---
title: 'These are the CHEAPEST reliable used cars in 2026'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=9cEGFdvQI0w'
video_id: '9cEGFdvQI0w'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 1201
---

# These are the CHEAPEST reliable used cars in 2026

> Source: [These are the CHEAPEST reliable used cars in 2026](https://youtube.com/watch?v=9cEGFdvQI0w)

## Summary

The video addresses the current unaffordability of new cars—only 22% of Americans can afford one, with average monthly costs over $1,000 and income requirements of $100,000. The host analyzes a new study from iSeeCars to identify the most reliable and affordable used cars at both 5 and 10 years old, providing cost and lifespan data. The video concludes with personal recommendations for budget-conscious buyers.

### Key Points

- **New car affordability crisis** [0:00] — Only 22% of Americans can comfortably afford a new car. Average monthly payment exceeds $1,000, and income requirement is at least $100,000.
- **5-year used car baseline** [1:20] — 5-year-old used car average cost: $25,000. Average remaining lifespan: 7 years.
- **10-year used car baseline** [1:49] — 10-year-old used car average cost: $14,000. Average remaining lifespan: 6 years.
- **Lexus longevity standout** [3:12] — Lexus IS-350 has an 18-year total expected lifespan, making it one of the longest-lasting cars in America.
- **Honda Civic Coupe position** [3:53] — Honda Civic Coupe is number two on the 5-year list, with 9 years left.
- **Camry used vs. new value** [4:58] — Toyota Camry (new) in his area costs about $26k, making a used Camry not a good value relative to new.
- **Honda Fit recommendation** [7:55] — Honda Fit costs $18k, has 11 years left but is automatic-only; manual is recommended for reliability.
- **Best 10-year-old car** [11:27] — Nissan Leaf is the #1 10-year-old used car; costs $5,000, has 5 years left, costs ~$1,000/year.
- **Ford Fusion Hybrid longevity** [10:09] — Ford Fusion Hybrid is 'aging like a fine wine' and appears near the top on the 10-year list.
- **Risk of used EVs** [10:34] — Buying a used EV like Model S is a 'gamble' because battery condition is unknown.
- **Underrated Toyota Avalon** [12:33] — Toyota Avalon is noted as 'asleep' and highly reliable; Ford Fusion Hybrid and Prius are also top picks on 10-year list.

## Transcript

If you're watching this, more than
likely you cannot afford a new car.
Check this out. Only 22% Americans can
comfortably afford a new car. Average
prices per month to afford your new car
is over $1,000.
Income requirements is at least
$100,000.
So, most of us have the privilege of
buying a gently used car, maybe 5 to 10
years old. And IC cars just came out
with a new study. What are the most
reliable cars you can buy for the money
this year? So, we're going to look at
cars that are 5 years old. What are the
best cars or how much longevity they
have left for the money as well as
10year-old cars as well. Guys, if you
are excited, hit the like button. If
you're new to the channel, my name is
Kirk. I cover car news just about every
single day. I also do car reviews. I got
Toyota's EV driving impressions from the
Bezy Woodland and the CHR coming very
soon. But also outside my garage here, I
have the LC500 I need to review today.
And that review will be up in the coming
days. So stay tuned for that. It's one
of my favorite vehicles ever made. All
right, so if you want to see me get a
little emotional, a little fired up,
stay tuned for the Lexus LC500. Last
time I'll get a chance to review that
car. Here's some fun facts. The average
5-year-old used car cost about $25,000.
That's a lot of money. still has an
average remaining lifespan of just 7
years, right? Well, you got to think
about it. The average lifespan of a car
right now is about 12 years and it keeps
growing because people are like, "Okay,
well, I'll just I'll just fix my car
because I can afford to do that compared
to buying a new car." All right. And
when you buy a new car, insurance rates
go way up. The average 10-year-old used
car costs about $14,000
and has an average remaining lifespan of
six years. Well, that sounds better to
me. 10 grand less and has about a year
and a half less of of lifespan. So,
that's interesting. IC cars analyzes the
prices over of about a million vehicles
just short of for 5 to 10 year old used
cars in July through December of 2025
and the odometer readings of almost 400
million used cars from its last or from
from its previous study the longest
lasting cars. Man, this is a gut punch.
