It’s well known the vast majority of new cars start depreciating as soon as they’re driven off the lot. But some can drop more than 50 percent in value in the first three years.
iSeeCars.com, which is an aggregator of new and used car listings, analyzed more than 4.1 million cars and found these ten lose the greatest amount of value in the first three years:
Rank Model Average 3-year Price % Depreciation
1 BMW 5 Series $30,846 52.60%
2 VW Passat $14,906 50.70%
3 Mercedes-Benz E-Class $34,010 49.90%
4 BMW 3 Series $24,024 49.80%
5 Ford Taurus $18,098 49.70%
6 Chrysler 200 $14,011 48.40%
7 Volkswagen Jetta $13,157 48.10%
8 Audi A3 $21,120 47.9%
9 Cadillac SRX $26,291 47.20%
10 Buick Enclave $26,620 46.80%
The average depreciation after three years for all models was 35 percent.
Luxury models – in general – showed the greatest amount of depreciation. Pickup trucks depreciated the least in the categories that iseecars.com examined. The average depreciation for pickup trucks is 23.3 percent, which is two-thirds the average for all vehicles.
“Luxury brands are known for depreciating at a higher rate because they are often leased to keep monthly payments down, which lowers the demand for these vehicles in the used car market,” said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
