Best Car Brands to Buy in Mexico

Best Car Brands to Buy in Mexico… and Lake Chapala

Ever wondered what the best car brands to buy in Mexico are? The answers might not surprise you, but there are still a lot of things that you should consider in order to avoid car ownership headaches and instead vastly improve the experience.

When buying a vehicle in Mexico, there are three important things to consider prior to starting the search for which to buy. These apply to both new and used cars.

Reliability

The most important aspect of a problem-free vehicle ownership experience is buying a car that won’t cause many problems. All vehicles will certainly experience an issue or two now and then – they are machines after all. However, you can greatly reduce your chances of going through the walk of shame at your mechanic’s but buying a vehicle model that’s known for being dependable.

Maintenance and repairs

Also very important is how easy and affordable the vehicle is to work on and get parts for. Can it serviced and fixed locally or does it have to go to a specialized shop or dealer in a nearby city? How expensive or inexpensive are replacement parts?

Resale

Not many people buy a car just to resell it, but in the event that you should have to… how much of your investment are you realistically going to get back?

In reality, you can spend as much or as little time as you’d like narrowing down which vehicle you want to buy, down to model, trim, and color.

For the purpose of this article, however, we will be keeping it very simple and stick to our top brands to buy and own in Mexico.

Honda

For decades, Honda has rightfully been one of the most popular and recognized car manufacturers in the world.

Their products, ranging from the Honda Civic to the Honda CR-V and everything in between have been the quality standard to which car manufacturers aspire to replicate.

Honda delivers an unmatched driving experience in every single one of their cars that’s fun, comfortable, and extremely reliable.

The brand has lost some ground in Mexico due to its higher pricing, compared to the Korean brands, and even other Japanese manufacturers like Mazda.

However, every penny spent on a Honda is well worth the investment.

Honda vehicles have some of the highest resale values in Mexico, due to the fact they are so highly desired and valuable.

Older Hondas are easier to work on than modern ones –just like with all cars- while parts and servicing are relatively problem-free.

If there’s a downside to owning a Honda is that if you should ever need a part replaced, it will also be higher priced than other brands.

Toyota

Much like Honda, Toyota has an excellent reputation for building a good vehicle.

Pricing for Toyotas in both the new and used markets will be more competitive when compared to alternatives sold by Honda.

They are also relatively easy to service and maintain with parts also being reasonable.

If there are any downsides to consider with Toyota, it would be the driving experience in general, as they aren’t as comfortable or nice to drive as other brands.

Dealer customer service can be hit and miss, depending on the group you visit. For the most part, though, many brands offer superior customer service in Mexico to Toyota.

Mazda

Mazda, in the past, wasn’t always known for making a good vehicle, other than the famous rotary engine RX-7 that’s still talked about to this day –and then the MX-5 (Miata).

The perception of Mazda has changed entirely over the last decade with the brand experiencing well-deserved success.

There isn’t a single vehicle that Mazda sells in Mexico that I wouldn’t recommend. They do an outstanding job at creating, marketing, and selling vehicles of superior quality.

Starting with the looks, feel, and driving dynamics of their cars, you know very well that you’re in a car that strikes well above its price range.

While they’ve drifted away from their “Zoom Zoom’ slogan of making a fun, zippy car, they’ve kept the sportiness alive while complementing it with qualities that you would normally find in a vehicle of higher value.

Mazda has a wide dealer system across Mexico that makes getting parts and services easy. Parts for Mazda, in general, aren’t the cheapest.

Kia & Hyundai

Not many people know that Kia and Hyundai are independently-owned brands that operate under the parent brand (Hyundai).

Each brand has its own vision and way of doing things, but they share a lot of similarities which translate to their vehicles.

While there are styling and mechanical differences between the models offered by the two brands, you can instantly tell that some of their counterparts share platforms; i.e. Tucson and Sportage, Seltos and Creta, Rio and HB20, etc.

Kia, in Mexico, has a better warranty of 7 years, compared to Hyundai’s 5 years. However, the difference washes away when you look at the pricing, with Kia being more expensive.

Kia has a bit of a wider dealer network in the country and I’ve found their servicing to be a bit better than Hyundai’s.

Being South Korean, their build quality and reliability are highly impressive. According to JD Power, and their 2023 U.S Vehicle Dependability Study, Kia outperformed Honda and Toyota and was only bested by Genesis (owned by Hyundai) and Lexus. Hyundai fell a bit short of Toyota.

The pricing for the South Korean brands is very impressive and much more competitive than the Japanese and Domestic brands.

Nissan

Nissan, as a whole, has been struggling plenty over the years to stay in business and has lacked the spark that once made it a top-selling brand across the globe.

In Mexico it’s a completely different story altogether – Nissan is and has been one of the top-selling car brands for years.

So, why is that? The answer is surprisingly simple; Nissans have a reputation for lasting.

Yes, I’ve heard countless stories and articles on the CVT failures that Nissans can suffer north of the border.

However, I can’t say I’ve ever experienced a case in Mexico, even with cars that have driven past the hundred-thousand-mile mark.

Nissans are easy to work on, parts are affordable, they’re reliable, have good suspensions and there’s an enormous dealer network in the country.

The only thing that would keep me from buying one is that there a bit boring to drive and their pricing has increased a lot over the last five years.

Ford & Chevrolet

This post wouldn’t be complete without me talking about the domestic brands.

Although I don’t have a joke for Chevrolet, I think we’ve all heard the Fix Or Repair Daily for Ford vehicles.

Having sold many of these and been around them enough, I’m not going to agree completely with the comments people make on domestic brands – but I won’t disagree either.

When it comes to buying and owning a pickup truck, you will have a hard time finding a better product than a Ford or a Chevrolet – although I’m personally a big fan of Ram trucks.

The Japanese do a good job, but I would still take something like an F-150 or Silverado over a Frontier or Tundra.

Their full-sized and midsize SUVs are pretty great cars too. I have yet to meet a Suburban or Expedition owner who dislikes their vehicle. The new Ford Escape and Chevrolet Blazer are also interesting prospects.

Going down to their smaller and more affordable options, I would definitely stick to Japanese or Korean if I had a choice.

Premium Brands

One of the biggest misconceptions with people who have never visited Mexico is that it’s not safe or a good idea to drive a luxury car in the country.

While there’s no denying that our roads aren’t the greatest and will be very harsh on a premium car, there is still a large demand for those – even in smaller towns like the ones surrounding Lake Chapala.

These vehicles will, of course, be very difficult to service locally and will instead need to be maintained and/or repaired in Guadalajara.

Parts will be very expensive, although not as difficult to source as some might think.

Some of the most popular luxury brands you will see around Guadalajara and the Lake Chapala are:

• Lexus
• Mercedes Benz
• BMW
• Mini
• Volvo
• Acura
• Porsche

For those interested in purchasing a premium vehicle, we have plenty of experience with them and can facilitate selling them without issue.

Final Thoughts

Mexico, now more than ever, is offering more brands to car buyers than ever before.

However, having so many options to choose from can often confuse people and lead them down a road of confusion.

My piece of advice is to stick with what you know and don’t take a gamble on an unknown brand or product, just because the specifications and features look nice.

This is happening a lot with the introduction of the latest Chinese-owned brands such as MG, Chirey, Changan, etc.

While the designs, prices, and features look impressive, I can assure you that the build quality is far from what it seems and long-term ownership will be nothing but a series of problems.

There’s a reason that still, to this day, people buy and trust the brands that we covered in this article.

Ultimately, we will assist the client in buying whichever car they want, but it is our job to share any information we have at our disposal so that they make an educated decision.