The average one to fiveyear-old used
cars still cost more than $30,000 or
more than 50% than they did 5 years ago.
Gosh, the car market's grim. So, we're
going to start with the most affordable
and longest lasting cars uh for for 5
years old or so. Okay, there are
exceptions here and I'll explain that in
a little bit, but Honda CRV, what we're
looking at here is the average cost per
year that's expected to cost you for the
remaining lifespan. Okay? and you have
about 10 years left on a 5-year-old CRV.
All right, so they cost about 24K
and this is what's going to cost you per
year. Crazy enough, the Lexus IS- 350,
if you were to keep it for the next 13
years, the IS is expected to live 18
years total. That's one of the longest
lasting cars in America, the Lexus IS-
350, and it is still being sold. You can
buy the new refreshed one, which is
pretty much the same car as the
5-year-old one, just looks a little bit
different. So, the the Lexus is ancient,
but it lasts forever. It's not a bad
investment, even if you buy one new. All
right? Cuz they last 20 years if you
want to keep it that long. Most people
don't keep their cars that long,
especially if they're buying new. Most
people buy new cars, get rid of them
quickly because, well, they have the
money to do so. Honda Civic Coupe, it's
got about almost 9 years left. That's on
number two. Jeep Compass, Ford Fusion
Hybrid. Okay, it's our first hybrid on
the list. Mini hardtop four-door. That's
a surprise. Let's keep moving. Nissan
Rogue and Nissan Versa as well. Now,
look, this these are actually somewhat
affordable cars. The Versa here, 12
grand, 5 years old. That's hasn't
depreciated as much as you would like it
to. Um, you know, these things new 5
years ago were probably 1617,000.
So, they haven't appreciated that much.
It's only got five years left. Mini.
Another Mini here. Chevy Sonic. My gosh,
I never see that car. Good luck even
finding one of those. Um, I'd rather
have a Versa than a Sonic. Camry, our
second hybrid on the list, Camry Hybrid.
Now, keep in mind the the new Camry has
a new hybrid system altogether. Now, so,
uh, it's still going to be super
reliable, I would imagine. So, even to
buying a new Cam, Here's a crazy thing.
Here's a crazy thing, guys. This is not
a good buy. And the reason is is I can
go buy a new Camry in my area, new
Camryle,
uh for like 26K. Uh not a good buy for
the Camry. Okay. So, I would just buy a
new one personally. Toyota Prius. Toyota
Prius. I wonder what uh current car
prices on our Prius are. There the the
new Prius sales have fallen off of a
cliff. Okay. And they're not as
desirable as they used to be because
Toyota has so many other hybrids in
their lineup. Let's look at the lowest
price on the LE models. Yeah, here's the
thing. For the same price, you can get a
Camry. And the Camry isn't as sexy
looking. Obviously, the new Prius, and
and this is subjective. Some people hate
the looks of the new Prius. I think it
looks awesome. But the Camry is just
bigger. It's more car. It's It's more
power. All right. And it's just as
efficient as the Prius when you're
looking at base trim to base trim. But
look, this is a 4 grand price drop. That
is awesome to see that happening on the
Prius. Oh, get it in the blue here. Uh,
awesome, awesome, awesome. Anyways,
let's get back to the list. Okay, Prius
is is a good buy. I have a 2012 Prius.
Doesn't have that many miles on it. I
want to say it's got maybe 70,000 miles
on it now, something like that. And
yeah, it's not going to like I could
keep that for another 10 years until my
kids start driving. Um, Mitsubishi
Outlander. These things are dirt cheap
on the market. About six, well, not dirt
cheap. We like it to be cheaper, but 16
grand. Kia Soul. Okay. Very fuel effic
Well, not as fuel efficient as I like it
to be, I remember. But it is still fun
to drive. It's cute. It's practical.
Toyota Corolla. All right. On the list,
breaking the top 10, the Jetta. Again,
the is why is the IS back? Well, this is
the 300 model, but it doesn't
differentiate here between the 350 or
sorry, the 300 turbo rear wheel drive
and the 300 V6 all-wheel drive models.
