Don’t Let Your Car’s Value Go Down “Like a Rock.” Buy the Vehicle that Keeps its Value the Best.

November 18, 2007 By Matthew Paulson

After your home, the car that you drive will likely be the single most expensive purchase that you make. But unlike your home that appreciates over time, your car will go down in value as it gets older and you put more miles on it. This process of buying newer cars, wearing them down, and selling them when they get too old for one’s liking can get very expensive as time goes on, so it makes sense to buy the models of vehicles which hold their values the best.

So what brands of cars will keep their initial value for the longest? Kelley Blue Book did a study on just this. Its 2008 Best Resale Value Awards found that Volkswagen produced vehicles will keep their value the longest. After five years a typical Volkswagen will have just under 50% of their value. If a car was originally sold for $30,000, it would still be worth $15,000 after the five year period.

Other brands which made their top ten include Acura, Audio, BMW, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Porsche, Toyota and Subaru. Any of these would be fine to keep over a long period of time. When it came the cars that hold their values the least, Suzuki was the worst. For every dollar you spend on a Suzuki, you’ll only have 25 cents of it worth of value after the initial 5 year period of ownership. Other brands that were close to the bottom of the list was Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Jeep, Lincoln, Mercury and Jaguar.

When shopping for a new vehicle, make sure to get a make and model that will be more likely to keep its value. You’ll get a lot more money when you go to sell it a few years down the line.

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