Can You Research Car Reliability for Free?

Dear Driving for Dollars,

I'm starting to shop for a new car (well, new to me) and I know that it's important to check out the reliability ratings for the cars I'm looking at. Is there a way to do that for free?

- Kevin

Dear Kevin,

You are a smart man to look at a car's reliability ratings before you decide to buy it. The largest resource of this data is Consumer Reports, which publishes an annual study of both new and used cars where the information is gathered on about 1.1 million cars driven by its magazine and website subscribers. But this information does require a small charge for either buying the magazine issue with the data or buying at least a one-month subscription to the data online.

For car reliability information that is truly free, you can look online at web forums designed for owners of specific cars. Edmunds.com has numerous forums set up for a wide array of different models, so you might start there.

Other companies such as J.D. Power and CarMD perform annual reliability studies that they release to the public for free. These focus on either car reliability as a brand or on cars that get top rankings in the studies, so it's possible you may not see the data for the cars you are interested in.

Get more news, money-saving tips and expert advice by signing up for a free Bankrate newsletter.

Ask the adviser

If you have a car question, email it to us at Driving for Dollars. Read more Driving for Dollars columns and Bankrate auto stories. Follow her on Facebook here or on Twitter @SheDrives.

Bankrate's content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by Bankrate's Terms of Use.