Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
Fri Feb 1, 2019, 03:11 AM Feb 2019

These 10 New Cars are Best at Retaining Their Value One Year After Purchase

One could argue that buying these cars new makes more sense than buying them lightly used.

Depreciation can be a blessing for used car shoppers and a nightmare for new car buyers. Some cars can lose as much as half of their value in just three years, but other cars depreciate so slowly that it arguably makes more sense to buy them new rather than used.

Car research site iSeeCars has put together a study on one-year depreciation rates across the auto industry. It discovered the top 10 slowest-depreciating cars after one year and found some interesting data pertaining to the gap between the outliers and the average specimens.

“While buying a lightly used car generally saves you money, there are certain models that can be more economical when purchased new,” said iSeeCars in an email to The Drive. So, how did they get their data? “iSeeCars.com analyzed over 7 million new and used cars sold from August 2018 to January 2019, comparing the prices of new cars to lightly used equivalents and identifying those with the lowest price differences.”

The overall average one-year depreciation rate is 30.2 percent, but every car on the list below loses less than 15 percent of its value in one year. Here are the top 10, in order, with the average price difference between used and new by both percentage and dollar amount.


1. Honda HR-V: 10.5 percent | $2,260
2. BMW X1: 11.7 percent | $4,194
3. Subaru Crosstrek: 12.2 percent | $2,978
4. Honda CR-V: 12.2 percent | $3,230
5. Toyota Tacoma: 12.3 percent | $3,891
6. Honda Civic: 12.3 percent | $2,505
7. Honda Pilot: 12.8 percent | $4,518
8. Mazda CX-5: 13.4 percent | $3,457
9. Porsche Macan: 14.5 percent | $8,302
10. Subaru Impreza: 14.7 percent | $3,035


Read more: http://www.thedrive.com/news/26242/these-10-new-cars-are-best-at-retaining-their-value-one-year-after-purchase

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
These 10 New Cars are Best at Retaining Their Value One Year After Purchase (Original Post) Rhiannon12866 Feb 2019 OP
YES!!!! Number 3 whistler162 Feb 2019 #1
Kudos! Rhiannon12866 Feb 2019 #2
The value to me is paying off the car and low maintenance costs. sinkingfeeling Feb 2019 #3
This message was self-deleted by its author sinkingfeeling Feb 2019 #4
You can hedge your bets but a car is worth what somebody is willing to pay for it mitch96 Feb 2019 #5
how about after 5 years natheo Mar 2019 #6
For some reason, most of the articles seem to be about new cars Rhiannon12866 Mar 2019 #7

sinkingfeeling

(52,986 posts)
3. The value to me is paying off the car and low maintenance costs.
Fri Feb 1, 2019, 07:16 AM
Feb 2019

Last new car I bought was my 1999 Saturn sedan. I paid like $12K for it. Super gas mileage. Paid it off in 2002.
It now has 126,800 miles on it and the highest repair bill I've had was last year. $238 to replace the part that rolls the window up and down. I've done timing chain and fixed the linkage and routine oil and fluid changes.
Have zero desire for a new car. I like being the one in control, shifting gears, adjusting the heat or AC,
and rolling the windows up and down.
It might have a resale value of $1500.

Response to Rhiannon12866 (Original post)

mitch96

(14,651 posts)
5. You can hedge your bets but a car is worth what somebody is willing to pay for it
Fri Feb 1, 2019, 11:32 AM
Feb 2019

The way car buying and selling is done now a days is mostly controlled by car dealerships.
Try looking for a used car on Autotrader.. very few if no private sales. People don't want the hassle of putting an ad out and playing the game.. Just go to the dealer, let him rape you on the price of your "pre owned" vehicle and then rape you on the price of the new one.
Me? I buy a year to two year old car when I need one and let the other guy take the depreciation hit. It's a pain to find a good used car from a private seller.
And yes I buy from the list you provided. All good autos that will give you thousands if not hundreds of thousands of worry free relatively inexpensive miles.. My 2013 Honda civic just needed a battery and tires, nothing else.YMMV, works for me

m

Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
7. For some reason, most of the articles seem to be about new cars
Sat Mar 16, 2019, 06:13 AM
Mar 2019

When we know that most people don't drive new cars - the way things are, especially now, when people get a car they tend to keep it. The price of a new car is out of the price range of most - unless they buy it on time and end up paying much more for it. Plus, the depreciation is usually not worth it unless they decide to lease which is happening more often.

I read awhile back that the average age of cars on the road is 11 - and that may have climbed even higher by now! I drove my 2001 Pontiac until a little over a year ago - and I'd still be driving it now, but I'm in the Northeast where the road salt causes rust - so it finally wouldn't pass inspection. Other than that, it ran just fine and I had very few issues with it the entire time I drove it.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Automobile Enthusiasts»These 10 New Cars are Bes...