Touting the widespread gains in used-vehicle reliability, Consumer Reports has come out in its latest Annual Auto issue with a message that will likely be welcome news to the used-car business.

The publication is saying that buying a used car is becoming “less risky,” and backs that up with its findings that nearly every carmaker has bolstered its reliability in recent years.

In fact, analysts discovered that three-year-old used vehicles in 2011 were more dependable than they were just nine years earlier.

Consumer Reports arrived at this conclusion by taking the data from its 2011 Annual Auto survey and calculating the percent of each respective automaker’s vehicles that had no serious problems reported during the 12-month survey period. The publication covered 13 automakers and considered only three-year-old vehicles.

Consumer Reports compared these calculations to the findings from its 2002 survey, and it discovered that nearly every automaker showed improvement.

In fact, seven automakers (Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler) climbed at least 10 percentage points.

Even the OEM that placed last in this year’s rankings, BMW, climbed 2 percentage points from 2002. This year, 70 percent of its vehicles were found to be problem-free.

Topping the list was Toyota, where 84 percent of three-year-old vehicles were trouble-free. Next was Subaru (81 percent), followed by Honda (80 percent).

The leading domestic OEM was Ford, which tied Volvo in fifth place (78 percent).

“In its analysis of used cars, Consumer Reports also tracked extremes from 2007 models — five models that started out with few problems and stayed reliable as they turned five years old and five models that started out with a few more problems and got much worse over time,” editors noted.

“The 2007 Toyota Prius averaged six problems per 100 cars in its first year and 26 at age five; the Mini Cooper S hatchback averaged nine per 100 cars in the first year and 113 by age five,” they added.

New-Car Rankings

On the new-car side, the issue also included the annual Top Picks, which were dominated by Toyota. In fact, this year marks the first time since 2003 (when Honda accomplished this feat) that one brand has grabbed half of the top 10.

“Every year the competition grows tighter; in recent years as many as nine different brands have taken the top spots. Combined with the improved Camry, Toyota’s ability to maintain a competitive lead among hybrids and SUVs is a big factor in its strong presence on this year’s list,” said Rik Paul, Consumer Reports’ automotive editor.

The following are Consumer Reports’ Top Picks by segment:

Family sedan: Toyota Camry Hybrid
Sporty car: Ford Mustang
Small SUV: Toyota RAV4
Affordable family sedan: Hyundai Sonata
Family hauler: Toyota Sienna V6
Sports sedan: Infiniti G
Green car: Toyota Prius
Small car: Subaru Impreza
Pickup truck: Chevrolet Avalanche
Family SUV: Toyota Highlander

In another new-car item, Consumer Reports also released annual automaker report cards for the issue.

For the first time ever, Subaru claimed top honors with a score of 75, thanks largely to successful redesigns. Mazda, Toyota and Honda followed, respectively.

“While Japanese automakers still hold the top five spots, their lead is shrinking. In some of Honda’s and Toyota’s recently redesigned models, cost-cutting has become more noticeable,” stated David Champion, senior director of the Consumer Reports Automotive Test Center.

Sharing some domestic results, officials noted that Ford fell to 10th after placing No. 5 last year. Chrysler placed last (13th) but added eight points to its score.

“GM and Chrysler are building nicer cars with each redesign. Still, their scores are dragged down by several older designs that score low in Consumer Reports testing or have reliability issues," Champion said. “As more new products are introduced, their fortunes could change if they can improve their overall reliability.”

The 2012 Annual Auto issue will include a host of other used- and new-vehicle information and rankings and will be available in print on March 6. It can also be seen at www.consumerreports.org.