So, anyways, it looks like uh I I
personally would just get the V6. I
wouldn't get the turbo models if I
wanted to buy it used, but the turbo
models are going to be much cheaper, I
would say. And obviously here, 28K
versus 32K. Ah, I would spend extra
money and get the V6. That's just me.
Hyundai Elantre, number seven on the
list of used cars. Um, five-year-old
used cars. Outlander Sport, another
Mitsubishi here with seven years left on
the lifespan. Mazda 3 hatchback has
another 10 years left on the clock here.
Mazda 3, uh, super reliable. Buick
Encore, about seven to eight years left.
These things are cheap on the market,
though. Honda Civic, isn't that
interesting? Honda Civic cost a hair
less than a Mazda 3 hatchback. They both
have the same amount of reliability in
them with the about the same amount of
years left. Okay. Kia Rio. No one
expected Kia Rio to be on this list.
Now, it's got one of the lowest
remaining lifespans, but it also doesn't
have that high of a sticker price. Okay.
But love the hatchback here. And Honda
Fit. Honda Fit 18 grand. That's still a
lot of money for a really small car.
Think the Honda Fit isn't that much
different from a Versa, okay? But the
Honda Fit has 11 years left of expected
reliability. Now, personally, I would
not buy the automatic transmission Honda
Fit. I've heard that there can be issues
with that auto. I'd be getting a
six-speed manual Honda Fit. Now, I'm
curious what, you know, if Now, also,
here's an asterisk. Honda Fit stopped in
2020. All right, so we're about six
years away. Keep that in mind. We're six
years away from the Honda Fit being
available. And it sucks because well,
Honda's cars are very expensive right
now. They're new ones. Um there's only
150 in my area. How many of those are
manual? It's probably Oh man, they're
all automatic. Son of a gun. They're all
automatic. I wouldn't buy any of them.
Okay, that's just me. All right.
Unfortunately, they for well,
unfortunately for us, but fortunately
for other people in the world, they get
the new Honda Fit. All right, so all
right, let's get into the 10-year-old
car list because this is pretty
exciting. 10-year-old cars, how much
life do they have? Well, the Prius has a
lot of life left. I also owned an Avalon
at one point in time. Super reliable.
Most of them have the V6 in there. Some
of them are the hybrid. Hybrid's also
reliable for Toyota. Buick Encore on the
list again. Big Ultima Energy. A mini
mini hardtop Fiat 500L. I do not buy
this car. Do not. It's one of the worst
cars ever made. Okay. MercedesBenz CLA.
Gosh, no. Like, I can't imagine the
maintenance cost on these cars, guys,
though. Just because like you can you
can keep this going on a Mini or
Mercedes. Oil changes are going to be
expensive. Everything to maintain that
car is going to be more expensive
compared to like a Prius, for example.
All right, Volvo XC60. That car is going
to be probably fairly expensive to
maintain. All right, Chevy Sonic again,
Kia Soul again on the 10-year list.
Outlander Sport again, Kia Rio again,
Mini Hardtop again for 10 year. Ford
Fusion Hybrid. Ford Fusion Hybrid is
aging like a fine wine. Remember, it was
much lower on the 5-year list. It was
number 20 on the 5-year list, but now
it's almost top 10 on the 10-year list.
Hyundai Accent, rest in peace. The small
like Nissan Versa fighter. Jeep Compass
I think again is one Tesla Model S. It's
still got 10 years left of expected
reliability. How can you say that?
Because the Model S has not been around
that long. Ah, that one's a tough one
for me to get my head around. It's
possible because but here's the thing.
If the battery goes out on a Model S,
you are toast. Okay, but you know, I
don't know. I don't know. No, Model S is
that much. 16 grand is a lot on a
10-year-old electric car. I don't know.
That's that's that's definitely a
gamble. You do you, though. Honda Civic.
Okay. Getting some to some more
mainstream models. Hyundai Elantre,
Nissan Versa. We're in the top 10.
Volkswagen Jetta. Honda Fit again.
