The most reliable used cars in New Zealand

Most reliability lists rank brands. That is not much use to someone standing in front of one specific fifteen-year-old car. A brand average tells you nothing about whether this car had its oil changed.

A more useful definition of reliable, and the one used here, is this: when this model does go wrong, how bad is it, and can you afford it? By that measure some cars with long fault lists are safer buys than cars with short ones, because everything on the long list is cheap.

What reliability actually means on a used car

Three things decide it, and only one of them is the badge.

• The worst-case repair. A Toyota Corolla and a Hyundai Santa Fe can both need engine work. On the Corolla the documented worst case is oil gallery sludge at $500 to $5,000. On the Santa Fe the documented Theta II rod bearing failure runs $8,000 to $18,000. That is the difference between an expensive year and a written-off car.
• Whether the fault is neglect-driven or design-driven. The Corolla sludge issue is what happens when oil changes are skipped, so service history genuinely protects you. The Subaru EJ head gasket faults are documented as very common regardless, so history helps less.
• How the car has been used. Diesel DPF faults are documented specifically on cars doing short urban trips. Hybrid battery degradation is documented as a function of age and heat. Neither is about the badge.

The cars whose worst case is smallest

Toyota Corolla

Nothing on the Corolla documented fault list is catastrophic. The 2001 to 2007 1ZZ-FE oil sludge issue at $500 to $5,000 is the top end, and it is preventable with oil changes. The 2007 to 2019 2ZR-FE water pump at $900 to $2,500 and timing chain tensioner at $900 to $2,200 are normal maintenance costs. Rust on pre-1999 cars is the thing that actually ends them. Toyota Corolla inspection guide.

Mazda2 and Mazda Demio

A short and cheap fault list. Timing chain stretch on the 2002 to 2014 engines at $900 to $1,800, brake caliper guide pin seizure at $140 to $850, CVT judder that often responds to a fluid service. The real risk is not mechanical at all, it is the documented rear sill and wheel arch rust perforation on 2007 to 2014 DE cars at $600 to $3,500. Mazda2 inspection guide.

Toyota Premio and Allion

Quietly one of the safest used buys here. The Premio carries just 8 documented faults with a typical single repair in the $220 to $950 range, which is the lowest on this page. It is not exciting, and that is rather the point. Toyota Premio inspection guide.

Suzuki Swift

Mechanically undemanding with one thing to check hard. The 2005 to 2010 ZC31S rear torsion beam rust perforation at $1,200 to $3,500 is the fault that decides whether a given Swift is worth buying. The CVT judder on 2010 onward cars is worth testing from cold. Suzuki Swift inspection guide.

Reliable, with one condition attached

Toyota Prius and Aqua

The hybrid drivetrain itself is well proven. The condition is the battery and the cooling. On the Prius, 2009 to 2015 cars are documented for head gasket failure driven by EGR carbon clogging at $2,500 to $5,500, brake actuator failure at $1,200 to $4,000, and inverter coolant pump failure at $400 to $1,350. On the Aqua, traction battery cell degradation is logged as very common at $900 to $4,500.

Neither is a reason to avoid them. Both are reasons to get a battery health readout before you buy rather than after. Toyota Prius inspection guide and Toyota Aqua inspection guide.

Honda Fit

Superb packaging, and one documented fault that has to be tested for. The 2014 to 2020 CVT drive pulley shaft fracture causes sudden loss of drive and costs $4,000 to $9,000. A manual Fit avoids the issue entirely. Honda Fit inspection guide.

Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5 and Honda CR-V

The most reliable of the family SUVs on the documented record, each with a specific caveat: head bolt thread pull-out on the RAV4 1AZ-FE and 2AZ-FE engines, diesel-only injector and camshaft faults on the CX-5, and rear subframe and sill rust on 1995 to 2006 CR-Vs. Full detail in the best used family SUVs guide.

How to check reliability on the actual car

1. 1.Look up the documented faults for that exact model, year and engine, not the model in general. On several cars here the engine changes the worst case by ten times.
2. 2.Ask for invoices for the expensive documented item specifically. On a Subaru, that is the head gasket. On a Prius, the inverter pump. A service book is not the same thing.
3. 3.Drive it from cold. Timing chain rattle, CVT shudder and hybrid faults nearly all present cold and disappear warm.
4. 4.Check the odometer history from the official records rather than trusting the dashboard.
5. 5.Check whether there is money owing against the plate. It is the one risk no amount of mechanical inspection will find.