Chevrolet Blazer vs Buick Verano: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Blazer and the Buick Verano are level on the federal record — 83/100 against 82/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Blazer
- 7 model years scored
- 690 owner complaints on record
- about 23 complaints per year on the road
- 11 recall campaigns, 2 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (92/100) · worst 2020 (70/100)
Buick Verano
- 6 model years scored
- 440 owner complaints on record
- about 6 complaints per year on the road
- 15 recall campaigns, 14 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (93/100) · worst 2014 (66/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Blazer against Verano
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Blazer
- Electrical System — 204 complaints
- Power Train — 181 complaints
- Engine — 181 complaints
Buick Verano
- Electrical System — 122 complaints
- Engine — 106 complaints
- Air Bags — 93 complaints
Both nameplates have Electrical System as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Blazer: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024….
Buick Verano: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Chevrolet Blazer prices at about $40,800 and a Buick Verano at about $21,800 — the Buick Verano is roughly $19,000 less, and they return 24.0 against 24.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Buick Verano more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Blazer scores 83/100 against the Buick Verano's 82/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Blazer and Buick Verano years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Blazer: no year scores below 45. Buick Verano: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Blazer and the Buick Verano?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Blazer is Electrical System (204 complaints); on the Buick Verano it is Electrical System (122).
Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Buick Verano cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Blazer prices at about $40,800 and a Buick Verano at about $21,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.