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The 2010 Toyota Corolla is the most reliable car sold in the United States, according to a report released today.
The car requires fewer repairs than any other car — 2002 model year or later — and the repairs it needs are inexpensive.
At $283.12, it is far less than expensive than the average repair costs for some models, which can be in excess of $700.
Vehicle reliability and repair diagnostics company CarMD’s latest annual Vehicle Health Index is a massive study conducted on thousands of different models currently on the road.
Based on CarMD’s index, which measures the frequency and expense of necessary repairs, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 most reliable cars.
In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., CarMD director of corporate communications Kristen Brocoff explained the importance of considering both measures. The Toyota Prius rarely goes in for repairs. But when it does, the most common repair involves the hybrid battery, which can cost as much as $3,000.
Many of these brands have long-standing reputations for reliability. “What we’re seeing in our data is that, historically, there have been those sweetheart brands that everybody says are the brand of the year, the cars of the year,” Brocoff explained.
Many of the manufacturers on this list, such as Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Hyundai, all score highly on CarMD’s reliability rank. This reputation helps sell vehicles.
These models have been among the best-selling in the country for years. Of the 10 cars with the best scores, six sold more than 100,000 units in 2011 and are well on track to do the same this year, including models such as the Accord, Sonata and Corolla, flagships for their respective makers. The Honda Accord, the Hyundai Sonata and the Toyota Corolla were among the top 20 selling cars in the first 10 months of 2012.
Meanwhile, sales for some of the less-popular models that made the top 10 most reliable list, such as Ford Motor Co.’s Taurus, the Honda Pilot and the Subaru Forester and Outback, are growing.
Brocoff added that some of the cars with poorer reputations for reliability may improve. “We’re starting to see with today’s technology, manufacturers are really able to make cars that will last longer than ever before. It has really evened the playing field, and there are lots of models that may not always be the names you are used to.” Brocoff pointed to the Ford Taurus in particular as a model that has flown under the radar, but may increasingly be known as a reliable model over time.
The CarMD November 2012 Vehicle Health Index is based on more than 10 years of data from car diagnostic computers from the vast majority of 2002 to 2012 model year cars sold in the United States. Weighting evenly the average costs of repairs related to “check engine” lights — issues identified by onboard vehicle computer accounting for roughly 80% of all problems — and how often each model was taken in for those repairs, CarMD assigned a reliability score for each model by year. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 models with the best scores. Included in our analysis were five years of car sales data for all years for each model provided by Edmunds.com. From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) we obtained crash and rollover safety data. We also referenced J.D. Power’s vehicle dependability study. All index ranks we list are out of the 100 best-ranked cars.
These are America’s most trusted cars.
10. 2010 Subaru Outback
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Overall index rating: 0.111 (tied for 8th best)
Repair incidents, index rating: 0.168 (22nd best)
Avg. repair cost: $110.43 (14th lowest)
Year-to-date model sales: 95,357
Subaru Outbacks are both highly reliable and inexpensive to repair. The average check engine light repair costs just over $110 in a 2010 Outback. The 2010 model year also was rated as extremely safe, according to the NHTSA, which gave the car five stars for front and side crash safety. This year, the Outback has sold especially well, with 95,357 cars sold in the first 10 months of 2012. However, Subarus are not without problems. The make “had a tendency to require the replacement of the catalytic converter,” a problem that accounted for 22% of all check engine light repairs in Subarus of all models. Correcting this problem is especially expensive in a Subaru, costing owners an average of over $930 per repair.
9. 2011 Chevrolet Impala
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Overall index rating: 0.111 (tied for 8th best)
Repair incidents, index rating: 0.144 (14th best)
Avg. repair cost: $184.30 (31st lowest)
Year-to-date model sales: 148,547
The average repair cost of $184.30 for the Chevrolet Impala was on the lower end of the vehicles measured. It was also significantly less than the $290.50 repair average for all General Motor Co. vehicles. J.D. Power and Associates gave the 2011 Impala a “better than most” rating in terms of predicted reliability. However, it only received a rating of “about average” for overall quality and a rating of “the rest,” the lowest given by J.D. Power, for overall performance and design. Sales of the Impala have declined significantly in recent years. Chevrolet sold 171,434 Impalas in 2011, down from 311,128 in 2007.
8. 2010 Hyundai Sonata
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Overall index rating: 0.111 (tied for 8th best)
Repair incidents, index rating: 0.112 (4th best)
Avg. repair cost: $336.30 (19th highest)
Year-to-date model sales: 192,119
In 2012, Hyundai bolstered its reputation when CarMD named it the second-most dependable manufacturer, behind Toyota. Among the reasons for the high rating was the low cost of an average repair for all Hyundai models — just $272. The manufacturer’s best rated car, the 2010 Hyundai Sonata, required repairs less often than all but three other car models. This year, the Hyundai Sonata is one of the nation’s best-selling cars, with more than 192,000 sold in the first 10 months of 2012. However, the 2010 Sonata did receive less-than-stellar ratings from J.D. Power, which rated the model “about average” for quality, as well as for performance and design. Sales of the Sonata may be hurt after the backlash from Hyundai’s admission that it misrepresented fuel economy of more than 100,000 of its vehicles.
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