Rep Power: 10

During your first few years of ownership, your biggest car-related expense isn't gasoline. Far from it. It's actually depreciation. That's the loss in a car's value after you purchase it.

The average car loses about 65 percent of its value over five years, according to the automotive pricing firm Kelley Blue Book. That means a $30,000 car will get you about $10,500 if you sell it after five years.


The cars that hold their value best lose about half their value over 5 years, according to Kelley Blue Book. For a $30,000 car, that would get $15,000 for it after five years. That's $4,500 more than you would get for the average car.

That's assuming, of course, that these cars are kept in good condition and not driven more than about 15,000 miles a year.

Depreciation isn't something most buyers even think about when shopping for a new car. Customers are beginning to look at those numbers, though.
"I think they're catching on, I really do," said Jack Nerad, managing editor Kelley's KBB.com Website.

Honda and its Acura luxury brands tied for having the best overall predicted resale value retention over five years, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Two factors that drive resale value are a car's perceived quality - the better a car seems to hold up over time, the better it's value will hold up - and scarcity.

Quality is the biggest reason that Honda vehicles do so well in retained value, said Nerad.

"Honda has the reputation of being very, very well built," said Nerad.
Scarcity and desirability help explain why cars like the Pontiac Solstice appear on Kelley Blue Book's Top Ten list for best overall predicted resale value.

The Solstice, made by General Motors, ranked last among sports cars in a recent Consumer Reports analysis of "predicted reliability." It's a very desirable car, though, with a lot of emotional appeal and few similarly-priced alternatives.

In selecting the top ten cars, Kelley Blue Book excluded low-volume specialty vehicles and vehicles with a base sticker price of more than $60,000.

Options can also have a big influence on a car's eventual resale value, said Nerad. Particularly in luxury cars, buyers shouldn't skimp on options like CD changers, parking sensors, navigation systems, leather interiors and active cruise control.

"Vehicles that are painted in odd colors and vehicles that have been overly personalized will be desired by a smaller group of people down the road," Nerad said. "That will negatively effect their resale value."

Category winners:

Sedan: Acura TSX

Coupe: Honda Civic

Convertible: Mini Cooper

Wagon: Volkswagen Passat

Hatchback: Mini Cooper

Luxury: BMW 5-series

Pickup: Toyota Tacoma

SUV: Acura MDX

Minivan: Honda Odyssey

Hybrid: Toyota Prius

 
Rep Power: 665

id say honda hold their value very well if kept in good condition. same with VW cars. Worst are domestics.

 
Rep Power: 0

yea i agree honda's do hold their value, and Mini's do too

 
Rep Power: 738

yup domestics depreciate very quickly

 
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Domestics are cheaper to begin with. This is changeing however. Hondas are NOT well built cars at all. They are a drivetrain. Theres enough 90s hondas driving around with broken rear bumper taps and the bumper just dangling in the wind. The grand national is a prime example of a car thats held value through all the years. As well as anything from the muslce car era.

 
Rep Power: 665

but it sweird to see for example a 1992 nsw goes for 60grand and even sum crx's stock still go for 5000-6000. There is a high demand for imports so i think that amke sthem ver valuable. Even wen iu look at 1993 rx7's still a 30grand car even after 13 years. Its crazy.

 
Rep Power: 701

I know our 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix lost a lot of Value from the $30k we payed for it.

 
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65%...thats a lie. theres 89 civics running for 17grand.
oh wait, that has nothing to do with the value, just the dumbass owners.

 
Rep Power: 701

You don't like the Hondas much huh...

What is it that you Drive? Mustang? Fbody? or something exotic...??

 
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no i dont like hondas.
if you dont know what i drive, then you dont "moderate" much around the forum.
also, this thread isnt abot me, so get back on topic. if it was me in your place, id be banned again.

 
Rep Power: 701

I just wanted to see if you were a proud J body owner...

How much did your car depreaciate?

While on this subject of Depreciation, buy a new Big Rig for $140K then sell it in 5 years. you lose $80-$120 K

 
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Being a J-body owner isint nearly as hideous as someone who puts cheap crappy tire centerlines on a 87 GN BRUTAL.


Difference is the car will be sitting collection dust for another 13 years because nobody in there right mind will pay that much.

 
Rep Power: 712

ohh, the domestic owners come to the rescue of theyre domestic cars, i bet you guys probably know more about the value of cars than this automotive pricing firm Kelley Blue Book, thats why your opinion matters so much.

 
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Though this statement is true nobody should ever defend J body's.

These mexican made peices of have put egg on the face of GM forever.

 
Rep Power: 751

Maybe you notice all the old Hondas driving around with broken bumpers because there are no domestics from the same years left on the road! And the only reason Grand Nationals have such good resale is because every single one I've seen looks like its kept in a garage 95% of the time... their owners barely drive them! Domestic muscle cars do hold their value well, but not as well as Japanese "muscle" cars. Look at the average resale of a Mk4 Supra or an FD RX-7! Those cars are at least 10 years old and are still selling for $20,000-$40,000!