10 Cars You’re Most Likely to Keep for a Decade

Japanese makes dominate a recent iSeeCars.com ranking of cars that owners are most likely to keep for 10 years.

Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars.com, describes this finding as “unsurprising,” noting Japanese automakers’ “reputation for reliability.”

For its study, the website analyzed more than 2.5 million cars from the 1981-2006 model years that were sold in 2016.

The analysis showed that, on average, 12.9 percent of original owners hold onto cars for at least a decade. By contrast, for the top 10 ranked cars in the study, 24 percent to 32.1 percent of original owners hold onto them for that long.

The top 10 cars are:

1. Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 32.1 percent of original owners keep the car for at least 10 years
2. Toyota Prius (hybrid): 32 percent
3. Toyota Highlander: 29 percent
4. Toyota Sienna: 28.7 percent
5. Honda Pilot: 27.2 percent
6. Honda CR-V: 25.2 percent
7. Toyota RAV4: 24.9 percent
8. Subaru Forester: 24.2 percent
9. Lexus RX (hybrid): 24.1 percent
10. Honda Odyssey: 24 percent

Ly was surprised that every vehicle in the top 10 besides the Toyota Prius was a minivan or SUV. He explains:

“… the makeup of the cars is unexpected. These kinds of cars tend to be used as family cars, so they might be expected to be kept for many years if they’re bought just as their owners start their new families.”

Trucks, on the other hand, tend to be used as heavy-work vehicles that are driven more than typical passenger cars, Ly notes. So they may not last as long.

The highest-ranked truck in iSeeCars.com’s analysis was the Honda Ridgeline, whose original owners were 22.2 percent more likely than average to hold onto for at least 10 years.

Ly was also surprised that three hybrid vehicles made the top 10. Fuel-cost savings accumulate after several years of ownership, though, he notes. So hybrid owners might hold onto their cars longer to offset costs.

Have you ever held onto a car for at least a decade? Let us know what type of car it was by commenting below or on our Facebook page.