depreciating auto Top 10 Fastest Depreciating Auto's

[G. David Felt]

Top 10 Fastest Depreciating Auto's

I See Cars Study

4.1 million auto sales reviewed that became CPO resales and this gave I See Cars a clear picture of the top 10 auto's with the highest depreciation. In the Luxury segment, this led by BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-benz E-Class.

iSeeCars 10 Best Bargains on Almost-New Vehicles
Rank	Car	Avg. 3-Year-Old Used Price	% Depreciation	Depreciation Compared to Average
1	BMW 5 Series	$ 30,846	52.6%	1.5 x
2	Volkswagen Passat	$14,906	50.7%	1.4 x
3	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	$34,010	49.9%	1.4 x
4	BMW 3 Series	$24,024	49.8%	1.4 x
5	Ford Taurus	$18,098	49.7%	1.4 x
6	Chrysler 200	$14,011	48.4%	1.4 x
7	Volkswagen Jetta	$13,157	48.1%	1.4 x
8	Audi A3	$21,120	47.9%	1.4 x
9	Cadillac SRX	$ 26,291	47.2%	1.3 x
10	Buick Enclave	$26,620	46.8%	1.3 x
Average for All Vehicles			35.0%	1.0 x

According to their study, auto's on average after 3 years lose 35 percent of their value with Trucks being the best value holder at depreciating only 23.3 percent. Of the highest depreciation on the list is that 6 of the 10 auto's are german and they are on the list due to one very clear reason, extremely high repair costs that should make a potential buyer stop and think twice about buying them. Best value can be also had in auto's that are discontinued even if they are pretty solid auto's such as the Taurus and 200. Safety wise, I See Cars does point out that all the auto's on the list except for one are rated 5 out of 5 stars for crash safety. The Mercedes-benz is rated 4 out of 5.

The study covers the following categories and is a worthwhile review if your looking for a solid CPO or New Driver first auto.

Categories of the study:

• 10 Best Bargains on CPO auto's
• Best Bargains under $20K for Grads and New Drivers
• Best Bargains on CPO SUVs
• Best Bargains on CPO Trucks
• Best Bargains on CPO Minivans
• Best Bargains on CPO Luxury Autos

I have to post the Luxury list as except for a single cadillac and Lincoln, the list is dominated by heavily depreciating German auto's and one Japanese car.

iSeeCars Best Bargains on Almost-New Luxury Vehicles
Rank	Car	Avg. 3-Year-Old Used Price	% Depreciation	Depreciation Compared to Luxury Average
1	BMW 5 Series	$30,846	52.6%	1.2 x
2	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	$34,010	49.9%	1.1 x
3	BMW 3 Series	$24,024	49.8%	1.1 x
4	Audi A3	$21,120	47.9%	1.1 x
5	Cadillac SRX	$26,291	47.2%	1.1 x
6	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	$27,007	46.4%	1.0 x
7	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	$34,628	46.2%	1.0 x
8	BMW 4 Series	$31,196	46.2%	1.0 x
9	Acura TLX	$22,319	44.5%	1.0x
10	Lincoln MKC	$24,544	44.3%	1.0 x
11	BMW X5	$39,268	44.1%	1.0 x
Average for Luxury Vehicles			43.4%	1.0 x
Average for All Vehicles			35.0%

[balthazar]

This is where a consumer who values this sort of thing can get burned.

5-series is the 'loser' vs. the e-class because it loses 52.6% vs. 49.9%. This means the e-class is the better value, right?

Wrong. The dollar numbers tell the bottom line: 5-series owner loses $27,800 but the higher priced e-class loses it's owner $34,146.

Again, if this sort of thing is important to you, go for the 5-series and save yourself $6350.

[Robert Hall]

Since BMW and MB sedans are typically lease vehicles, they make good CPOs w/ that kind of depreciation.   At the other extreme, there are probably some people that buy them new and keep them until they are worn out after 15 years or so...