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Best Resale Value Cars
After five years, most cars are worth a fraction of their original cost. These models do the best, according to Kelley Blue Book.
POSTED: 7:24 a.m. EST, November 29, 2006

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- During your first few years of ownership, your biggest car-related expense isn't gasoline. Far from it. It's actually depreciation. That's the loss in a car's value after you purchase it.

The average car loses about 65 percent of its value over five years, according to the automotive pricing firm Kelley Blue Book. That means a $30,000 car will get you about $10,500 if you sell it after five years.

The cars that hold their value best lose about half their value over 5 years, according to Kelley Blue Book. For a $30,000 car, that would get $15,000 for it after five years. That's $4,500 more than you would get for the average car.

That's assuming, of course, that these cars are kept in good condition and not driven more than about 15,000 miles a year.

Depreciation isn't something most buyers even think about when shopping for a new car. Customers are beginning to look at those numbers, though.

"I think they're catching on, I really do," said Jack Nerad, managing editor Kelley's KBB.com Website.

Honda and its Acura luxury brands tied for having the best overall predicted resale value retention over five years, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Two factors that drive resale value are a car's perceived quality - the better a car seems to hold up over time, the better it's value will hold up - and scarcity.

Quality is the biggest reason that Honda vehicles do so well in retained value, said Nerad.

"Honda has the reputation of being very, very well built," said Nerad.

Scarcity and desirability help explain why cars like the Pontiac Solstice appear on Kelley Blue Book's Top Ten list for best overall resale value.

The Solstice, made by General Motors, ranked last among sports cars in a recent Consumer Reports analysis of "predicted reliability." It's a very desirable car, though, with a lot of emotional appeal and few similarly-priced alternatives.

In selecting the top ten cars, Kelley Blue Book excluded low-volume specialty vehicles and vehicles with a base sticker price of more than $60,000.

Options can also have a big influence on a car's eventual resale value, said Nerad. Particularly in luxury cars, buyers shouldn't skimp on options like CD changers, parking sensors, navigation systems, leather interiors and active cruise control.

"Vehicles that are painted in odd colors and vehicles that have been overly personalized will be desired by a smaller group of people down the road," Nerad said. "That will negatively effect their resale value."

Category winners:

# Sedan: Acura TSX
Pricing: $28,090 - $30,090 before options
Value retained after five years: 51 percent
As the most affordable premium-badged vehicle on the market, the fun-to-drive TSX sedan appeals to a variety of buyers for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its rock-solid reputation for reliability.

# Coupe: Honda Civic
Pricing: $14,810 - $24,590 before options
Value retained after five years: 51 percent
Even though it's now available with niceties like a navigation system and can top $20,000, the Honda Civic remains the quintessential economy car and is equally appealing to new-car and used-car shoppers.

# Convertible: MINI Cooper
Pricing: $17,450 - $30,600 before options
Value retained after five years: 52 percent
With plenty of personality, razor-sharp handling and highway mileage up to 36 mpg, the MINI Cooper lineup continues to command selling prices above MSRP some five years after its introduction---even as its second-generation replacement is just around the corner.

# Wagon: Volkswagen Passat

# Hatchback: MINI Cooper
Pricing: $17,450 - $30,600 before options
Value retained after five years: 52 percent
With plenty of personality, razor-sharp handling and highway mileage up to 36 mpg, the MINI Cooper lineup continues to command selling prices above MSRP some five years after its introduction---even as its second-generation replacement is just around the corner.

# Luxury: BMW 5 Series
Pricing: $43,500 - $58,500 before options
Value retained after five years: 46 percent
As a luxury car that has won the aspirational desires of many, BMW's legendary sport sedan is enjoying unprecedented popularity evidenced by record sales.

# Pickup: Toyota Tacoma

# SUV: Acura MDX

# Minivan: Honda Odyssey

# Hybrid: Toyota Prius
Pricing: $22,175 - $23,070 before options
Value retained after five years: 48 percent
When compared to the Honda Civic Hybrid, which features the same sheetmetal as its conventional sedan counterpart, the uniquely styled Prius is the more recognizable gas-electric hybrid vehicle. It's also a very sensible and accommodating passenger car.

mmarshall

It also depends on what type of vehicle you are talking about, where it is being re-sold, and what time of the year ....things that the article didn't mention.

Examples: Pickup trucks are quite popular in Texas, so they may be worth more there as used trucks than in some other states. Convertibles and folding hard-tops, obviously, bring their best resale value in the good-weather months....particularly spring and fall, when it is not hot outside. AWD vehicles, obviously, do best in northern and Rocky Mountain states and during the winter. Hybrids traditionally do better on the East and West Coasts, in envronmentally-conscious states like NY, MA, and CA than they do in the Midwest and South where they are much less popular. Vehicles with E85-certified engines, conversely, will do better in the Midwest, where most of the E85 is sold, than on the coasts. There are many other examples as well of local deviation in values.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

similar article came out from msn.com, top 10 most and least depreciated cars

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.as...tentid=4024366