What is car depreciation and why is it important?

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Car depreciation – the amount of money a car loses in value after you buy it – can be a confusing and contentious subject. But it is also the single biggest factor in the cost of owning a car, often outweighing the costs of fuel, servicing, tax and even insurance combined.

While depreciation is often overlooked by buyers over other concerns such as MPG, it’s estimated that most cars lose between 50-60% of their value during the course of the first three years of ownership – with the percentage being dependent on various factors such as price, running cost, and quality.

When it comes to leasing it’s important too as the rental fee you pay per month is essentially to offset this depreciation over the course of your contract – whether you have a lease for two, three or four years – and is referred to as ‘residual value’. This is what the vehicle is worth at the end of the leasing period, with car depreciation taken into account.

With this in mind, depreciation is the difference between how much the car is worth when new and how much it is worth when it is traded in or sold on, with cars depreciating the most in the first year and ceasing at the eight year mark.

When it comes to residual car values, they are expressed as percentages of what the On The Road price will be. While the percentage terms of depreciation between manufacturers and even body types can seem slight – an Aston Martin DB11 coupe and a Kia Sportage both retain 58% of their original cost new figure after three years/30k miles – when you factor it into bottom-line costs the difference can be considerable when the DB11 costs £167,015 and the Sportage costs £17,760 new.

What affects depreciation?

There are a variety of reasons why both the Sportage and DB11 could depreciate 58% and these could include:

• Mileage: The average is 10k per year and the more miles on your odometer the less your car is worth
• Reliability: Not so much an issue these days, but previously various manufacturers had a reputation for unreliability
• Number of owners: Simply put, the fewer owners the better
• Wear and tear: Any damage to the bodywork, interior or exterior will drastically reduce value.
• Service history: If you’ve stuck to the manufacturer guidelines in regard to servicing and got the stamps to prove it it will increase your cars value
• Warranty: Many manufacturers come with lengthy warranty’s, with Kia’s seven year warranty still the market leader, so if you sell within that period it makes your car a more enticing proposition
• Fuel economy: The bigger the MPG the better. This is why, historically diesel cars have retained their value more than petrol cars. As engines improve and environmental issues surface this is changing however.

How do you minimise the effect of depreciation?

• Lease: It’s an obvious solution to the issue of depreciation if you don’t like the idea of spending a chunk of change on a car only to then have over half of its residual value disappear
• Buy ‘nearly new’: This helps you miss out the biggest hit of depreciation you’re likely to experience
• Comprehensive maintenance: Everything from regular servicing, keeping all your documents in order and ensuring everything is clean
• Keep ahead of the curve: If you’re going to sell your car ensure you do it before any refreshed or updated models arrive
• Avoid modifications: No spoilers, wide wheels or any other boy-racer type mods
• Colour: Keep it simple with the colours. While burnt orange may be en vogue with manufacturers at the moment, black and silver will always retain value.

And why is all this important? By ignoring the factors that help contribute to the depreciation of your chosen car, you are potentially letting a lot of money go to waste. Whereas most motorists remain fixated on MPG as the biggest money-saver when it comes to a car, and buying a more efficient car will not only save you money in the short term, a badly depreciating car is going to cost them as much if not more than fuel does during those three year/30k miles estimation.

If all of this sounds rather daunting, and you don’t necessarily like the idea of losing a massive chunk of cash on your new car, leasing really is the most sensible option out there for you. As stated, depreciation isn’t a factor for you to worry about as you’re not only getting the benefits of a great new car, you’re just essentially renting it and give it back to the dealer to worry about at the end of your contract.

Top 25 least depreciating makes and models

If you’re wondering how depreciation affects the value of new cars in detail, here’s the top 25 least depreciating makes and models based on current CAP data listed by how much value they retain:

Position	Manufacturer	Model	Description	Current New Price (£)	% OCN (Original Cost New) Retained at 3yr/30k	Value retained at 3 yr/30K in £	Depreciation of OCN after 3 yr/30K
1	Land Rover	Range Rover Sport  Estate	2.0 SD4 HSE 5dr Auto	59,460	67%	39,550	19,910
2	Porsche	Macan Estate	S Diesel 5dr PDK	45,942	66%	30,425	15,517
3	Porsche	Cayman Coupe	3.8 GT4 2dr	64,451	66%	42,525	21,926
4	Land Rover	Range Rover Evoque Hatchback	2.0 eD4 SE 5dr 2WD	30,545	61%	18,525	12,020
5	Seat	Ateca Estate	1.0 TSI Ecomotive S 5dr	17,935	60%	10,750	7,185
6	BMW	M2 Coupe	M2 2dr	43,525	60%	26,025	17,500
7	Land Rover	Ranger Rover Evoque Convertible	2.0 TD4 HSE Dynamic 2dr Auto	47,300	60%	28,200	19,100
8	Mercedes-Benz	GLA Class Hatchback	GLA 200 SE 5dr	25,075	60%	14925	10150
9	Mercedes-Benz	GLC Coupe	GLC 220d 4Matic Sport 5dr Auto	40,395	59%	23950	16445
10	BMW	Alpina Estate	XD3 3.0 Bi Turbo 5dr Switch-Tronic	56,105	59%	32,925	23,180
11	Ford	Focus RS	2.3 EcoBoost 5dr	30,645	58%	17,875	12,770
12	Aston Martin	DB11 Coupe Special Edition	V12 Launch Edition 2dr Touchtronic Auto	167,015	58%	97,175	69,840
13	Toyota	Prius Hatchback	1.8 VVTi Active 5dr CVT	23240	58%	13,425	9,815
14	Kia	Sportage Estate	1.6 GDi 1 5dr	17,760	58%	10,250	7,510
15	Audi	Q5 Estate	SQ5 [326] Quattro 5dr Tip Auto	45,575	57%	26,125	19,450
16	Audi	RS3 Sportback	2.5 TFSI RS 3 Quattro 5dr S Tronic [Nav]	40250	57%	23025	17225
17	Ford	Mustang	2.3 EcoBoost 2dr	34,835	57%	19,825	15,010
18	BMW	X5 Estate	xDrive40e SE 5dr Auto	52,050	57%	29,525	22,525
19	Porsche	Panamera Saloon	3.6 V6 4dr PDK	63,913	56%	36,075	27,838
20	Jaguar	F-Pace Estate	3.0 Supercharged V6 S 5dr Auto AWD	51,595	56%	29,100	22,495
21	Bentley	Bentayga Estate	6.0 W12 5dr Auto	16,0200	56%	90,350	69,850
22	Mercedes-Benz	GLA Class Hatchback	GLA 200d SE 5dr	26,680	56%	14,900	11,780
23	Mercedes-Benz	AMG GT Coupe	GT 2dr Auto	96,505	56%	53,825	42,680
24	Land Rover	Ranger Rover Sport Estate	3.0 V6 S/C HSE Dynamic 5dr Auto	63,460	55%	35,175	28,285
25	Porsche	Cayenne Estate	Diesel 5dr Tiptronic S	52,689	55%	29,200	23,489