position, access, and all-around visibility. A few cars were rated very highly by both tall and short testers. Families with different-sized drivers might consider the BMW X5 or Volvo XC90. Several models, including the Jeep Wrangler, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Z, and…
Buying a car for a new driver can be a balancing act between getting a model you can afford and finding one that's safe and reliable. The best bet is to buy the newest, most reliable model with the most safety equipment you can afford. Do not even consider a car without side and head-protection curtain airbags, and if you can reach a little deeper and get a car equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB), so much the better. The lifesaving assistance these systems can provide is worth every penny in an emergency situation, and they can be especially beneficial to an inexperienced driver. The list here includes models that are safe; performed well overall in our tests; have proved to be reliable, according to our Annual Auto Surveys; and have a…
While terms such as antilock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) are widely known, the terminology used by automakers to describe the active safety and driver assistance features on vehicles varies widely. That's why CR worked with numerous partners to come up with clear, standardized naming conventions to describe what these systems do. The common naming outlined below is simple, specific, consistent, and designed to reduce driver and buyer confusion. The Department of Transportation has endorsed this effort to bring about standardized names for common active safety features. These names are what we use in CR's content, and the list is continually refined as new systems are developed. No matter what they're called, it is important to remember that these systems are designed to assist—not replace—an engaged driver. DRIVING CONTROL…