In a world where many car buyers feel they have to decide between looking rich and being sensible, a reliable luxury car that will give you as little trouble as a Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla sounds almost too good to be true. With repair folklore surrounding many of the most sought-after luxury models from the last 20 years, buying a used luxury vehicle, even if the used price is low, is seen as risky business if there are plenty of electrical or mechanical faults waiting to come out of the woodwork.
We have selected ten cars from the last two decades, and found the most reliable generation of each, so you don’t need to look any further than here when choosing a comfortable car with many of today’s best tech features, but none of the usual headaches. These are the most reliable luxury cars of the last 20 years.
This article ranks the best reliable luxury car models based on the generation with the best J.D. Power quality and reliability rating, the average annual maintenance cost from RepairPal, and the average ten-year maintenance cost from CarEdge. The number of issues which warranted a recall by the NHTSA and the number of complaints on CarComplaints for each model year in the generation are also looked at, as is the ten-year depreciation percentage.
10
W222 Generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class (2014–2020)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 84/100
Kicking off the list of the most reliable luxury vehicles, the Mercedes S-Class is one of the best examples of a car that, when new, is monstrously expensive to buy, depreciates like a stone but ends up with repair costs that haven’t come down in line with the car’s value.
The S Class of the 21st century has become an awfully complex car, and the generation that was around at the turn of the millennium had a reputation for becoming a money pit. In the years that followed, Mercedes addressed this and the W222, produced from 2013 until 2020, has proven to be much more solid in comparison. The 2018 model year saw its highest J.D. Power quality and reliability rating, with a “great” 84 out of 100 rating.
A big part of the previous generation S-Class’s staying power is its twin-turbocharged V6 and V8 engines, both proving to be very solid. It has faced a number of recalls, and if it does go wrong, the average maintenance cost is higher than many other models on this list, but big depreciation, which has now stabilized, makes it great value for money, considering that this car has more tech on offer than its age suggests…
- No. of complaints: 8
- No. of recalls: 24
- Average annual maintenance cost: $1,241
- Average ten year depreciation: 78.8%
9
F10 Generation BMW 5 Series
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 88/100
The German luxury sedan the Mercedes E-Class has always been trying to compete with, the F10 Generation BMW 5 Series arrived in 2012 with a fresh design that looks modern and contemporary even by today’s standards, and an impressive choice of whatever sort of engine takes your fancy, be it a turbo inline four, an inline six, or a turbo V8. There was even a turbo inline-six hybrid available.
The earlier generations of the 5 Series suffered from a fair few serious issues early on, with engine stalls and overheats caused by faulty fuel pumps, and loose variable camshaft timing bolts, both of which were addressed by recalls. The later model years of this series show impressive steadfastness, as shown by the J.D. Power rating of 88/100. You just have to hope that nothing goes wrong, because the 5 Series is in keeping with BMW’s reputation of burning a hole in your pocket with its repair costs…
- No. of complaints: 60
- No. of recalls: 7
- Average annual maintenance cost: $1,080
- Average ten-year maintenance cost: $15,626
- Average ten-year depreciation: 79.9%
8
C7 Generation Audi A6 (2012–2018)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 85/100
The best thing that we can say about the Audi A6 is that it is brilliantly normal. It has for the longest time been one of Audi’s best-selling models, because it does so many things right. It has the same level of premium luxury you can find in a BMW or a Mercedes, and in the case of the C7, lots of engine and drive options with a supercharged V6 or a 2.0-liter inline-four and the choice of front-wheel drive or Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
The C7 generation Audi A6 also saw pretty solid reliability, which can’t really be said for the following C8 generation, which had a best J.D. Power quality and reliability rating of just 74/100. That is more than ten less than the 2017 A6, which saw the best rating of the generation as the late years in a generation often do, at 84/100. The 2014 A6 saw the most complaints, but they were never for just one thing, suggesting that there was not one part of the car that was particularly faulty. Severe recalls include one for electric coolant pump fire risk, one for fuel line weakening & leak and one for passenger occupation detection for the airbags failing. Only the latter one included model years late into this generation’s life.
