Special Report

Cars That Keep Their Value the Longest


While everyone knows that as soon as you drive a car off the dealership lot it drops in value, this is not always the first thing on the minds of new car buyers. But maybe it should be, especially given how much more some cars depreciate compared to others. According to a recent report, some cars lost as much as 70% of their value within just five years, while others lost just 30% within the same period.

These findings are based on a report released by used car listing web site iSeeCars.com. The report found that new 2014 model cars sold that year depreciated by 49.6%, on average, based on their used sale price in 2019. The 20 models on this list depreciated by 45% or less.

Most of the cars that held their value the longest are trucks, SUVs, and sports cars, while the cars that lost the most value are primarily electric vehicles and luxury sedans. This closely mirrors the general trend of customer preferences in the U.S. auto market in recent years.

After gas prices fell precipitously in 2014 and have remained below $3.00 per gallon, fewer buyers have chosen cars based on fuel efficiency, and as sales of electric vehicles in particular have suffered, sales of larger vehicles have skyrocketed. These are the worst-selling cars of the decade.

There are other factors affecting how much value a car retains, including how well the vehicles hold together over time. Another important factor is whether the model attracts a lot of buyers on the used car market. For example, there are two versions of the Jeep Wrangler on this list. In their press release, iSeeCars attributed the Wrangler’s value retention to its durability as well as to the highly loyal group of Jeep buyers who drive demand for used models. These are the car brands with the most loyal customers.

Click here to see the cars that keep their value the longest
Click here to see the cars that lose their value the quickest
Click here to see our methodology 

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