About Bestest
Bestest was founded by the former head of vehicle reviews and ratings at Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader. He spent more than 20 years driving and researching cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans, with an honest passion for helping shoppers find the good cars and avoid the bad ones. If you've ever trusted an expert-based Kelley Blue Book review, rating, or award, there's a good chance you've trusted Jason Allan's guidance in one way or another.
The original idea for Bestest was born from a realization that all the big sites are promoting listings for the very vehicles they're trying to steer shoppers away from.
"These are the used cars you should avoid — and here are thousands of them for sale!"
It's good for business, but it makes car shopping far more nerve-wracking and time-consuming than it needs to be.
Bestest is making car shopping easier than ever. The only cars you'll find on Bestest are the ones that consistently earn high marks from the people who actually test and analyze them — Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, Car and Driver, MotorTrend, Edmunds, NHTSA, and IIHS, among others.
So instead of spending an average of 14 hours researching their way to a smart decision, Bestest shoppers can simply show up and browse a collection of top-tier used vehicles already curated by 20 years of research and experience.
And we don't just ban bad models. We also filter out the second-tier dealers and high-mileage clutter that shoppers also have to rummage through on other sites. Every car on Bestest is offered by a manufacturer-certified franchise dealer, and has no more than five model years or 50,000 miles on the clock.
Clearly, there isn't an easier way to make a smart used-car purchase.
Our banned list is dozens of vehicles long, ranging from particular trims to entire models. A few examples:
The Toyota RAV4 is one of the most recommendable used cars on the market. But not the LE trim. The cheapest RAV4 disproportionately comes from rental and corporate fleets, is missing some key equipment, and stepping up to the XLE is well worth what should be an extra $2,000. So we don't list RAV4 LEs on Bestest.
The Hyundai Tucson is another Bestest-approved model. But not the 2022 Tucson Hybrid. Hyundai redesigned the Tucson for 2022 and added a brand-new hybrid powertrain at the same time. The result was a flood of reliability complaints — fuel injector failures, transmission problems, hybrid systems shutting down at highway speeds. Hyundai is widely known for fixing problems quickly, and the 2023 was much better. So you'll find the 2023 Tucson Hybrid on Bestest, but not the 2022.
More often, a model just doesn't make the cut at all. Take the Jeep Grand Cherokee — legendary name, looks the part, badge has cachet. But Jeep finished dead last in Consumer Reports' 2026 Auto Brand Report Card — for the third year running. The 2022 Grand Cherokee alone has racked up more than 20 NHTSA recalls, including steering and suspension failures. We wouldn't put a friend in one, so we won't put you in one.
By limiting our inventory to proven models, approved dealers, and clean listings, Bestest doesn't work for everyone. Shoppers looking for a $10,000 used car will need to look elsewhere, as our cheapest listings typically start around $17,000.
But for shoppers who just want to buy a great used car without burning weekends to do it — the majority, we've learned — Bestest is the best way there is.
— Jason Allan
Founder, Bestest
