3 Of The Most Reliable German Automobile Brands, According To Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports releases an annual list of automobile brands, rating them on several fronts. Nevertheless, among the many scores to keep watch over, reliability is one among the more significant evaluation categories. CR’s reliability rankings for brand new and used vehicles are even featured by automakers attempting to persuade customers of their dependability. As well as, there’s also a “Predicted Reliability” rating, which is indicated through one among five symbols representing “Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.”

The information behind these scores is derived through extensive owner surveys, which give Consumer Reports with a whole bunch of hundreds of responses. Essentially, members are asked to detail any issues they’ve had during the last yr with their vehicles, how serious they’d rank them, and if the issues were covered by warranty. While they won’t be perfect, these yearly reports do offer some helpful insights that may aid potential buyers in making a more informed decision.

Germany has a wealthy heritage of automobile history and offers several of today’s most high-profile premium and luxury models. Your favorite German cars likely represent a big selection of various eras. Nevertheless, with data from Kelly Blue Book revealing a record high average of $50,000 for brand new vehicles, it’s crucial to discover which brands offer probably the most longevity and fewest variety of problems. On this case, it is going to be BMW, Porsche, and Audi, with those automakers capturing one of the best overall brand rankings — all placing in the highest six.

BMW is widely admired amongst automotive fans for its cutting-edge technology, performance, and growing EV offerings. In line with BMW, within the third quarter of 2025, the best-selling model in North America was the X3 with 20,980 units sold. The brand new fourth-generation BMW X3 is the weirdest-looking one yet, but it surely’s also packed stuffed with tech and powered by a hybrid system. Fortunately, amongst German brands, BMW achieves one of the best scores with an overall position of 2nd. Nevertheless, by way of reliability specifically, Consumer Reports places it eighth for brand new models, and twelfth for used automobile reliability.

Throughout the “Predicted Reliability” category, Consumer Reports utilizes probably the most current data, and averages the scores from the previous three years — so long as no major model overhaul has taken place for the most recent iteration. BMW received a “good” rating, indicating that while newer vehicles aren’t expected to enhance their reliability much over previous years, the automaker is remaining consistent, and owners are unlikely to face many problems.

Nevertheless, one area where BMW didn’t rank well was in maintenance and repair costs, placing twenty third. This is not surprising, as luxury vehicles are typically costlier to maintain running. Those searching for used BMWs should investigate warranty options or put aside some additional funds for a mechanic, just in case.

While famous for its performance sports cars, the range of models and expansion into other vehicle genres like SUVs over the past few many years, has widened the automakers appeal. The most well-liked model from Porsche as of late, is the Macan compact SUV, with sales jumping 15% from previous quarters, in response to Porsche.

Unfortunately, Consumer Reports doesn’t offer rankings for either recent or used automobile reliability across Porsche’s lineup. It did grab the number 4 slot for the general category, with a “good” rating typically for its estimated reliability going forward. The 2025 Macan, Cayenne, 718 Boxster, and Taycan EV were all tested by the client advocacy organization. The outcomes showcased the best predicted reliability coming from the Macan (gasoline engine version), while the opposite models featured a mean rating amongst their peers.

Much like BMW, the monetary requirements of upkeep for Porsche puts it in twenty seventh place for maintenance and repair costs, ever worse than BMW. From the handful of models Consumer Reports has tested, Porsche doesn’t offer owners many issues. But when it does, those issues can get expensive.

With its emphasis on sporty models, premium construction, and forward-thinking design, Audi stays a well-liked alternative with discerning drivers. The Q5 was handily a favourite amongst buyers in early 2025, further solidifying the familiar pattern of drivers selecting SUVs over other options. We were capable of get a while behind the wheel with the 2025 Audi Q5, and we were pleasantly surprised that the automaker hasn’t chosen to mess with a very good thing.

Coming in sixth overall, Audi scored one of the best by way of recent automobile reliability with a rating of seven, outperforming BMW’s position. Nevertheless, Audi didn’t do as well with its used reliability, which Consumer Reports puts at 14th. 

Regarding maintenance expenses, this automaker falls right in between BMW and Porsche, sitting at twenty fifth place. Again, this likely won’t be a shock to those accustomed to the brand. Its luxury features are present across all models and trims, raising the price of repairs. While its recent models are really helpful, Consumer Reports doesn’t advise choosing used Audis on account of the potential of wallet-crushing fix-it bills.