Lincoln MKZ. You got to remember. Gosh,
what does MKZ even look like? I think
it's like the Ford uh Yeah, it's like
the Ford Fusion. Okay, so that makes
sense. Uh, Honda Fit number two. And can
we get a drum roll? What's going to be
number one? Is it going to be a Japanese
car? It's going to be my guess. Oh, it's
a Nissan Leaf. It is a Japanese car. Oh,
you guys can't see it on the screen. I
apologize. Whoops. It is the Nissan
Leaf. You can You can get these for only
$5,000. They have five years left. It
only cost about a,000 year or $1,000 per
year. But But Oh, you're leaving. Okay.
Okay. We need to wrap this up. Abee's
hanging out with us here, bud. Oh,
Nissan Leaf is the champ for 10-year-old
used cars. And what do we say, Abe?
Honda Fit is the five-year used car, but
again, I wouldn't touch it. Honestly, it
would be like a Civic uh or a Mazda 3.
Those would be my recommendations. Um
Lexus is would be in there. Toyota
Corolla, Kia Soul, I would recommend.
Prius, Camry, and the 5-year. Okay. Uh I
don't know. I versus not not for me.
Rogue's not for me. Mini is definitely
not for me. Ford Fusion hybrid. I see
more of these than than it always
surprised me how many of those I see. Uh
Civic again and CRV. Okay. No RAV 4 in
there. Think about that. No RAV 4. And
then the 10ear list. What would be my
recommendations?
Prius. Avalon. Avalon. My gosh. Avalon.
This is like asleep. Like no one
everyone forgets about the Avalon. I
don't know. Maybe Kia Soul. Uh man,
there's a lot of cars that I wouldn't
buy here. Even 10 years old. Even
regardless of how much miles and how
cheap they are, I still wouldn't buy
them.
Uh let's see here.
Civic again. Elantre probably. Are you
okay Abe?
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. Honda Fit again. Manual only.
Definitely. I would not buy a Nissan
Leaf. Would not buy it if the battery
goes. I mean, it's dirt cheap, though,
so you're not risking that much, but
it's still like it's 10 years old, man.
How much battery life does that thing
have left? Okay. Does it have like 50
miles of range left on the battery? I
would not spend any money on that. I
take one for like a couple grand, but
not five grand. Okay. If you want
trucks, here's a list of trucks.
Surprisingly, Ford Ranger in Colorado
beat out the Frontier and Tacoma. I
don't know. I mean, obviously the Tacoma
has the most life left, but it's it's so
much more expensive than the than the
competition. Okay, Honda Ridgeline in
there. Titan. Isn't this funny? Nissan
Titan, rest in peace. But if you can get
a used Nissan Titan, if you want a fulls
size truck, it is so affordable. Okay,
so affordable. It is a It's less than a
Tacoma and it's a full-size truck and it
still has great reliability. All right,
so Nissan Titan, that's pretty promising
there. That's kind of a surprise for me.
Uh 10-year-old used trucks. Frontier
rises to the list, which is my favorite
truck actually in general. Midsize truck
especially. Um and then, you know, look
at look how much it depreciates and it
still has a decent amount of life left.
Okay. Um let's see here. Most reliable
5-year-old SUVs. Uh man, RAV 4 sneaks
into the top 10 here. I would not. Isn't
this crazy? We like to bash on QX60 or
at least older ones.
>> Yeah.
>> I don't know where sissies are. They're
inside the house. If you're wondering if
a Abe has dangerous pills, it's
probiotics. Okay. It says probiotics.
It's fine. It's safe. There's nothing
there. He can't open it. Surprisingly,
he can open too many things for his age.
Hybrids are pretty common on the new
market because natural demand is high
for them and they keep expanding. and
they keep getting better and more more
manufacturers keep offering hybrids. But
if you want to buy a used hybrid uh for
the 5-year, what are the best used
hybrids to buy? Well, and this hasn't
included EVs. Okay, I'm not going to
talk Ford Fusion hybrid. Again, Ford I
don't mind their hybrids whatsoever. I
like their hybrids. It's pretty much the
same thing as Toyota's hybrids. In fact,
I think they still use they use the same
supplier uh which is Ace for their two
motor hybrid. I could be wrong on that,
but Toyota uses Aishan for their two
motor hybrid 2. The only difference is
Ford uses their engines and their own
battery and then Toyota uses their own
engines and their own battery, but is
they're very much the same sort of
hybrid. Ford Fusion hybrid, Camry
hybrid, and Prius hybrid. All fantastic
buys on the 5-year used market. What
about 10-year-old hybrids? Are there any
out there? Well, really, yeah, the the
Fusion and the Prius. Okay, Fusion and
the Prius are the best ones to buy
there. Now, again, this is playing this
is playing this is gam playing with fire
gambling. Buying a used electric
vehicle, you don't always know how much
range is left on the battery. You don't
know how fast the battery will degrade.
