19,113 models · 13,424 photographs · 159 countries

What does that car really cost to own?

Every model year scored from NHTSA complaints, recall campaigns and EPA data, priced for your country — and 68 signed buyer's guides on which years to buy and which to avoid.

Which years to avoid Read the buyer's guides

19,113models in the library

469,632complaints indexed

159countries auto-priced

Porsche 911 GT3

Buyer's guides

68 guides written and signed by the editor, built on the same federal record as the verdicts: which years of each nameplate to buy, which to walk past, and what to check before you hand over the money.

Used compact SUVs compared: RAV4, CR-V, Escape, Rogue, Equinox, Tucson, Forester and SportageThe Equinox is a BUY in thirteen of fifteen years, the Escape has 16,194 complaints and five AVOID years, and · 2026-09-16 Hybrid or petrol? The same nameplate, both records, side by sideThe Sonata Hybrid has 741 complaints against the petrol Sonata's 11,270, the RAV4 Hybrid scores 82 in the year · 2026-09-16 Used mid-size sedans compared: the eight nameplates, year by yearThe 2011 Sonata has 3,374 complaints, the 2018 Camry 734 after five years under 310, and the Altima scores 95 · 2026-09-16 Used minivans compared: Odyssey, Sienna, Pacifica, Grand Caravan and Town and CountryThe Sienna has 1,815 complaints across its record, the Odyssey 4,593 with three AVOID years in a row, and the · 2026-09-16 Used three-row SUVs compared: which family hauler the record likesThe Explorer has 14,935 complaints on file, the 2016 Pilot 1,691 with no recall to explain them, and the Highl · 2026-09-16 Used Acura MDX, RDX and TLX: the years to avoidThe 2016 MDX has 157 engine complaints and a 2023 campaign for its connecting rod bearings; the 2019 and 2020 · 2026-09-16 Used Audi Q5 and Q7: the years to avoidThe 2018 Audi Q5 has 200 owner complaints and the 2017 Q7 has 319, each the worst year of its nameplate by a w · 2026-09-16 Used BMW 3 Series and 5 Series: the years to avoidThe 2011 3 Series has 994 owner complaints on record and the 2011 5 Series 1,063. Both BMW saloons improve sha · 2026-09-16 Used BMW X3 and X5: the years to avoid and the years to buyThe 2013 BMW X3 has 452 owner complaints against 96 for the 2012 car, while the X5 scores BUY in every year th · 2026-09-16

All guides →

Years to avoid

Where one model year of the same car is worth thousands more than the next. The nameplates with the deepest records and the widest gap between their best and worst year, each with the years the federal record says to walk past.

Every nameplate ranked → · Head-to-head comparisons →

The cars worth the detour

Landmark machines from the library — the ones that changed a marque, a decade or a rulebook — each with its own photographed story. A different dozen every week.

Bugatti Veyron

Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

Hispano-Suiza H6

Mini

Audi Quattro

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Pontiac GTO

Plymouth Barracuda

Lotus Elise

Aston Martin Valkyrie

Porsche 911

Plymouth Superbird

The whole library → · Every brand's ownership verdicts →

Electrified, and exceptional

The electric and hybrid cars that earned a place on this page on merit; the ownership index carries battery warranty and replacement cost for every electric model year sold in America.