If you are in the market for a used car, Saturday morning is when most people have time to hit the car yards to find the best car at the best price.

Buying a safe second-hand car just became easier with the release of the latest Used Car Safety Ratings Guide by Transport for NSW and its partners.

Secretary of Transport for NSW Josh Murray said the 2023 Used Car Safety Ratings guide rates 388 vehicles manufactured since the year 2000.

“The guide now has a new Overall Safety Rating for each vehicle. It assesses the risk of death or serious injury if the vehicle is involved in a crash for not only those in the vehicle but people in other vehicles and pedestrians,” Mr Murray said. 

“Vehicles are also rated for driver safety, how well the vehicle protects other road users, and crash avoidance.”

Mr Murray said the ratings were sponsored by Transport for NSW to help consumers choose the safest used car within their budget.

“Some of the highest safety rated cars in this year’s guide include small, medium and large SUVs such as the Mazda CX-3, Toyota C-HR, Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mazda CX-9 and Nissan Pathfinder,” he said.

“Of the cars included in this year’s guide, 106 earned an excellent (5-star) rating. Pleasingly, that figure is 51 higher than last year.” The best of the 5-star vehicles are marked as a ‘SAFER PICK’ in the guide to recognise their very high levels of safety and driver assistance technology.

Most of the vehicles given a ‘SAFER PICK’ rating were manufactured from 2006 onwards, demonstrating the benefits of more advanced safety equipment and design improvements such as anti-lock braking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and autonomous emergency braking. 

“These systems help better protect the driver, lower the risk of serious injuries to other road users and also lower the risk of the vehicle being involved in a crash,” Mr Murray said.

“While everyone has different budgets, the guide shows you don’t have to pick the most expensive car on the market to make a safer choice.”

The guide was developed by the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) on behalf of Transport for NSW and other members of the Vehicle Safety Research Group. 

MUARC analysed around 9.2 million vehicles and 2.5 million injured road users involved in road crashes in Australia and New Zealand between 1987 and 2021.

The guide is available at: https://towardszero.nsw.gov.au/safesystem/safe-vehicles.

The Lismore App has used cars at your fingertips in our Cars For Sale button on the front page.