Car Depreciation: Top 13 brands that hold their value the best

Minis rank tip, while Toyota comes last of top 13 brands in Britain, with its used models losing an average of 74.59% value after 34,700 miles
Sam Sheehan
2 February 2017

When buying a new car it's often wise to consider the model's depreciation. The faster the depreciation, the less money you will likely get if you come to sell it in the future.

Figuring out exactly how a model will compare to another can often seem daunting, but helpfully, used car dealership Carspring has done the research for us, compiling a list of the 13 car brands with models that depreciate least in Britain.

They're shown below with the average percentage of money lost from their model's list values after 34,700 miles.

The chart shows that as of the start of 2017, Minis suffer from depreciation the least out of the UK’s top 13 car brands. Losing an average of 46.88% from their values after 34,700 miles, they beat Audi models, which lost 47.33% after the same mileage, to the top spot.

Volkswagen, Lexus, Ford and Vauxhall achieved the next best results, with between 47.51% and 54.12% lost respectively. The worst performing brand was Toyota, which has an average of 74.59% value lost from its vehicles after the aforementioned mileage.

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The research sourced data from hundreds of online used car marketplaces as well as traditional dealers in five of the UK’s biggest cities. It found that cars in the UK ranked second last of the world’s leading economies when it came to depreciation - beating only New Zealand - with an average of 51.9% lost from cars sold here after 34,700 miles.

The study also found that China is the most expensive place to buy a used car, with average prices decreasing by just 29.42% after that mileage. Turkey, Portugal and Finland finished behind it with 29.5% to 34.31% lost from their average used motors respectively.

Carspring co-founder Maximilian Vollenbroich argued that the UK's ranking made it a good location for those looking to grab a bargain used buy.

“At second last overall, the UK currently has a comparatively favourable position in the study," he said. "However, with a hard Brexit on the horizon, the future of the UK automobile market remains unclear.”

Many experts predict that the price of new cars will increase when Britain leaves the European Union (EU), leading to an increase in used values as fewer people opt for a new car and increase demand in the second-hand market.

Car values: Top 13 car brands that hold their value best

Mini - 46.08%

Audi 47.33%

Volkswagen - 47.51%

Lexus 51.59%

Ford - 53.49%

Vauxhall - 54.12%

Fiat - 54.17%

BMW - 55.82%

Kia - 59.27%

Nissan - 63.23%

Honda - 65.94%

Peugeot - 70.19%

Toyota - 74.59%

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Comments
17

fadyady

2 February 2017
The way the new car values plummet in the good old blighty is eye watering. China however is the opposite. So many people there are buying their first cars ever. Millions more enter the new car market in China where car ownership is still a relative novelty.

xxxx

3 February 2017
"Many experts predict that the price of new cars will increase when Britain leaves the European Union (EU)" and we all know how good experts are at forecasting, just ask the BoE.

typos1 - Just can’t respect opinion

WallMeerkat

3 February 2017
Used cars in the UK were traditionally cheap (60s-70s-80s etc.) because after a few years it was riddled with rust and needed constant maintenance.

In Southern Europe, with less salt on the roads, the bodywork held together better.

China has gotten in on the act when modern cars are well put together and galvanised.

A 3 year old model often drives no differently than a new model(often better - as any niggles have been sorted and the engine has run in)!

H_Molemann

3 February 2017
34700 is a nice round number. Not.
Of course desirability & supply comes into it but I'd really like to see the same dataset run by age?
My guess is brands like Toyota are affected by private ownership/below average mileage so could be markedly older @ 34700. Hence the % drop...

...viewing the car world through cola-bottle lenses.

si73

3 February 2017
Toyotas never seem that cheap second hand compared to other similar cars on a forecourt, especially hybrids.

neilly500

3 February 2017
Where can i buy those toyotas @ 75% off with under 35k miles???? Join the queue behind me.....

neilmccabe@me.com

jmd67

3 February 2017
neilly500 wrote:

Where can i buy those toyotas @ 75% off with under 35k miles???? Join the queue behind me.....

Neil I agree. They seem to hold value quite well from what I've seen.

PS: Leaving your email address on a forum like this will only attract a huge amount of spam email.

poon

3 February 2017
Very surprised at Ford,Vauxhall and Fiat finishing mid table. Fiat especially who I would have thought to be virtually worthless. Also surprised at Toyota coming last. Can't figure that one out.
poon

Dilly

20 February 2017
The values after 3 years still beat most of the others. that's pretty embarrassing if you are a dealer of FORD's which we are always told (by those who wear rose tinted glasses) the are superior value for money.
Daz

Dilly

20 February 2017
The values after 3 years still beat most of the others. that's pretty embarrassing if you are a dealer of FORD's which we are always told (by those who wear rose tinted glasses) the are superior value for money.
Daz

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Our Verdict

Citroen C4

Citroën C4
The Citroën C4 range comprises three diesel and three petrol engines, plus three trim levels

It's an admirable family hatchback, but there is an abundance of superior rivals that makes the C4 feel a little outclassed

Find an Autocar car review

Driven this week