In The Market For A Good Used Car? Here Are Your 15 Best Bets

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: June 22nd, 2012

in the market for a good used car here are your 15 best bets

“Reliability, safety and availability” were the criteria Edmunds used to arrive at its 2012 used car best bets. They are taken from the pool of 2005 through 2010 cars, because two to seven year old cars usually are the better deals.

And the winners are:

Coupe: 2005-2010 BMW 3 Series

Midsize Sedan: 2005-2010 Nissan Altima

Convertible: 2005-2010 Mazda Miata

Compact SUV/Crossover: 2005-2010 Honda CR-V

Minivan/Van: 2005-2010 Honda Odyssey

Compact Truck: 2005-2010 Toyota Tacoma

Luxury: 2005-2010 Infiniti G35/G37

Hybrid: 2005-2010 Toyota Prius

Sport Compact: 2005-2010 Subaru Impreza WRX

Compact Sedan: 2005-2010 Hyundai Elantra

Large Sedan: 2006-2010 Hyundai Azera

Wagon: 2005-2010 Pontiac Vibe

Midsize SUV/Crossover: 2005-2010 Ford Explorer

Large SUV/Crossover: 2005-2010 Chevrolet Tahoe

Large Truck: 2005-2010 Ford F-150

Oh, and just in case some are missing a statistic that raised hackles and caused heckles at past lists: Four out of 15 cars on this list are not American. Bonus statistic: One of the four was a Japanese in drag.

#BertelSchmitt #BestBets #UsedCars

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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2 of 71 comments

05lgt on Jun 23, 2012

This list has issues. But I will add the Vibe as something to look at if my ride needs replacement.

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Chicagoland on Jun 23, 2012

I dont like that they created a 'sport compact' catagory just so they could include the Subaru. Where is sport mid-size? Sport large car? Sport sub=compact? The BMW 3 series is not a true 'coupe', since it is the same body as the 4 door sedan. It's really a 2 door sedan. Coupe is Mustang, Z, Camaro, Audi TT, others with unique coupe bodies, no 4 door sedan versions. Not talking about platforms, but body styles.

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