Cars That Keep Their Value the Longest
December 17, 2019 by Mike Sauter
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
20. Subaru BRZ
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -45.0% (-$13,905)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $30,881
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $16,976
> Vehicle type: Coupe
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19. Honda CR-V
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -44.9% (-$13,487)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $30,043
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $16,556
> Vehicle type: SUV
18. Toyota Highlander
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -44.6% (-$19,469)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $43,608
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $24,139
> Vehicle type: SUV
17. Toyota RAV4
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -44.6% (-$12,886)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $28,864
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $15,978
> Vehicle type: SUV
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16. Dodge Challenger
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -44.4% (-$15,337)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $34,563
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $19,226
> Vehicle type: Coupe
15. Ford Mustang
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -44.4% (-$14,252)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $32,083
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $17,831
> Vehicle type: Coupe
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14. Honda Civic
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -44.2% (-$9,698)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $21,948
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $12,250
> Vehicle type: Coupe
13. Subaru Impreza
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -43.7% (-$9,874)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $22,602
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $12,728
> Vehicle type: Sedan
12. GMC Sierra 1500
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -43.0% (-$19,251)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $44,780
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $25,529
> Vehicle type: Pickup
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11. Chevrolet Silverado 1500
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -42.0% (-$18,733)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $44,601
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $25,868
> Vehicle type: Pickup
10. Subaru Impreza WRX
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -40.0% (-$13,659)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $34,157
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $20,498
> Vehicle type: Sedan
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9. Nissan Frontier
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -39.5% (-$11,853)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $30,014
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $18,161
> Vehicle type: Pickup
8. Nissan GT-R
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -39.4% (-$44,476)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $112,968
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $68,492
> Vehicle type: Coupe
7. Honda Ridgeline
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -38.1% (-$13,954)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $36,617
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $22,663
> Vehicle type: Pickup
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6. Porsche 911
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -37.2% (-$53,595)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $144,082
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $90,487
> Vehicle type: Coupe
5. Toyota 4Runner
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -36.5% (-$15,132)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $41,472
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $26,340
> Vehicle type: SUV
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4. Toyota Tundra
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -35.9% (-$15,136)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $42,160
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $27,024
> Vehicle type: Pickup
24/7 Wall St.
3. Toyota Tacoma
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -32.0% (-$10,101)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $31,570
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $21,469
> Vehicle type: Pickup
2. Jeep Wrangler
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -31.5% (-$10,203)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $32,385
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $22,182
> Vehicle type: SUV
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1. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
> Model depreciation after 5 years: -30.0% (-$12,188)
> Avg. 2014 price for a new model: $40,571
> Avg. 2019 price of a used 2014 model: $28,383
> Vehicle type: SUV
Methodology:
24/7 Wall St. listed the 20 models with the smallest average value depreciation between 2014 and 2019. This list came from used car listing website iSeeCars.com. iSeeCars differentiated some models by body type — for example, the Porsche 911 convertible and the Porsche 911 coupe. To avoid repetition, we only list the body type of the model with the smallest depreciation after five years.
iSeeCars.com analyzed nearly 7 million 2014 model year cars sold in 2014, and over 800,000 used cars from the same model year sold between January and October 2019. New car prices from 2014 were inflation-adjusted to 2019 dollars, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Low-volume vehicles, heavy-duty trucks and vans, and models no longer in production as of the 2019 model year were removed from further analysis.
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