30 Surprising Cars That Lose Value Fast

There’s no surefire way to know how fast your new car will succumb to depreciation. After all, you can rapidly accelerate the rate at which it loses value by putting on miles too fast, going too long between oil changes or crashing it into a tree. However, provided there aren’t any major unanticipated depreciation events, there are ways to predict how fast a car will lose its value based on its make and model.

Read: Auto Expenses You Can Expect If You Haven’t Driven During Quarantine

GOBankingRates conducted a study to find 30 popular cars that lose their value fairly quickly. Using Edmunds.com’s True Cost to Own calculator, the study shows just how fast you should expect your new car’s value to deteriorate. It uses the following assumptions:

• You will drive 15,000 miles per year
• You are using traditional financing rather than a lease
• You have an above-average credit rating
• You make a 10% down payment at purchase
• Your loan term is five years

With those assumptions in place, GOBankingRates looked at the cost breakdown of each car for estimates across various spending categories — such as insurance, fuel and maintenance costs — as well as depreciation over the first five years. This gives you a better idea of how much it will actually cost to own and drive that car. It’s important to remember your monthly payment is just one of many costs you will continuously encounter over your car’s life.

Find Out: 15 Great Cars To Own for More Than 15 Years

So, see if one of these 30 well-known cars is sitting in your driveway and just how much value it will have lost after five years of driving.

Last updated: March 5, 2021