Revealed: The Top 10 Cars That Lose & Keep the Most Money

It’s not petrol and it’s not servicing or repairs, because the single biggest cost to the motorist is depreciation.

‘Wisebuyer’s: The Car Prices The Trade Don’t Want You To See’ can now reveal which cars cost drivers the most and least in depreciation. Their carefully researched statistics have been reproduced as tables showing which affordable cars lose the most money, and which lose the most value as a percentage of their new price.

Exclusive Wisebuyer’s Findings:

The right model is crucial. It doesn’t matter which make you buy as much as which model and specification you choose. For example, Vauxhall have a car in both the top and bottom ten and the majority of their models are in the middle of the league (neither losing or saving the buyers a notable amount).

Buying cheaper cars can cost you more. A new Daewoo Nubira may only cost £11,012 but it loses 90.5% (nearly £10,000) of its value over 3 years, making it worth just over £1,000. Whereas a £16,015 Honda Civic loses a similar amount of money, but is still worth £6,282.00 and will usually be more reliable and enjoyable.

Too many extras can be bad for you. Buying a standard car with a very high specification tends to create heavier depreciation. You are better off buying a mid-range specification BMW 5-series or Mercedes C-Class than a top of range Vauxhall Omega for example (worst performing car on depreciation)

Small cars and high image cars (like Lotus Elise or Volkswagen Golfs) always lose the least.

Advice to car buyers:

Car buyers don’t spend enough time planning to buy their car. Just comparing today’s prices in the classified ads isn’t enough.

When buying a used car, you need to know more than one price:

The new price (ideally you want the previous owner to have paid the majority of the depreciation)

Today’s two main prices (for sale in dealerships and privately)

Likely price in a year or two, or when you plan to sell it

Compare cars to see which model and specifications lose the most and how quickly before deciding which car to buy.

Most Audi A4s lose over 50% of their value in three years, typically around £10,000, making them a great used buy, but the new car buyer should go for the Cabriolet which loses 33.8% (and is second in the top 10 by percentage)

The customer that buys a new Mini One will lose £1,300 less than the buyer of a Mini Cooper S. But the used buyer should go for the Cooper S every time, because the previous owner has paid the depreciation and they get all the extra performance!

Remember a car is only worth the guide values in if its not stolen, hiding and faults or been badly looked after.