If you're looking for a car that will retain its value, you might want to avoid luxury models. Luxury cars depreciate the most, with the Audi A6 losing 55.8% of its initial value after three years of ownership. According to iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly, “Three years is a popular age for used car buyers because cars have suffered a big depreciation blow, but they are likely to have many of the latest modern safety and technology features.” The cost of repairing and maintaining luxury cars is primarily responsible for their high depreciation rates. We rank the fastest depreciating luxury cars based on the amount of value they lose in the first five years of ownership.
The Audi A4 starts this list in tenth position, and almost all of the vehicles on this list have four (or more) doors, all but two in a traditional sedan format. The BMW 4 Series ranks eighth on the list of the largest depreciators, losing 51.7% of its value after three years of ownership. The second and third are the Chevrolet Sonic and the Volkswagen Jetta, both with a five-year average depreciation rate of 56.5%. Trucks and SUVs account for seven out of 10 spaces on the website's list of vehicles that enjoy the slowest depreciation rate.
Best-performing models for value retention will lose 19.4 to 39.5 percent of their original value after five years. The two main models in this regard are the Jeep Wrangler and the four-door Wrangler Unlimited, which historically have low depreciation rates.iSeeCars ranked car depreciation small compacts and subcompact relative to the segment average, which is 36.3 percent. iSeeCars ranked the depreciation of mid-size luxury cars relative to the segment average, which is 53.6 percent. iSeeCars ranked the depreciation of small luxury cars relative to the segment average, which is 46.4 percent. Understanding vehicle depreciation is an important factor in helping buyers of new and used cars make an informed decision to purchase cars from the dealership.
While the average new luxury car loses 40-50% of its original value in the first five years of ownership, some models tend to lose much more. If you want to buy a car that will retain its value, you should consider pickup trucks, truck-based SUVs and sports cars instead of luxury models. The new cars that retain the highest value after five years are pickup trucks, truck-based SUVs and sports cars, while luxury cars depreciate the most.
