Saw this today on MSN, I wouldn't normally see it but after our computers are imaged at work IE pops up and MSN is set as the default homepage. I was greeted by a picture of a nice MINI justacooper.

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/artic...umentid=900726

Short story:

Best 5 Models in Value Retention (3-year)

1.MINI Cooper - 67%
2.Toyota Camry - 62%
3.Toyota RAV4 - 62%
4.Scion xB - 61%
5.Honda CR-V - 60%


Worst 5 Models in Value Retention (3-year)

1.Ford Freestar - 27%
2.Ford Taurus - 28%
3.Chrysler Sebring convertible - 28%
4.Chevrolet Uplander - 28%
5.Pontiac Montana - 30%

 

The Toyota Camry surprises me since everybody and their mother drives one. And are they referring to the first gen Scion xB or all xBs in general?

 

I think they mean xB in general, Camry's always held their values pretty well, it's a popular car. Previously these sort of lists have included cars like the Honda S2000 as well but I think as our environmental and economic concerns grow more and more practical cars will stay on the list while the toys drop away.

 

I hope this lasts for a while. My last car was a Mercedes CLK 430 Cabrio, and it was my first Merc. Everyone always told me for years how MB cars held their value so well. You can imagine what happened when I recently traded my nearly perfect 44K mile CLK in. It was worth less than half of what I paid for it two & 1/2 years ago (and, at the time, I got a fairly good buy on it when I purchased it). I started looking at Mini's in mid 2008, and my MB lost nearly $1K of book value per month from July until December. So, needless to say, I hope the Mini does a better job of holding its value.

 

Man, I can't believe someone told you with a straight face that Mercedes hold their value well. All you have to do is look at private-sale classified ads or completed auctions on eBay to see how little they're worth after a few years.

Although, that makes it kind of sweet when buying a lightly-used Mercedes. Want a $90k S-class? Wait to buy until it's two or three years old with 25k-35k miles on it, and it'll be a $35k car.

 

I didn't see it mentioned in the article, but I think these lists may be limited to conventional cars. The MINI is usually 2nd place behind the Toyota Prius in depreciation, and since the Prius didn't even make the top five in this article, that leads me to believe they're excluding hybrids in this particular study.

 

Think it's in a different catagory: P.S. I actually owned 3 of these car's and trucks at the same time Mini, Tacoma and Odyssey.



2009 Best Resale Value by Vehicle Category
Compact pickup: Toyota Tacoma

Full-size pickup: Toyota Tundra

Crossover: Honda CR-V

Luxury crossover: BMW X5

Hybrid crossover: Toyota Highlander Hybrid

SUV: Jeep Wrangler

Luxury SUV: Audi Q7 Quattro

Hybrid SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe

High-performance car: Nissan GT-R

Hybrid car: Honda Civic Hybrid

Compact car: MINI Cooper

Midsize car: Lexus IS

Full-size car: Cadillac CTS

Luxury car: Audi A5

Van: Honda Odyssey

 

I take exception to the "High Performance car" section, the GTR is depreciating while other high performance cars actually appreciate, also, how many used GTRs are on the market?

 

I think any GTR probably is being resold for more than the sticker price.

 

True - I've got no idea how you're supposed to calculate depreciation on cars with "limited availability surcharges", or "local market adjustments", or whatever the dealer decides to call it, not to mention a rabid group of buyers willing to pay over MSRP even in a private sale on a used model.

For the purposes of articles like this, if a car has a $50k MSRP but you paid $60k for it new, when you sell it for $55k, has it appreciated by $5k or depreciated by $5k?

 

For taxes: depreciated, for calculating net worth, appreciated, when bragging to my friends, "I told the dealer I'm getting this thing for not a penny more than $40K and he nearly cried as I drove it off the lot. Yesterday he calls me and offers $55K if I take it back to him."

I've recently seen GTRs selling at MSRP, I'm sure the correction trend will continue (remember when PT Cruisers were selling for more than MSRP?)
The same thing's happened with the Prius as it's moved from new and unique to a common car on the road and others have started offering hybrids of their own.

 

Launch a GT-R a few times and see how the resale value is then.

 

glad i chose a MINI...

 

I'd like to see thsi cross referenced with build quality and custoemr satisifaction as well. I'm betting there are a lot of MINI owners out there that love thier cars more Camery owners do.

 

Well, since I tend to keep cars between 6-10 years I am not sure how relevant this will be. But still another good reason to own a MINI.

 

I don't see how any of this article's conclusions really apply to today's market. Until the economic climate heads up, ALL used car prices are in the dumps.

 

The more value it retains over the first few years, the more value it typically holds over the long term.
mtbscott, this is true but at the same time the values of some things will take a bigger hit because of it than others. For example, for the longest time SUVs and trucks in general held a bit more value than comparatively priced cars, this is no longer true, sports cars, seen now more and more as a luxury, are loosing value a bit more quickly while sensible (read boring) cars tend to be doing about the same as always. Hopefully we can keep the secret that our sensible little cars are really fun toys to ourselves to maintain values.