When it comes to new goods, few items depreciate quicker than a brand new car – the moment you drive it from the dealership its shedding pounds! On average, a three year old car will have lost around 40-45% of its initial value, depending on mileage and general condition: some depreciate even faster than that. However, there are a number of cars which hold their values much better, though they tend to be those among the more expensive to purchase in the first place. This article looks at a handful of the cars that retain the highest resale value as a percentage of initial cost – plus those in the smaller car market that hold their value better than their rivals.
1. Porsche Cayenne
One of the most prestigious sports car brands also commands reasonable resale values, and with the Cayenne diesel model Porsche have created a vehicle which tops the list of best resale prices. The Cayenne retails at a figure pushing £50,000 but research suggests those three years later, the average resale value comes in at 85% of the original price – this dwarfs pretty much all other vehicles both in this class and in the entire car market.
2. Honda Jazz
Small cars generally depreciate markedly faster than other marques, and it’s not uncommon to see values fall by over 50% within two or three years. The Honda Jazz is a sturdy, well-built car that hangs onto its value slightly better than its rivals such as the Ford Ka or Kia Picanto. It is also pretty cheap to buy, and is a safe bet for newer drivers due to cheap learner driver insurance alongside its many other qualities. The Fiat 500 and Hyundai i10 are also well placed in this category.
3. Seat Ibiza
As with the superminis, small family cars offer good value when purchased, but can rapidly depreciate – this is not of course a major problem if you intend to hang onto your car for many years, but if you like to refresh your car and trade it in every few years, loss of resale value is a bigger issue. The Seat Ibiza holds value better than most cars in this category, both the newer, post-2008 models and those from 2002 onwards. The much-improved Kia Rio is also a good bet to get a reasonable return after three years.
4. MPVs
MPVs and larger utility vehicles often retain value much better than smaller road cars. The Renault Kangoo and Citroen Berlingo are good bets in this class, while more expensive utility vehicles such as the Skoda Yeti or Audi Q5 hold value extremely well – the Q5 retains an estimated 73% of its value over three years according to various sources.
5. Luxury cars
As you would expect, luxury cars such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis will always command good resale value due to their relative scarcity and high demand from investors and enthusiasts. Classic sports cars such as the Morgan Roadster or the two seat Lotus 2-Eleven demand resale prices pushing 70%, and are perennially in demand.
In general solid, sturdy cars with decent specification, a high build quality or a sporty edge do well when it comes to low depreciation. The Audi Q5 is probably the class leader among the more popular and available cars in the UK, while the much rarer and pricier Porsche Cayenne has the edge across all groups with its near 85% resale value after three years or 30,000 miles.
Motoring Con Brio 