10 Of The Most Reliable Used Cars Under $10,000

Buying a used car is not always a walk in the park, especially when it comes to wrangling the sticker price. An attempt at negotiation never hurts, but setting a cap of $10,000 ensures you won't bust your budget. At the same time, it can be a challenge to find a reliable vehicle for less than ten grand, especially because lower price often means more years and miles on the car. Depending on the car, more years and more miles could mean a vehicle is close to the end of its life.

Yet there are some vehicles on both sides of the Venn diagram with regard to dependability and price. You don't necessarily have to compromise on reliability even if you don't want to shell out tens of thousands of dollars on a new-to-you car. While you might find reliable used cars with lots of miles on them, that doesn't always spell disaster when it comes to dependability.

Case in point? Our picks for the most reliable used cars come from a variety of J.D. Power Awards dependability lists for used vehicles. We started with a long list of cars and whittled it down based on price. Read more about our methodology after the results.

The newest vehicle on our list of the most reliable used cars under ten grand is the 2017 Nissan Leaf. While an all-electric car isn't for everyone, if you're in the market for one, you'll notice it's hard to find bigger-name models at affordable pricepoints. However, the Leaf is a solid pick if electric energy is your focus, with a range of 107 miles, which is about 112 combined MPGe.

The Leaf also had one of the highest J.D. Power Awards dependability ratings in 2020. It's worth noting that it was the newest vehicle we found among J.D. Power's most reliably rated cars that can be bought for under $10,000 today. As a compact car, the Leaf does have its limitations, but J.D. Power's owner-drivers ranked its quality and reliability remarkably high.

That said, Nissan Leaf EVs tend to hold their resale value, so it could be a car that you resell again later. Of course, 2024 models are some of the cheapest electric cars on the market, so springing for a brand-new Leaf isn't a bad idea if your budget is a bit higher. As for 2017 Leafs, Cars.com has dozens for sale under $10K.

Volkswagen does not have the best reputation for reliability. In fact, Tiguans are some of the lowest-rated compact SUVs, mostly because of apparent engine failures. That said, in 2019, J.D. Power's ranking of the most dependable cars included the 2016 Tiguan.

At that point, drivers with three-year-old Tiguans were still fairly happy. Although it's possible that engine issues took more than three years to emerge, a Tiguan could still be worth buying today. You'll have plenty of choices when you go Tiguan shopping, too; over 80 results came up for us that came in under $10,000. For drivers looking for an affordable and relatively reliable SUV, the Tiguan could be the perfect choice. While similar vehicles like the Kia Sportage and Buick Encore had similar reliability ratings, the Tiguan had higher overall ratings, including for the driving experience.

When we took a look at recalls on Volkswagen Tiguans, the NHTSA records reflected at least 25 model years with many more recalls than the 2016 edition. The 2016 Tiguan has had two recalls, while the 2018 model, for example, has had 13, including one currently active as of 2025 that makes the vehicle unsafe to drive, per the NHTSA.

Given that it's so affordable, you might be surprised that the Kia Soul didn't show up on more recent J.D. Power reliability reports. Yet it took until 2019 for the 2016 Kia Soul to appear on J.D. Power's most dependable cars list. Even then, it only won out by a relatively slim margin against the Toyota Prius v and the Ford C-Max Energi. Owner-drivers gave the Soul high marks for quality and reliability, and they do seem fun to drive.

The Soul is in a strange category, though, as a compact multi-purpose vehicle, so its appeal is somewhat limited for that reason. If you're after a quirky vehicle with decent gas mileage (around 27 combined MPG) — or an electric one with up to 105 MPGe (the 2016 Kia Soul Electric) — the older Soul could be a good fit.

Of course, new Kia Souls are affordable, too – you can get one for around $20,000 if you prefer to start fresh. If $10,000 is still your hard line when it comes to budget, though, that's no issue. Hundreds of Kia Souls were available when we searched Cars.com, some with as few as around 30,000 miles on them.

