The 25 Cars With the Best Resale Value

Buying new? Eventually you'll be selling used. These cars give you the best return.

Some cars hold their value more than others.
Some cars hold their value more than others. | ljubaphoto/E+ via Getty Images

Unlike real estate or collectibles, brand new cars generally make pretty poor investments: A factory-direct vehicle begins to depreciate the second it’s driven off the lot. Broadly speaking, the average drop in price after five years is 39 percent.

Still, some models retain more of their original value than others. And while that may not be a primary consideration for car shoppers, it should be: The slower the depreciation, the more you’ll be able to get when it comes time to sell or trade in the vehicle.

Recently, car data hub iSeeCars took a look at the used car market. Examining 1.1 million vehicle sales from 2022 to 2023, it searched for models that had the lowest rates of depreciation over a five-year period, meaning cars that were new in the 2018 model year. Here’s what they found.

Rank

Car

Depreciation

1

Porsche 911

9.3 Percent

2

Porsche 718 Cayman

17.6 Percent

3

Toyota Tacoma

20.4 Percent

4

Jeep Wrangler

20.8 Percent

5

Honda Civic

21.5 Percent

6

Subaru BRZ

23.4 Percent

7

Chevrolet Camaro

24.2 Percent

8

Toyota C-HR

24.4 Percent

9

Subaru Crosstrek

24.5 Percent

10

Toyota Corolla

24.5 Percent

11

Ford Mustang

24.5 Percent

12

Porsche 718 Boxster

25.1 Percent

13

Toyota Tundra

25.3 Percent

14

Kia Rio 5-Door

25.8 Percent

15

Porsche 911 Convertible

26 Percent

16

Honda HR-V

26.2 Percent

17

Subaru Impreza

26.2 Percent

18

Kia Rio

26.3 Percent

19

Chevrolet Spark

26.6 Percent

20

Toyota RAV4

27.2 Percent

21

Hyundai Accent

27.4 Percent

22

Toyota 4Runner

27.4 Percent

23

Chevrolet Corvette

27.5 Percent

24

Nissan Kicks

27.5 Percent

25

Subaru Impreza Sedan

27.8 Percent

Two Porsche models—the 911 and 718 Cayman—top the list. The 911 depreciated just 9.3 percent from its original value, which ranges from $90,000 to $200,000 depending on the trim model.

For more daily driving, three Toyota models—the Tacoma, C-HR, and Corolla—lost between 20 percent and 25 percent of their value.

iSeeCars also made note of cars with the highest depreciation. Generally, it’s luxury vehicles that seem to speed away from their original sticker price. Topping the list was the Maserati Quattroporte, which lost 64.5 percent of its value. The BMW 7 Series ranks a close second, dropping 61.8 percent.

Electric vehicle (EV) models can be a toss-up. Full EVs tend to drop an average of 49.1 percent, while hybrid cars—which use battery power as well as gas—decline just 37.4 percent.

You can look at the full data, including depreciation for trucks and SUVs, at iSeeCars.