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Toyota vs Volkswagen

Toyota or Volkswagen — what we actually found

Side by side from 757 Toyotas and 131 Volkswagens buyers asked us to inspect before purchase. The average car we check scores 61/100.

vs
Head to head
ToyotaVolkswagen
Cars inspected757131
Average condition63/10059/100
In good shape (60+/100)57%51%
Holds up to (avg dips below decent)~146k mi~120k mi
Repainted or replaced panel78%76%
Structural repair found4%3%
Fault codes recently cleared18%24%

Green = the better number of the pair. Condition reflects the mix of cars that came to us — age, price, model — so treat small gaps as a tie.

How they score
Excellent 29% Good 28% Mediocre 24% Poor 19%
Excellent 17% Good 34% Mediocre 32% Poor 18%
How long do they stay good?
Good cars by mileage
▬ Toyota▬ Volkswagen▬ all cars
0 25 50 75 100 Toyota, 0–20k mi: 100% in good shape (24 cars)Toyota, 20–40k mi: 90% in good shape (61 cars)Toyota, 40–60k mi: 80% in good shape (56 cars)Toyota, 60–80k mi: 85% in good shape (96 cars)Toyota, 80–100k mi: 59% in good shape (73 cars)Toyota, 100–120k mi: 61% in good shape (107 cars)Toyota, 120–140k mi: 45% in good shape (83 cars)Toyota, 140–160k mi: 34% in good shape (90 cars)Toyota, 160–180k mi: 32% in good shape (65 cars)Toyota, 180–200k mi: 22% in good shape (36 cars)Toyota, 200–220k mi: 22% in good shape (23 cars) Volkswagen, 20–40k mi: 78%, drawn from the nearby bands (11 cars in this band)Volkswagen, 40–60k mi: 65%, drawn from the nearby bands (11 cars in this band)Volkswagen, 60–80k mi: 48% in good shape (23 cars)Volkswagen, 80–100k mi: 36% in good shape (36 cars)Volkswagen, 100–120k mi: 43%, drawn from the nearby bands (19 cars in this band)Volkswagen, 120–140k mi: 47%, drawn from the nearby bands (12 cars in this band)Volkswagen, 140–160k mi: 37%, drawn from the nearby bands (8 cars in this band) 40k 80k 120k 160k 200k mileage when we inspected it
Good cars by age
▬ Toyota▬ Volkswagen▬ all cars
0 25 50 75 100 Toyota, 1 years old: 100% in good shape (20 cars)Toyota, 2 years old: 94% in good shape (36 cars)Toyota, 3 years old: 89% in good shape (27 cars)Toyota, 4 years old: 93% in good shape (30 cars)Toyota, 5 years old: 88% in good shape (43 cars)Toyota, 6 years old: 78% in good shape (41 cars)Toyota, 7 years old: 73% in good shape (44 cars)Toyota, 8 years old: 74% in good shape (43 cars)Toyota, 9 years old: 56% in good shape (59 cars)Toyota, 10 years old: 67% in good shape (52 cars)Toyota, 11 years old: 61% in good shape (36 cars)Toyota, 12 years old: 45% in good shape (42 cars)Toyota, 13 years old: 33% in good shape (55 cars)Toyota, 14 years old: 39% in good shape (41 cars)Toyota, 15 years old: 32% in good shape (44 cars)Toyota, 16 years old: 28% in good shape (29 cars) Volkswagen, 2 years old: 94%, drawn from the nearby bands (5 cars this age)Volkswagen, 3 years old: 95%, drawn from the nearby bands (5 cars this age)Volkswagen, 4 years old: 82%, drawn from the nearby bands (8 cars this age)Volkswagen, 6 years old: 69%, drawn from the nearby bands (10 cars this age)Volkswagen, 7 years old: 57%, drawn from the nearby bands (15 cars this age)Volkswagen, 8 years old: 54%, drawn from the nearby bands (11 cars this age)Volkswagen, 9 years old: 43%, drawn from the nearby bands (17 cars this age)Volkswagen, 10 years old: 43%, drawn from the nearby bands (12 cars this age)Volkswagen, 11 years old: 44%, drawn from the nearby bands (12 cars this age)Volkswagen, 13 years old: 24%, drawn from the nearby bands (7 cars this age)Volkswagen, 14 years old: 53%, drawn from the nearby bands (8 cars this age) 2y 4y 6y 8y 10y 12y 14y 16y vehicle age when we inspected it

Share in good shape (scoring 60+/100) by mileage and by age when we inspected them (each dot ≥5 cars; a band under 20 cars follows the nearby bands, so a run above the all-cars line stays above it, and a band of 20 or more uses the rate we measured; where a band has too few cars, the line follows the trend between the bands on either side; rolled-back odometers excluded from the mileage curve). Dashed grey = all cars we check.

Most common faults
Oil leaks · Engine
47%
Tires condition & wear · Brakes and tires
36%
Active error codes · Electronic equipment
27%
Fuel trim out of range · Engine
21%
Leaking or worn shock absorbers · Suspension
20%
Oil leaks · Engine
76%
Active error codes · Electronic equipment
50%
Tires condition & wear · Brakes and tires
41%
Fuel trim out of range · Engine
27%
Electronic components issues · Engine
18%
Trajectory by generation
Toyota ▲ Newer Toyotas are holding up better 40% 60% 80% 2012–14: 69% in good shape (age-adjusted; 59 cars, raw 64%) 69 2015–17: 74% in good shape (age-adjusted; 119 cars, raw 70%) 74 2018–20: 74% in good shape (age-adjusted; 73 cars, raw 79%) 74 2021+: 76% in good shape (age-adjusted; 19 cars, raw 89%) 76 2009–11 2012–14 2015–17 2018–20 2021+
Volkswagen ▲ Newer Volkswagens are holding up better 40% 60% 80% 2012–14: 40% in good shape (age-adjusted; 19 cars, raw 37%) 40 2015–17: 56% in good shape (age-adjusted; 25 cars, raw 52%) 56 2018–20: 69% in good shape (age-adjusted; 15 cars, raw 73%) 69 2009–11 2012–14 2015–17 2018–20 2021+

Share in good shape when inspected at the same age (5–10 years, age-adjusted), by model-year generation; dashed = all-brand average. All brands →

Whichever badge wins on paper, the car in front of you is its own story. Get it inspected before you pay.
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Based on 888 inspections · updated Oct 22, 2026