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Kelley Blue Book's Best Resale Value Cars

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Harlan L. Landes 208x208 Written by Luke Landes
Last updated on July 25, 2019 Comments: 2

A reached another milestone earlier this week. My 2004 Honda Civic, which I purchased new in June 2004, passed 111,111 miles, after passing 100,000 in March. The car runs wonderfully still, as I expected it would years ago when I purchased it, and I don’t intend on selling it for a while, if at all.

Although Civics traditionally have great resale values, this did not come into play in my decision. I intended, and still intend, if other circumstances of my life remain the same, to keep the car until it dies or until required maintenance makes the car more of a hassle and more expensive to own. I see no reason to buy or lease a new car every few years. With something reliable, held for a long time, I can keep the cost of ownership down so I have more money to save or to spend on other expenses.

For me, this news is somewhat irrelevant, but I nevertheless find these kinds of ratings interesting. Kelley Blue Book has announced its list of sixteen cars offering the best resale value. Resale value is measured as a percentage of the retail price, based on the estimated sale price of the car at five years.

Honda CR-VHere is the list:

  • Full-size car: Ford Taurus (36.8%)
  • Luxury car: Audi A5 (42.3%)
  • High performance: Chevrolet Camaro (44.0%)
  • Compact SUV: Honda CR-V (44.5%)
  • Compact car: Mini Cooper Clubman (46.3%)
  • Hybrid/Alt. fuel: Toyota Prius (44.0%)
  • Mid-size pickup: Toyota Tacoma (44.0%)
  • Full-size pickup: Ford F-series Super Duty (38.2%)
  • Mid-size SUV: Toyota Highlander (41.0%)
  • Full-size SUV: Honda Pilot (35.7%)
  • Luxury SUV: Lexus RX 350 (42.0%)
  • Hybrid/Alt. fuel SUV: BMW X5 Turbo Diesel (42.0%)
  • Minivan: Toyota Siena (33.3%)
  • Mid-size car: Honda Accord (40.0%)
  • Near-luxury car: Lexus IS350 (42.5%)

Is resale value a concern when you make your car purchasing decisions? I prefer metrics such as total cost of ownership and reliability.

Photo credit: labnol

Article comments

2 comments
Anonymous says:
December 3, 2009 at 1:28 pm

I am looking for a new car and resale value is not figuring into it. In fact it’s getting in the way – I am trying to choose between a Fit and a Prius, and I would love a comparison of the TCO over the life of the vehicle, but even though comparisons exist for exactly those two vehicles, they are not applicable to me because they assume driving the vehicle 5 years and then selling it at it’s 5-year-resale value. I plan to keep the vehicle until it becomes unreliable enough to be a nuisance. I’ve had my Ford ranger for almost 11 years now, and would expect my next vehicle to be around at least that long.

When I was young and foolish, I spent $10 on a VCR feature I knew I would never use because I believed it would increase the resale value. I still have that VCR – I would be lucky to get $10 total for it now.

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Anonymous says:
December 3, 2009 at 9:35 am

I don’t really consider resale value, because I don’t ever intend to sell my cars. My strategy is to buy a used car that still has a lot of life left in it, and drive it til it’s barely limping along. By the time I’m done with a car, it’s usually worth only a few hundred bucks, so I’m not too concerned with whether it holds its value or not. Current car: A 2003 Corolla that I bought a few months ago. I’m expecting to drive this thing for many years to come.

It drives my spouse crazy, but I would always rather own a Toyota than anything else. (He has this crazy idea that you should look for the best-performing car and the best value, not go with the same brand over and over as a reflex.)

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