The Best Used Cars for Reliability: Recommendations that May Keep You from Having a Break Down

I can remember my first used car that I purchased the summer after my freshman year in college. What a great used car it was, that 1985 Honda Civic wagon. A good choice for a person that knew very little about cars at the time and lucky for me the car served me well during my travels between Charlotte, NC and Pittsburgh, PA. At that time I didn't know anything about checking a car out under the hood or the under carriage. The car started and moved when I test drove it, so I bought it for $500. I found the value of a used car was great when the used car is reliable and didn't need too many repairs. If you are not mechanically inclined enough to maintain your pre-owned car or "wrench" a repair here or there, find someone you TRUST to do the work for you. Mechanics can be a life saver or the worst crook in the world, but I'll touch on that in another article.

The most reliable used cars that I have experienced have typically been foreign/import cars such as Acura, Honda, Toyota, Saab and, Volvo. American used cars that handle high mileage well are the Jeep Cherokee (1987 and later) and many of the General Motors family of cars. Most used cars will last a long time with proper maintenance, so the care given by previous owners is definitely important.

I have owned all of the used cars listed above at some point in my life and have worked on all of them myself. Now let us review.

Saab 900 (1987 - 1993)