The Car Brand That Makes Drivers the Happiest Isn’t the One They Keep the Longest
Most car enthusiasts have a story about “The one that got away.” There’s a car they once loved but chose to sell. Now, they wish they’d hung onto it. Statistically, that vehicle is most likely to be a BMW. And I have the data to prove it.
BMW is the most beloved mainstream automotive brand
Consumer Reports ranked the most beloved car brands by surveying 380,000 drivers about their most recent vehicle purchase. When asked if they’d buy the same exact car again, a whopping 71% of BMW drivers said, “Heck yeah.” This is the third straight year Bayerische Motoren Werke has trounced every other major automaker in owner satisfaction. The only owners who said “yes” more often were drivers of electric trucks and SUVs built by the Rivian startup.
So if BMW drivers love their cars so much, they must keep them a long time. Right? Um…no.
The experts at iSeeCars analyzed the data from 660,000 used car sales. Their goal: rank which makes and models new car buyers keep the longest.
One car brand was the clear winner. Of Toyota’s still on the road after 15 years or longer, 9.8% are still at the hands of driver number one. Second place went to 15-year-old Hondas, 8.1% of which are still with their original owner. The average 15-year-old car of any brand comes in at 6.1%. Three luxury brands even made the iSeeCars Top 10 list: Acura (7.9%), Chrysler (5.5%), and Lexus (5.2%). But one automaker was noticeably absent: BMW.
The real reason BMW drivers don’t keep their cars
So if BMW drivers love their cars so much, why don’t they keep them around? The answer may come down to durability. I actually bought a classic BMW to debunk the myth of German build quality.
But you don’t have to rely on my anecdotal experience. The iSeeCars experts also analyzed the registration data of 174 million cars to rank which brand had the best shot at still being on the road after 250,000 miles.
Number one went to—you guessed it—Toyota, with a 17.8% chance of seeing 250,000 miles. Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, earned a 12.8% for the number two spot. Then Honda (10.8%) and its luxury brand Acura (7.2%) rounded out the top four.
So where did BMW land? Of the 32 automakers ranked, Beamers got #26. So, they beat out Land Rover, Jaguar, and Maserati. As well as BMW’s “Mini” sub-brand. That’s not much to brag about. I was surprised BMW ranked higher than both Volkswagen and Audi.
So what’s the chance of your BMW hitting 250,000 miles? Precisely 0.4%. Less than one in every 200 beamers will last into ultra high-mileage. But it’s not all bad news. When Consumer Reports asked owners about major breakdowns, it ranked BMW more reliable than any Detroit automaker.
The sweet spot between satisfaction and reliability
Is there a sweet spot? Absolutely. Consumer Reports found that 69% of Subaru owners would happily buy their car all over again. What’s more, Subaru dethroned Toyota to earn CR’s “most reliable automaker” crown for 2024 (but then took second again for 2025). iSeeCars reports that Subarus have a 2.3% chance of hitting 250,000 miles. That’s below the 4.8% average across all vehicles. Still, it’s still one of the brands drivers keep the longest: Of Subarus still on the road after 15 years, 8% of them are still with an original buyer who just can’t let them go.
