Toyota and Lexus retain top spots for resale value
(MoneyWatch) Toyota and its sibling luxury brand Lexus held on to the top spots in the Kelley Blue Book rankings of brands with the best resale value released today. Among the individual models, however, Chevrolet had three of the top 10 vehicles.
Toyota won best mainstream brand for resale and Lexus was named best brand among luxury cars. Lexus also had the top vehicles in six each of the 22 segments ranked.
"While Toyota and Lexus continue to deliver incredible resale value, we also are impressed with the strides made by Chevrolet, which tops domestic automakers," says Eric Ibara, Kelley director of residual consulting. Honda, a perennial strong performer in resale, won three of the individual segments, including best midsize car for Honda Accord.
Kelley analysts remind car shoppers that depreciation may be the greatest expense they will face in the first five years of owning a car. The average 2014 model will be worth only 39.7 percent of its original value after five years. In addition, regional preferences can affect resale value. "In the colder sections of the country, a two-wheel drive vehicle's resale value often will not be as high as a four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive version of that same model," says Jack Nerad, editorial director of Kelley Blue Book.
In compiling the list, Kelley uses a combination of data from wholesale used car auctions and retail sales by dealers plus the projections of its analysts.
Here are the winners in the individual categories:
SUBCOMPACT CAR: Nissan Versa
PLUG-IN VEHICLE: Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid
COMPACT CAR: Subaru Impreza
COMPACT SUV/CROSSOVER: Jeep Wrangler
SPORTY COMPACT CAR: Honda Civic Si
MID-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Toyota FJ Cruiser
MID-SIZE CAR: Honda Accord
FULL-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Toyota Sequoia
FULL-SIZE CAR: Toyota Avalon
LUXURY COMPACT SUV/CROSSOVER: Infiniti QX50
ENTRY-LEVEL LUXURY CAR: Lexus ES 350
LUXURY MID-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Lexus GX 460
LUXURY CAR: Audi A5
LUXURY FULL-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Lexus LX 570
HIGH-END LUXURY CAR: Lexus LS 460
HYBRID SUV/CROSSOVER: Lexus RX 450h
SPORTS CAR: Chevrolet Camaro V6
MID-SIZE PICKUP TRUCK: Toyota Tacoma
HIGH PERFORMANCE CAR: Chevrolet Corvette
FULL-SIZE PICKUP TRUCK: Toyota Tundra
HYBRID/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY CAR: Lexus ES 300h
MINIVAN/VAN: Toyota Sienna
Here are the top ten models for resale value overall. They are listed in alphabetical order, not by resale value:
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Dodge Challenger
Honda CR-V
Jeep Wrangler
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Toyota Tacoma
Toyota Tundra
Toyota 4Runner
