The same questions always pop up during the pre-owned vehicle shopping experience. Some of them are much easier to answer than others. You don't have to do any research to determine if you like the design of a particular car or truck. You know within seconds of looking at it. Deciding whether or not a vehicle fits your needs is a little trickier, but the initial weeding-out phase is quick. If you need a vehicle that can haul you, your significant other and your three kids on out-of-state family road trips, a two-seat sports car is not going to be a good fit. One of the hardest questions to answer is whether or not a vehicle that you're interested in is reliable because you can't answer it yourself. You need to know about the experiences of people who have lived with the car day in and day out.
Luckily, J.D. Power surveys owners to collect data on how dependable their vehicles have been. To calculate their Dependability (aka Quality and Reliability) ratings, the company gathers responses from verified owners of three-year-old vehicles annually. J.D. Power bases its ratings on the type and number of problems those three-year-old vehicles gave their owners (more than 80,000 of them were surveyed for each study) in the preceding 12 months. As J.D. Power puts it, "The fewer the number of problems reported by car owners, the higher the score."
We've compiled a list of seven cars from the 2016 and 2017 model years that received the highest dependability scores from J.D. Power. To put your favorite one to the ultimate test, drive it home from an AutoNation USA dealership and start your ownership experience.
2017 BMW 2 Series
BMW's smallest coupe (or convertible) didn't leave a lot of room for defects, whether they were under the hood, in the infotainment system, or anywhere else. That relatively trouble-free nature helped the 2 Series rise to the top of the Small Premium Car segment with a score of 88 out of 100.
2017 Nissan Leaf
One of the primary benefits of electric cars is they don't have an internal combustion engine with moving parts that need maintenance and eventually wear out. 2017 Nissan Leaf owners didn't have many negative things to say about their cars' electric motors or other major components, which helped the EV earn a class-leading score of 90.
2017 Lexus ES
For decades, Lexus vehicles have had a reputation for quality. Time hasn't diminished it. Not only did the 2017 ES rank at the top of its segment, it got a nearly flawless score of 96.
2017 Genesis G80
The G80 is a much younger nameplate from a significantly newer luxury brand, but like the more established Lexus ES, it drove off with a top J.D. Power ranking. It beat rivals such as the Audi A6 and Lincoln Continental by racking up an 88-point score.
2016 Toyota Camry
How is the 2016 Camry when it comes to dependability? Great! Officially. Toyota's iconic sedan was only 11 points away from perfection, scoring an 89 out of 100.
2016 Dodge Challenger
There was a time when certain performance machines were known as "weekend cars," the kind that were so problematic that you only took them out for a cruise occasionally. Judging by its dependability score of 86, it seems the 2016 Dodge Challenger can be driven Monday through Sunday.
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2016 Buick LaCrosse
Buick designed the LaCrosse to be a serene way of passing long distances in relaxed comfort. Clearly, it went beyond making the LaCrosse just a comfortable car to drive by making it a comfortable car to own, as well. The big Buick racked up one more point than the almighty Toyota Camry, securing a nice, round score of 90.
Contributed by - Derek Shiekhi
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Used Buick LaCrosse
