USA TODAY International Edition
These cars are most likely to hold up in value
There are many things to take into consideration when buying a vehicle: quality, styling, fuel efficiency.
But the rate of depreciation has potentially the largest impact on your pocketbook in the long run. It determines how much you’ll be able to resell your vehicle for at some point.
“What most consumers aren’t aware of is that the deprecation of the vehicle is actually the highest cost associated with ownership expenses,” said Eric Lyman, chief industry analyst for vehicle- deals site TrueCar.
With that in mind, you can’t go wrong with a Honda or a Land Rover.
Those brands won the mainstream and luxury vehicle honors in the 2020 Residual Value Awards given out by ALG, a subsidiary of vehicle- deals site TrueCar. The awards will be distributed at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week.
In other words, Honda vehicles are the least likely to depreciate quickly among mainstream brands for the 2020 model year. And Land Rover vehicles are the least likely to depreciate quickly among luxury brands.
ALG ranked the top vehicles in 27 segments. The company, a data source for automakers and dealers for vehicle leases, crunched its data to project how 2020 vehicles will hold up in value over the next three years.
Honda had the most category wins with five, including the Pilot and Passport SUVs.
Subaru was next with four, including the Forester SUV and Impreza compact car.
Residual value is more important than ever because vehicles are lasting longer than ever.
The average age of cars and light trucks on U. S. roads reached an alltime high of 11.8 years in 2018, according to research firm IHS Markit. That’s partly due to improvements in reliability – engines are lasting longer as components become more resilient.
Many factors affect residual value, including quality, technology and safety.
There’s another factor that automakers don’t like to talk about: perception of quality.
ALG, which recently surveyed 35,000 vehicle owners on brand perceptions, found that perception of quality is a huge factor in resale values.
In fact, “perception actually drives value in the marketplace more so than actual quality,” Lyman said.
2020 ALG Residual Value Awards
❚ Electric: Audi E- Tron
❚ Compact car: Subaru Impreza
❚ Compact utility: Subaru Forester
❚ Full- size car: Dodge Charger
❚ Full- size commercial vehicle: Mercedes- Benz Sprinter
❚ Full- size pickup: GMC Sierra HD
❚ Full- size utility: Chevrolet Tahoe
❚ Mid- size car: Honda Accord
❚ Mid- size commercial vehicle: Mercedes- Benz Metris
❚ Mid- size pickup: Toyota Tacoma
❚ Mid- size utility with two rows: Honda Passport
❚ Mid- size utility with three rows: Honda Pilot
❚ Minivan: Honda Odyssey
❚ Off- road utility: Jeep Wrangler
❚ Premium subcompact utility: Audi Q3
❚ Premium compact car: BMW 2series
❚ Premium compact utility:
Porsche Macan
❚ Premium executive: Lexus LS
❚ Premium full- size car: Volvo V90
❚ Premium full- size utility: Land Rover Range Rover
❚ Premium mid- size car: Lexus RC
❚ Premium mid- size utility with two rows: Land Rover Range Rover Sport
❚ Premium mid- size utility with three rows: Land Rover Discovery
❚ Premium sportscar: Porsche 911
❚ Sportscar: Subaru WRX
❚ Subcompact car: Honda Fit
❚ Subcompact utility: Subaru Crosstrek