Are you surprised to learn that Kia has yet another reliable and affordable pick for our under-$10K list? At this point, you probably shouldn't be! In 2018, the Rio appeared on J.D. Power's list of the most dependable cars, beating out quite a list of small cars. The Rio was considered more reliable than the 2015 Chevy Sonic (more on that next), the Nissan Versa, and even some Honda, Toyota, and Ford models.

While J.D. Power's consumer responses meant that the Rio was nominated the most reliable in its class for the 2018 list of dependable vehicles, there's more to recommend the Rio. When it comes to NHTSA data, the 2015 Rio doesn't have the most recalls, complaints, or manufacturer communications, so labeling it reliable seems accurate data-wise. In fact, the 2015 Rio has only had one recall, although a significant one. The recall, which was issued in 2023, relates to possible engine compartment fires.

That said, if the 2015 Rio you're looking at on the used car lot has had the manufacturer fix, you're good to go. Unfortunately, for anyone going above $10K, the Rio has since been discontinued as of 2023. Used Rios are somewhat harder to find than our other contenders, but Cars.com had at least 20 when we perused the site's stock.

Chevrolet's Sonic is another compact car that's perfectly affordable and, according to owner-drivers, reliable, too. The 2015 Chevrolet Sonic on the most dependable cars list in 2018, earning the highest marks not just in quality and reliability but also in the driving experience.

Since it's so compact, the Sonic also has a reputation for being fuel efficient; a 2015 Sonic can get up to 32 combined MPG. Unfortunately, the Sonic was discontinued in 2020, and the compact car was largely replaced by the Bolt line of EVs.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with the car, however. In fact, both the 2015 Sonic four-door and hatchback models have had only three recalls to date, with far fewer complaints than other years of Sonics. Plus, for reference, the most-recalled Chevy in 2015 was the Silverado 1500, with a staggering 23 recalls. A Sonic isn't infallible, but it seems to be more reliable, by both J.D. Power's opinion and the NHTSA's data.

If the relatively low price, fuel economy, and dependability have you hankering for one, do not worry. Nearly 200 Chevrolet Sonics were available on Cars.com when we went shopping, and many for far less than $10,000.

As the proud owner of a hand-me-down 2013 Prius, I was not surprised to learn that the 2014 v model wound up on J.D. Power's dependability awards list in 2017. That year, the Prius v bumped the Kia Soul to the second spot, with models like FIAT, Mazda, and Ford coming in further behind in the compact multi-purpose vehicle award category.

The standard 2014 Prius also ranked in its own category — compact car — and beat out models like the Buick Verano, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Chevrolet Cruze, and even the Toyota Corolla. The margins were quite close, but since the Prius came out on top in two categories, it's definitely one to recommend for a budget buy.

Although it's important to know a few things before buying a Prius, I don't think this EV is a bad buy at all, and the NHTSA's data seems to agree. Each 2014 model (from the Prius C to the plug-in hybrid to the v) had only a handful of recalls, fewer than or similar to the numbers of models like the 4Runner, Highlander, and others. Whichever model you choose of the 2014 Prius, dozens are available for sale on sites like Cars.com for far less than $10,000.

Perhaps it's not surprising that Toyota has more than one entry on our list of the most reliable used cars under $10,000. After all, Camrys are known for their dependability (though older models in the sixth generation are best avoided), and after driving a 1994 for far longer than I thought was possible, I agree with J.D. Power's owner-drivers' evaluations.

The 2014 Camry had the highest dependability of its class in 2017, receiving better marks than a list of other midsize cars. Not only did the 2014 model outpace its competitors in reliability, but it also performed rather well for other drivers, per NHTSA data. While some Toyota Camry in different years had as many as 11 recalls, the 2014 had only three, none of which impacted every Camry that year. In contrast, the 2007 Camry had 11 recalls and thousands of complaints.

Toyotas may also be recognized for holding their value, but we found plenty of affordable options while searching Cars.com. In fact, there were over 100 Camrys for sale when we went shopping, and some had as few as 50,000 miles. Since my Camry lasted over 250,000 miles and more than 24 years, I'd consider a low-mileage 2014 an excellent purchase.

