The Longest Lasting Models and Brands According to iSeeCars

Remember George Bailey’s car in It’s A Wonderful Life? It was supposed to be old, and that open-sided model with the radiator grille and running boards certainly looked the part compared to everything else in Bedford Falls. It turns out George was driving a 1919 Dodge Model 10, making it 27 years old at the time. Shifting to today, 27-year-old cars, which would be 1999 models, don’t seem nearly as old-fashioned and are much more common. For those who prefer to keep a new car for a couple of decades or want a used car with plenty of life left, iSeeCars has compiled lists of the longest-lasting cars, trucks, SUVs, and hybrids by mileage.  Alderman Automotive tells you more.   

iSeeCars was more interested in mileage than model year and collected data to determine which models and brands had the best chance of reaching 250,000 miles. If you are not a fan of Japanese cars, prepare to grit your teeth, as the top nine models overall were either from Toyota or Lexus, with the Sequoia topping the list with a 39.1% chance of reaching 250,000 miles, compared to an overall average of 4.8%.  These are followed by three large Hondas, with the #13 spot going to the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, followed by more Toyotas.   

To conduct their survey, iSeeCars.com analyzed data for nearly 400 million cars. They took the odometer reading for each vehicle at different yearly ages. Then, they built a model based on these average mileages to estimate the likelihood that each vehicle would reach various mileage thresholds.  

The most frugal way to purchase a car is to buy a used one and keep it for an extended period of time.  If that is you, here is iSeeCars’ list of the longest-lasting models: 

When it comes to brands overall, Toyota, Honda, and their respective luxury brands are the four brands that have a better chance of reaching 250,000 miles than the industry average. However, not all Japanese brands reach the top, as GM brands and Tesla occupy the next four spots, followed by Mazda at #9 and Ram at #10. 

iSeeCars provides more detailed top lists specifically for pickup trucks, SUVs, passenger cars, and, for the first time, hybrids. Here, you may see some indication that some of the longest-lasting vehicles may be a result of both durability and being considered worth preserving. An old, battered pickup truck can still fulfill its primary purpose of hauling loads better than an equally old and battered luxury car can provide luxury. This is supported by the finding that the average percentage of pickup trucks reaching 250K miles is 13%, which is significantly higher than the average for SUVs (4.3%), passenger cars (2.6%), or hybrids (9.6%). 

Alderman Automotive invites you to keep these listings in mind as you peruse our inventory.  The ability to last a long time obviously involves more than the vehicle’s reputation for such.  Maintenance and treatment are huge factors for any individual vehicle.  And while a goal of 250,000 miles could be a bit high for you, it is still worth considering these lists if you are looking for a used model that you plan to keep for a while.