Special Report

Cars That Keep Their Value the Longest

Courtesy of Subaru of America


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 

Courtesy of Subaru

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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Courtesy of Honda

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

toyota.com

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

Alexander Migl / Wikimedia Commons

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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www.dodge.com

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

Ford Motor Company

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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Courtesy of Honda

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

Courtesy of Subaru of America

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

Courtesy of General Motors

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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Ghostofakina / Wikimedia Commons

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

Jason Lawrence / Wikimedia Commons

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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Nissan

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

Courtesy of Nissan

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

Courtesy of Honda

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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VanderWolf-Images / Getty Images

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

Toyota

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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toyota.com

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

Scott Olson / Getty Images

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

Courtesy of FCA US

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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Wikimedia Commons

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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