Model S seems to be like
expected crazy reliability. Supposed to
last 20 plus years on the market. Um,
we'll see. So, I'll see you guys in the
comments. Do you own any of these
vehicles that we talked about today?
Obviously, I've talked about how I own
the Avalon at one point in time. Swear
by that vehicle. I see when I was just
in California, I saw a ton of Avalons. I
still see Avalons here a lot. Uh lots of
used Priuses uh or old Priuses on the
market, too. Um that are still running
in good condition. In fact, so this this
place is just up the road from me a
couple hours in Tampa, and this is kind
of like a a hybrid mecca. Um, the Prius
pre-owned headquarters is what they call
it. And this guy specializes in used,
affordable, clean, reliable pre-owned
Prius hybrids. And EVs currently stock
second generation and third generation
and fourth generation Prius hybrids. So,
pretty cool. I think they've had really
good Let's look at the inventory. I'm
just curious. Okay, you can get pretty
good deals here. They refurbished them.
They address all the potential failure
points on a used Prius. Once you do
that, they will run for a very, very,
very long time. So, you can see Prius
here for uh 100K. This one's actually
priced really low. So, I wonder if there
was like an accident on it, but $6,000.
Okay. Honda Fit. We just talked about a
Honda Fit. Does it have a manual? I
don't know. Okay. I know. We know that
it's not a hybrid, but in other markets,
the Fit is has a hybrid option.
Unfortunately for us, which is just it's
it's frustrating because we all most of
us really enjoyed the Honda Fit when it
did exist here. 252,000 miles. It's
priced at 7K. You know, they also
refurbished the batteries on these
things. Uh make sure that you they
replace they replace like the weak cells
in them, which I think is pretty cool.
Oh my gosh, this is this is speaking to
me here. I know it's high mileage, but
like I love the Prius V. And this is the
five, which might have like the pano
roof on it. Oh, it doesn't. It does not
have the pano roof. That is unfortunate.
I love that that option. And the the
PriusV has such a like cult following to
it. So, I'm not paid by them obviously.
Like, they're just a small mom and pop
shop essentially, but I just think it's
cool. I think it's really cool. I I
admire their niche that they are
operating in and providing affordable,
fuel efficient, reliable Prius out
there. Look at this thing. Look at this
thing. Prius V. Like it's it's got like
the lift on it because people like
lifting these um and putting all-terrain
tires on them. It's so ridiculous. This
has got a lot of miles on it. It's but
it's a 2020 RAV 4 hybrid XSSE
and I think this is a fair price for it.
19 grand. Prius Prime. We got a Prius
Prime in here representing less than
100K. I'll I'll put the the the link in
here, but you guys just Google Tampa
Hybrids if you live in this area. They
even have some EVs like the EV6, for
example. They have a new Prius. Wow.
25K. How many? Oh, it's got a lot of
miles. That's a ton of miles. I wouldn't
I wouldn't buy it. I would not buy it.
Anyways, thank you guys for watching.
Uh, I'll see you in the comments with
how or or what vehicles you would trust
that are five to 10 years old. I mean,
like a 4Runner should be in there, too,
for example. But you got to keep in mind
4Runners hold their value really well.
That's why they didn't make the list.
And you could say a bunch also other
large body onframe SUVs like a Tahoe or
something like that, they last a long
time. But again, um, they they just cost
a lot more than what we s saw on the
list today. So anyways, I'll see you
guys in the next one. If you enjoyed
this content, make sure to subscribe,
hit the like button, and I'll catch you
in the next one. Have a great day.