iSeeCars is sharing its list of the Most Reliable Cars for the Money for 2026. It's a list of 5- and 10-year-old used cars that its analysts say offer the longest remaining lifespan at the lowest cost - which makes them the best options for buyers seeking maximum value. iSeeCars says reliability and remaining lifespan are arguably the most important factors for used car shoppers seeking the highest value from their next purchase. The Honda Fit and Nissan LEAF take top honors in the 5- and 10-year categories respectively.
Top Honors: The Honda Fit has an average 1- to 5-year-old used price of $18,445 and an expected remaining lifespan of 10.9 years, resulting in an annual cost of $1,693 per year. iSeeCars says that’s about half the average per-year cost of a 5-year-old used car, which is $3,310.
The Nissan LEAF is the most reliable 10-year-old used car for the money, which makes it the first electric car to lead the overall rankings, with an average used price of just $5,675 and a remaining lifespan of 5.1 years, or $1,108 per year of remaining life.
Overall, the average 5-year-old used car costs $24,377 and has an average remaining lifespan of 7.4 years, or $3,310 per year of remaining life. The average 10-year-old used car costs $14,195 and has an average remaining lifespan of 5.9 years, or $2,415 per year of remaining life
SUVs: The Buick Encore is the most reliable 5-year-old SUV for the money and the Jeep Compass is the most reliable 10-year-old SUV for the money.
Trucks: The Ford Maverick tops the most reliable 5-year old truck for the money, the Nissan Frontier is the most reliable 10-year old truck.
Passenger Cars: The Honda Fit also wins as the most reliable 5-year-old passenger car for the money. The Nissan LEAF, the most reliable 10-year-old passenger car for the money.
Hybrids/EVS: Toyota Prius is the most reliable 5-year-old Hybrids/EV for the money. The Nissan LEAF, the most reliable 10-year-old Hybrids/EV for the money.
Top 10 5-year-old most reliable cars for the money
-
Honda Fit
-
Kia Rio 5- Door
-
Honda Civic
-
Buick Encore
-
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
-
Hyundai Elantra
-
Lexus IS 300
-
Volkswagen Jetta
-
Toyota Corolla
Top 10 10-year-old most reliable cars for the money
-
Nissan LEAF
-
Honda Fit
-
Lincoln MKZ
-
Volkswagen Jetta
-
Nissan Versa
-
Hyundai Elantra
-
Honda Civic
-
Tsla Model S
-
Jeep Compass
-
Hyundai Accent
For the full ranking visit iSeeCars here.
About the Study
iSeeCars says it analyzed the prices of over 900,000 5- and 10-year-old used cars sold in July - December 2025 and the odometer readings of almost 400 million used cars from its Longest Lasting Cars Study. The average list price of each model was compared to its expected lifespan (in years) to calculate the list price per year.