- No. of complaints: 47
- No. of recalls 30
- Average annual maintenance cost: $913
- Average ten-year maintenance cost: $10,004
- Average ten-year depreciation: 79%
7
TB3/4 Generation Acura RDX (2013–2018)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 85/100
The RDX from Acura, the luxury automaker that spawned from Honda, might not be considered by many to be a luxury car in quite the same way a BMW X5 is. But when you consider that the sticker price for one of those is a lot higher and rises further when you select a bunch of optional extras that are standard on the RDX, it starts to make more sense.
Any car from Acura will be expected to go on forever, given the reputation Japanese cars have for their stunning reliability. The Acura RDX is no different, being based on the same platform as the Honda CR-V, and scoring well in all the metrics used for measuring reliability, including the J.D. Power rating, which, for the final model year of this generation, when many of the early issues had been sorted, was 85/100.
It saw more complaints than you would expect to see on Car Complaints, but they were mainly concerning an issue with rough shifting and the satnav. This is one of several cars on this list to be fitted with the Takata airbags, which had the propensity to rupture. So, while capable of doing hundreds of thousands of miles, the TB3/4 generation RDX was not without its issues…
- No. of complaints: 98
- No. of recalls 3
- Average annual maintenance cost: $497
- Average ten-year maintenance cost: $10,296
- Average ten-year depreciation: 70.8%
6
W212 Generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class (2010–2015)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 86/100
The W212 E-Class was made during the same era of Mercedes-Benz as the W204 C-Class and, as you can see, it shares a lot of its smaller counterpart’s design language. It seems the historic German marque turned a corner in terms of the quality and reliability of its cars after suffering from a slump in this department at the start of the 21st century, due to an increased focus on tech features. This generation of E-Class still has a good number of tech features, like, for example, attention assist, but also decent reliability, as shown by the 88/100 J.D. Power rating it enjoyed for two of its model years.
It was, of course, not without its issues, and it fell victim to the now-familiar Takata airbag issues we have seen other cars on this list suffer from. This is the most severe issue with the W212 E-Class, and a VIN check should be all that is required to make sure it has been addressed. It isn’t the only problem this E-Class has had, with wear on engine and transmission mounts causing vibrations and advanced driver system faults, but it beats many other Mercedes sedans to be on this list of dependable luxury cars.
- No. of complaints: 83
- No. of recalls: 4
- Average annual maintenance cost: $1,047
- Average ten-year depreciation: 78.8%
5
W204 Generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class (2007–2014)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 86/100
Mercedes-Benz has been taking it to the BMW 3 Series with its C-Class for more than 30 years now, and of all the generations to exist, the third-gen W204 is perhaps the best loved of them all. This is not just because it was the one that incorporated the free-breathing 6.2-liter V8 engine in its C63 guise, but also because it combines more old-school compactness and simplicity with modern convenience and, you guessed it, reliability.
The best J.D. Power quality and reliability rating of 86/100 is one that it has enjoyed for multiple model years, and it never dipped below 83. It has accumulated a not insignificant number of complaints on Car Complaints, but they are for a wide range of electrical issues which can spring up early into a car generation’s life. Also affecting earlier models was the Takata airbag recall, but provided that this has been addressed, and you choose a more recent example with the more reliable six-cylinder engines, the W204 C-Class can hang it with some of the most reliable used luxury cars.
- No. of complaints: 95
- No. of recalls 3
- Average annual maintenance cost: $733
- Average ten-year depreciation: 78.8%
4
Second-generation Volvo S60 (2011–2018)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 85/100
Another automaker known for making cars that last a lifetime is Volvo, with its cars that are hewn from a solid lump of Swedish lead lasting, in some cases, for 30 years. It will therefore be no surprise that at least one of its cars makes this list, and the second-generation Volvo S60 has proven that Volvo can still live up to its reputation in the modern era.
While several model years had a J.D. Power quality and reliability rating below 80, in MY2016, it got a “great” rating of 85/100. The 2012 and 2015 model years faced a fair few complaints for, among other things, excessive oil consumption, and there was a pretty alarming recall for seatbelt cable failure.
