Smaller cars, which holds its value best?
Buying a small passenger vehicle doesn't mean you have to take a huge loss when it comes time to selling, many hold their value. Small cars are still the vehicle of choice for thousands of buyers, people who don't need an SUV or a sports car.
The modern small car is practical, fuel-efficient, comfortable and safe. And because it's all of these things, it also offers good resale value when the first owner is ready to move on to a newer vehicle.
Japanese brands like Honda, Mazda, Subaru and Toyota have long been dominant in the small car market segment, and cars from those brands do depreciate at a slower rate than brands from Europe, including models from prestige brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Korean brands Hyundai and Kia are beginning to earn respect from buyers and that is reflected in the Japanese-rivalling resale value of the Hyundai i30 Hatch, which sits between the high-ranking Honda Civic and the Mazda3.
Your Checklist:
- Buy a brand known for low depreciation
- Prestige models are likely to lose value faster
- Cars with manual transmissions are cheaper to buy, harder to sell
- Choose the options with care when ordering a new car
- Maintain the car in accordance with manufacturer's recommendations
- Keep it presentable and try to resist racking up high kilometres
- Take care to sell at a suitable time
In many cases, high depreciation is often a sign that a car has been heavily discounted when sold new. It may also be the case that a buyer of a new car is leasing it, particularly if the car is more expensive. There's a school of thought that owners trading in their current vehicle for a new car are often unconcerned about taking a hit with the residual if they're swapping into a new car. The RedBook dataset indicates that this is more prevalent among the prestige brands. The table below outlines the vehicles in the small car segment that could be purchased new in 2017. Sorted in descending order, the table also lists the percentage of depreciation after three years.
Best small car resale values – top performing brand model:
Honda Civic VTi-LX – $33,590 (new) $27,100 (resale): 80.7%
Hyundai i30 SR Premium 1.6T FWD – $33,950 (new) $26,700 (resale): 78.6%
Mazda3 SP25 Astina 2.5i FWD – $35,490 (new) $26,900 (resale): 75.8%
Toyota Corolla ZR 1.8i hatch FWD – $30,020 (new) $22,200 (resale): 74.0%
Subaru Impreza 2.0i sedan – $24,990 (new) $18,100 (resale): 72.4%
Toyota Corolla Ascent 1.8i hatch FWD – $22,230 (new) $16,100 (resale): 72.4%
Ford Focus Titanium 1.5T FWD – $32,690 (new) $23,100 (resale): 70.7%
Kia Cerato SLi 2.0i FWD – $32,490 (new) $22,800 (resale): 70.2%
BMW 1 Series 118i Sport line 1.5T RWD – $39,990 (new) $27,800 (resale): 69.5%
Audi A3 Sport 2.0T FWD – $46,400 (new) $31,600 (resale): 68.1%
Mercedes-Benz A-Class A 180 1.6T FWD – $38,700 (new) $26,200 (resale): 67.7%
Volkswagen Golf 110 TDI Highline 2.0DT FWD – $36,990 (new) $24,000 (resale): 64.9%
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