Most people will buy used vehicles in 2020.
That should not be a surprise considering that the average cost of a new vehicle now exceeds $37,000, which is about $15,000 more than a pre-owned model.
And that means a lot of research on the best used cars to buy in 2020 is happening right now.
The Toyota 4Runner was named best used SUV and best five-year-old vehicle under $30,000.
“There’s a lot to consider when buying a used car,” said iSeeCars.com in a report on its 2020 best buys. “Researching used cars to understand important factors such as reliability and value retention can help consumers find the right car at the right price.”
The car-research website identified the best-used-car winners in nine categories, the best used cars under $15,000, $20,000 and $30,000, and the best three-year-old cars from $20,000 to $30,000.
“The winners are cars that have demonstrated long-term reliability, hold their value the best, and have an average safety rating of at least four out of five from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” according to iSeeCars, which evaluated five-year-old and three-year-old vehicles.
Best used vehicles
The safest, most-reliable cars (and runners-up) with best value retention by category are:
SUV – Toyota 4Runner (winner) and Toyota Highlander (runner-up)
Passenger car – Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla
Pickup truck – Toyota Tacoma and Honda Ridgeline
Minivan – Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey
Sports car – Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger
Hybrid car – Toyota Prius and Toyota Camry Hybrid
Electric vehicle (EV) – Tesla Model S and Chevrolet Volt
Luxury car – Lexus ES 350 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Luxury SUV – Acura MDX and Volvo XC90
Best three-year-old vehicles $20,000-$30,000
Chevrolet Silverado 1500, pickup truck, $29,535 average price
Toyota Highlander, SUV, $28,734
Toyota Tacoma, pickup truck, $28,296
Lexus ES 350, luxury car, $26,984
Toyota Sienna, minivan, $25,043
Honda Odyssey, minivan, $24,444
BMW 3 Series, luxury car, $23,485
Ford Mustang, sports car, $23,464
Honda CR-V, SUV, $20,093
Best five-year-old vehicles under $15,000
Honda Accord, passenger car, $14,242 average price
Toyota Prius, hybrid, $13,460
Subaru Legacy, passenger car, $13,151
Toyota Camry, passenger car, $13,033
Honda Civic, passenger car, $12,518
Toyota Corolla, passenger car, $11,599
Toyota Yaris, passenger car, $8,804
Best five-year-old vehicles under $20,000
Honda Pilot, SUV, $19,677 average price
Honda Odyssey, minivan, $18,960
Toyota Sienna, minivan, $18,523
Ford Mustang, sports car, $17,266
BMW 3 Series, luxury car, $16,766
Audi A4, luxury car, $16,608
Honda CR-V, SUV, $16,013
Buick LaCrosse, luxury car, $15,680
Best five-year-old vehicles under $30,000
Toyota 4Runner, SUV, $27,064 average price
Chevrolet Silverado 1500, pickup truck, $24,829
Mercedes-Benz E-Class, luxury car, $23,650
Toyota Highlander, SUV, $23,211
Honda Ridgeline, pickup truck, $23,180
Toyota Tacoma, pickup truck, $22,360
Lexus ES 350, luxury car, $20,024
The study analyzed more than 20 million cars from previous 2019 iSeeCars.com studies and combined the results with crash test ratings from NHTSA.
For more details on the best used vehicles overall and runners-up by category visit iSeeCars.com.
