Top 10 Cars for Resale Value
By Jakob Hansen, 5/22/2020
When shopping for a car, sometimes it’s smart to keep the future in mind. What will give you the best return when you're ready to sell?
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When you purchase a product, you are making an investment. Some products are more of an investment than others, some are an investment only in ourselves. Even buying simple things, like food, can investment to your health; or lamps, an investment to your sight.
Regardless of what it is, we always are looking for the best ROI, also known as the best value in a product. When talking about cars, how do we assess that value? It’s a difficult term to define since we all have our own renditions of what value can really mean. For me, it’s perfectly reasonable to spend millions of dollars on a very special car, that’s perfectly within the realm of my personal value threshold. For others, spending anything more than the cost of materials for a car is a wasted value.
I think a fair judgment of value can be defined within talking about the resale value. Can you still make a return on investment after the years of depreciation have done their part to tear down your value as best as they can? That lead me to think about what are the vehicles that have the absolute best ROI, or, as many would put it, what are the top ten vehicles for resale value? Based on the Kelly Blue Book 2019 best Resale Value Awards, these ten vehicles (I can’t say cars, because there are no cars on the list!) will give you the best return on your new car purchase.
#10. Porsche Macan
Base MSRP Range: $49,900-$58,600
Surprised to see a luxury brand car on the list? So was I! Typically luxury vehicles tend to depreciate a significant amount when bought new. The Porsche Macan, however, did not. This baby holds its value and holds it well. With 65% resale value at 36 months and 50% at 60 months, it’s the only luxury SUV you’ll find on this list. This is one of the only luxury vehicles that it might actually be beneficial to buy, rather than lease.
#9. Ford F-150
Base MSRP Range: $28,495-$55,570
Trucks always retain their value far better than most cars do. The dual-purpose nature of them, as transport vehicles and tools, makes them a better commodity. That's why it’s really no surprise to see several of them on this list. The Ford has been on the top value list for many years now, it truly is one of the highest-rated vehicles all around. The Ford F-150 retains its value up to 57.5% of its value after 36 months and 50.6% of its value after 60 months.
#8. Chevrolet Colorado
Base MSRP Range: $21,300-$46,400
Again, no surprise to see this truck here. The Chevrolet Colorado is Chevrolet's take on mid-size trucks, competitive with the Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Frontier (one of which made this list a little lower, shhh, don’t tell Chevy). To see a mid-size truck here that isn’t the Ford Ranger is not really surprising. The Ranger was just released and it will take some time for us to see the true resale values. Regardless the Chevrolet Colorado is a fantastic vehicle that fills its role as a mid-size truck as well as anyone could ask it to.
#7. Honda Ridgeline
Base MSRP Range: $29,990-$43,420
Arguably one of the most controversial “trucks” to land on this side of the Atlantic, the Honda Ridgeline is a vehicle that knows exactly what it is, and doesn’t care what you think. It’s like those hikers that tuck their pants into their socks to prevent ticks and other critters from crawling where they're unwanted, they know it looks dorky, but dammit, it works. The Ridgeline is a truck built on a SUV platform, and it just flat out works. It may have a stigma around it, but if you can get over that stigma, you are sure to have a “truck” that, like you, works smarter, not harder. Being a Honda, you already know the resale value will be great, add the truck body style into the mix, and you have a truck that holds value enough to be number seven on this list.
#6. Chevrolet Silverado
Base MSRP Range: $28,300-$47,895
The Chevrolet Silverado is about as American as they come. Big, in your face, and proud of it. The entire truck can sometimes feel a bit like an overcompensation on wheels, however, it surely doesn’t need to overcompensate for its resale value. The truck is able to retain 59.8% value at 36 months and 53.7% value after 60 months. Even by truck standards, that's impressive. The lower sales volume most likely accounts for the increased resale value over the Ford F-150, but when comparing the two trucks, it’s clearly something to keep in mind.
#5. Toyota 4Runner
Base MSRP Range: $35,310-$46,815
This one is easy. Off-road vehicles almost always retain value well, due to their tough nature and utilitarian nature. Further, the recent uptick in off-road culture and interest in off-road styled SUV’s means the Toyota 4Runner is in its prime time. For a vehicle as old as the 4Runner, the current body style was released in 2009, the 4Runner is going strong. The last two years have been the best sales years yet, and on the used market it's no different. After 60 months, the 4Runner retains 56.3% of its value. Doesn’t hurt that it’s a Toyota too.
#4. GMC Sierra
Base MSRP Range: $29,600-$57,195
The GMC Sierra is the grown up version of the Chevrolet Silverado. Its the one you buy when you realize that creature comforts are actually pretty nice, and you know what, I can afford them. That's the best part about the Sierra, no compromise. Like a good quality mullet, it’s business in front (comfortable cabin) and party in the back (giant useable bed and a tow rating higher than your house). Perfection. Nothing is better than a good ol’ mullet. That being said, it's resale value is nothing to laugh at. 62.2% after 36 months and 56.7 after 60, you can confidently buy this vehicle get a solid 5 years of use out of it, and still retain over 50% of its value.
#3. Toyota Tundra
Base MSRP Range: $33,425-$52,780
Okay, seriously, I’m getting sick of writing about trucks here! Let’s sum this one up real quick and easy. Truck, therefore it retains value. Toyota, therefore it retains value. Combine the two and you have the recipe for a great ROI. The Toyota Tundra is a fantastic truck, but doesn’t have the same enthusiast following as its little brother, the Tacoma, and therefore, doesn’t retain its value quite as well.
#2. Jeep Wrangler
Base MSRP Range: $28,045-$44,545
Again, off-road SUVs retain their value, the proof is in the pudding. The Jeep Wrangler retains up to 66.5% of its value in the first 36 months and up to an astonishing 58.3% after 60 months. For a vehicle that can take off its doors and roof, those are pretty impressive numbers. The Wrangler may have a high starting price, especially when getting into the specialty trims, but the amount that it can retain its value can sometimes offset that initial cost.
#1. Toyota Tacoma
Base MSRP Range: $25,850-$45,665
The Toyota Tacoma is absolutely no surprise here. The fact that these even lose any value at all is surprising. The Tacoma has a larger enthusiast following than any other truck and has some of the most loyal customers on the market. People hold onto these babies and don’t let them go. They embody the perfect combination of off-road toughness and modern convenience. Even driving to the store, you still feel like you're in a special vehicle, something the Colorado fails to do. Used Tacomas have always gone for big bucks, and that trend hasn’t been lost on the modern iteration.
Closing
Value is a difficult term. On the one hand, we purchase things based on emotion. How does it make you feel? But on the other, we are driven by the overwhelming pull to save as much money as possible and to get the best deal that we can. Mixing the two can be a challenging task, how do you get the best return on your dollar while also still loving the vehicle you have, well, apparently the answer is to buy a Tacoma.