Are you familiar with your car’s resale value?
When buying a car, being mindful of its resale value is essential. While you probably won’t list a vehicle in the “for sale by owner” classified section on a website, you’ll almost definitely trade your vehicle in or sell it to a reseller like CarMax. Knowing which cars hold their value, however, can be tricky.
We tend to think of value retention for auto brands rather than for specific vehicles. As newly compiled data shows, the brands you think hold their value best actually do, so no major surprises on that front. The vehicles that hold their value best, however, might surprise you.
Cole Attisha
These brands and vehicles hold their value best
Japanese brands tend to have the best value retention, according to US News, which compiled a list of the 14 vehicles that lose value the slowest. The data is specific to 2022 model-year vehicles, comparing the value when purchased new with the trade-in or resale value today. Toyota, unsurprisingly, dominates the list. Of the 14 vehicles that hold their value best, the Japanese automaker makes nine. We’ll also give Toyota a half-point for the Subaru Crosstrek, as the automaker has a 20 percent stake in Subaru. Of the remaining four vehicles, Ford, Nissan, Honda, and Kia each have one.
Surprisingly, the Toyota Corolla Cross has the best retained value, losing only 2.63 percent over three years. The Toyota 4Runner (4.85 percent), Toyota C-HR (4.89 percent), Subaru Crosstrek (4.90 percent), and Toyota Tacoma (5.34 percent) round out the top five. The Ford Mustang ranks sixth, with 5.41 percent of its value lost over three years. It’s important to note this is specific to the Mustang, not the Mustang Mach-E. The Nissan Versa is in seventh place, the Honda Civic is in ninth place, and the Kia Rio is in 11th place.
Why this data matters for you
In some areas of the United States, used vehicles are more popular. In Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa, Montana, and Oregon, used-vehicle shoppers are looking for vehicles that are, on average, over six years old. Spokane, Washington-area used-car shoppers are eyeing vehicles that are nearly seven years old.
Car dealerships that accept trade-ins often sell those vehicles at auction or ship them to other dealerships in the company, where they might sell better. You can negotiate trade-in value to some degree, but not as much as you’d probably like. If one of the 14 vehicles on US News’ list is on your radar, give it heavy consideration; when it comes time to trade it in, you’ll be glad you did.
Final thoughts
The elephant in the room is that there are no electric vehicles on this list. That’s because EVs lose value at 13 percent, on average. As much as we fawn over them, and as fun as they are to drive, few people want to buy a used EV. With battery degradation and the poor trim materials used in many EVs, it’s easy to see why, but that trend may be changing.
