Lex reveals top-30 used car performers

Lex has produced its first-ever Top 10 residuals list for cars in three price sectors. The results underline the wide choice of vehicles available to today’s company car drivers and show that style, individuality and build quality are now the key factors in making a car ‘top of the pops’ when it hits the used market.

Using a typical three year/20,000 mile per annum contract, it looked at the cars which it believes will be the most attractive used car proposition across three price sectors – under £15,000, £15,000-£30,000 and £30,000-plus.

In the Under £15,000 sector, trendy, funky cars are dominant, with the popular MINI at the top of the pile, and the Honda FRV proving the top choice for family transport.

In the £15,000-£30,000 group head-turners such as the Audi Cabriolet and Mercedes SLK are favourites, with the ever-present BMW 3-Series in third spot. Volvo’s C70 makes the charts for the first time, along with a couple of ‘first foot on the ladder’ 4x4s – the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 - and the mighty Toyota Landcruiser, proving that practicality combined with style is a winning combination.

The Mercedes SLK is king in the over £30,000 sector, and the rest of this group is a mouth-watering mix of all-out sports cars and grand tourers such as the Porsche Cayman and Jaguar XK and top of the range 4x4s - demonstrating the increasing popularity of off-roaders, despite their ‘gas guzzler’ label. The Porsche Boxster that has topped the residuals league in past Lex surveys creeps in this sector at number 10.

Jon Walden, managing director of Lex, which runs a fleet of 180,000 vehicles, said, “More than ever before, company car drivers are taking the opportunity to go for a car which suits their lifestyle. This means a varied group of cars enter the used market three years down the road, and buyers find them equally appealing and are willing to pay good money for them. Stronger residual values mean less depreciation, and lower monthly costs, a rule that applies to private buyers just as much as company car drivers.”

Used car buyers respond to build quality and reliability, but exclusivity is great news for residual values, and the reason that expensive cars have dominated previous Top Ten lists. Analysing the lower priced sectors highlights that new models, and cars in short supply have the strongest residual values. Brand new models take time to work their way into the used car market, and are a great way for buyers to ensure they get the best return on their new car when they sell in three years time.

“Previously we’ve produced just one residual Top Ten list, and when you don’t analyse individual sectors, the upmarket cars tend to dominate – as we saw in 2005 when all the top ten places were taken by aspirational German models,” said Walden.

“By looking at the top ten performers in three individual price sectors we can see much more accurately which are the ‘wise buys’ for all budgets. German cars are still strong, but Japanese, English and Swedish manufacturers are also now well represented.”