As a Sienna owner myself, I'm partial to the minivan, particularly because of my experiences with Toyotas outlasting every other car brand in my household. If you need a minivan, I still recommend Toyota, even though modern Siennas are hybrid-only (as of 2021). Back in 2017, the 2014 Sienna received kudos for having the highest dependability among minivans, according to owner-drivers.

The Sienna was classed as a large vehicle, and it ranked among vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Avalon, and Chevrolet Silverado in terms of reliability. Unfortunately for budget buyers, none of those vehicles come in under $10,000 today, but the Sienna does. In the minivan-specific category, the Sienna outpaced the Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Honda Odyssey, and Nissan Quest in dependability.

There is one caveat: Based on SlashGear's research, the 2014 is just a middle-of-the-road Sienna model. Still, given how many drivers loved the van, a 2014 might not be a bad investment. When we looked at Cars.com, there were at least 30 2014 Siennas available for under $10,000. While newer gas-powered years are much pricier, you may be able to find a newer model that's close to $10K, but it will be harder.

If you were skimming this list hoping for an affordable and reliable pickup truck, here it is. The 2014 Ford F-150 ranked on J.D. Power's highest dependability list in 2017. The large light-duty pickup truck ranked among other large models like the Sienna with reliability. Yet in the large light-duty pickup category, it ranked higher than the Toyota Tundra, Ram 1500, Chevy Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, and Nissan Titan.

As far as older F-150s go, the model with the most owner complaints is the 2004, and the 2014 model didn't come up until pages later (and 100s of model years later) on the NHTSA results for greatest to least number of recalls. In our estimation, that is a second indicator of reliability beyond owner-driver reports.

The 2014 F-150 has had seven recalls, with the biggest one issued in 2014 for steering-related problems that made the truck dangerous to drive. At that time, a manufacturer fix was available, so we can surmise that any 2014 with that fix is safe to drive today. Compared to the 2021 F-150's 20 recalls, the 2014 also doesn't seem too terrible performance-wise. Given that there are so many still on the market — over 80 under $10K at Cars.com when we checked — we're not surprised that owners consider them very reliable.

As mentioned, other years of the Buick Encore have been ranked highly for reliability (the 2016 model went up against the Tiguan in J.D. Power's rankings). Yet it's hard to find a newer Buick for less than $10,000, which caused us to skim through the J.D. Power dependability rankings until we came across an Encore year that was actually affordable. The 2013 Encore was ranked best for dependability in 2016, outperforming other small SUVs like the 2013 MINI Cooper Countryman and even the 2013 Tiguan.

One caveat we found, despite the high ratings by owner-drivers as of 2016, was that the 2013 Encore had a higher number of recalls versus any other Encore model. One possible reason for this is the fact that the 2013 model was the very first Encore ever released and, thus, it needed some fixes out of the factory. Worth noting, though, is the fact that various other Encore years had more complaints and manufacturer communications, so things aren't as bleak as they might seem based on that stat.

Sadly, the original Encore has since been discontinued as of 2023, but there are plenty still for sale. In fact, we found dozens of results when limiting the search to only the 2013 model year and those with a price tag under $10,000.

To find the most reliable used cars under $10,000, we started with J.D. Power Awards rankings that listed the most dependable used cars in different years. J.D. Power's rankings are available every three years, starting in 2004 and (as of publication time) ending in 2023.

For each dependability rating report, J.D. Power looked at used vehicles that were three years old at the time of the rating. Thus, in 2023, for example, it looked at only 2020 models. Each year's report involved asking verified owner-drivers what their thoughts were on reliability and other metrics for the particular year of the vehicle.

Starting with J.D. Power's 2023 ratings, we cross-referenced each vehicle listed with used car listings on Cars.com to determine which ones, if any, could be bought today for under $10,000. We continued backward until we found a solid list of 10 reliable cars under $10,000.

We also skipped models that were hard to find, with less than 20 listings for sale on Cars.com. After that, we checked out the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) data to see what recalls and other complaints were like to better understand what reliability might mean for each vehicle model.