Provided that these issues have been addressed, the S60 has the chance to be one of the most dependable luxury cars around, as well as one of the safest thanks to its solidity and it being fitted with some of the pre-safe features that Volvo has led the way in introducing, such as pre-collision detection and blind-spot information.
- No. of complaints: 67
- No. of recalls 2
- Average annual maintenance cost: $750
- Average ten-year maintenance cost: $9,737
- Average ten-year depreciation: 75.3%
3
B9 Generation Audi A4 (2015–2025)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 85/100
The BMW 3 Series has led the way when it comes to compact luxury, which offer the same upscale exterior looks and interior comfort as the larger models, but with a smaller chassis and a smaller price tag for decades. Not without cars from other rival manufacturers nipping at its heals, however. Audi’s A4 has, for a long time, been the thinking person’s choice, with its highbrow looks, strong engines, and brilliantly crafted interior. It’s also one of the most reliable luxury sedans you can buy today.
The A4 might not exist as a model anymore, with the new generation of A5 replacing both the previous A5 and the A4, but the final A4 generation was, at least, the most reliable, and, as you can see below, one of the best options for German luxury cars with low repair costs. This may not necessarily be the case with examples from before the 2020 facelift, which had the most complaints, as well as multiple recalls because of the airbags.
- No. of complaints: 31
- No. of recalls: 17
- Average annual maintenance cost: $739
- Average ten-year maintenance cost: $9,645
- Average ten-year depreciation: 74.3%
2
XV60 Generation Lexus ES (2013–2018)
Best J.D. Power Quality And Reliability Rating: 96/100
Despite Lexus being an automaker with the same brand cachet and luxury prowess here in the states as BMW and Mercedes, there is none of the same repair folklore and anxiety associated with purchasing a used example when you don’t have the funds for the many repair bills that may come. Along with Acura, Lexus has for the longest time been one of the most reliable luxury car brands, thanks to being based on sturdy Toyotas, like this generation of Lexus ES, which is based on the Toyota Avalon.
Comfortable and quiet and, of course, available with a hybrid powertrain, this ES scored an almost unheard of 96/100 J.D. Power rating, making it one of the few cars to have some of the “best” quality and reliability based on the initial consumer feedback JD.. Power collects. It only had two issues which warranted a recall over its life, which, of course, is significantly less than most other cars on this list, and they were both for issues with components made by other people. One was for the failure of DENSO fuel pumps, and the other was for those troublesome Takata airbags.
- No. of complaints: 28
- No. of recalls: 3
- Average annual maintenance cost: $468
- Average ten-year maintenance cost: $5,295
- Average ten year depreciation: 63.7%
1
XE30 Generation Lexus IS (2013–Present)
Best J.D. Power Quality and Reliability Rating: 91/100
The only one of these cars that is still in production to this day, the third-generation Lexus IS has achieved impressive longevity, having been introduced way back in 2013, and as such, there is definitely enough long-term reliability data to judge just how well put together it is. Being a Lexus, you would expect it to be extremely well put together, and the J.D. Power quality and reliability ratings show this, with the last few years being 91, 91, and 88 respectively. The early years weren’t as perfect, being in the low 80s, but the fact that we are even talking about that being not so good underlines just how good we have come to expect the J.D. Power ratings of Lexus’ cars to be.
What is possibly even more impressive than this is the few complaints and recalls it has racked up over its 13-years-and-counting lifespan. The one recall was for fuel pump failure which, like with the ES, was not made by Lexus. Another reason why this list is headed by two cars from Lexus is the average maintenance cost. Not only is a Lexus less likely to go wrong, but the sharing of parts with Toyota and the “built so it never breaks” philosophy it has means it is less likely to break the bank if it does. All of this makes cars from Lexus the best luxury cars for reliability.
- No. of complaints: 16
- No. of recalls: 1
- Average annual maintenance cost: $483
- Average ten-year maintenance cost: $5,891
- Average ten year depreciation: 59.6%
Sources: J.D. Power, NHTSA, Car Complaints, RepairPal, CarEdge, iSeeCars
