Luxury Sedans And EVs Have Some Of The Worst Depreciation Rates

Luxury cars are loaded with comfort and convenience features, but that makes them pretty expensive. However, this doesn’t mean customers can’t score a good deal on a slightly used model.

As part of a study, iSeeCars analyzed more than 4.8 million vehicle sales to determine how much value they lose after three years. According to their findings, the average model has a depreciation rate of 38.2% but certain vehicles fare significantly worse.

The car with the worst depreciation was the Acura RLX which loses 55.8% of its value after three years. This means buyers can pick up the lightly used luxury sedan for just $28,259.

If that’s too pricey, perhaps the Lincoln MKZ is more to your liking. It loses 55.6% of its value after three years and this means buyers can get their hands on one for around $19,855.

If you’re starting to notice a trend, you should. The entire top ten list of vehicles with the worst depreciation was full of luxury sedans.

The Mercedes E-Class came with third with a depreciation rate of 55.4%. This means it fared slightly worse than the Jaguar XF (54.8%) and Cadillac XTS (54.5%). Rounding out the top ten are the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid (54.5%), Kia K900 ($26,522), BMW 5-Series (53.8%), Cadillac CTS (53.8%) and Audi A6 (53.3%).

Those depreciation rates are significantly worse than average and iSeeCars noted drivers could save an average of $32,375 by opting for a three-year old model instead of their new counterpart.

Customers looking to spend less than $20,000 have plenty of options besides the aforementioned Lincoln MKZ. Thanks to a high depreciation rate of 50.2%, a three year old Kia Cadenza can be bought for around $19,508. Other mainstream models with high depreciation include the Ford Fusion Hybrid (49.7%), Chevrolet Impala (49.4%) and Kia Optima Hybrid (49.2%).

Crossovers and SUVs are in high demand, but a handful lose nearly half their value after three years. These include the Lincoln Navigator L (51.6%), Infiniti QX80 (49.1%) and Lincoln MKT (49.0%). On the value side, the Volkswagen Tiguan has a depreciation rate of 47.7% and this means a three year old model costs an average of $16,235.

Trucks are also popular and they have an average depreciation rate of just 32.5%. However, the Nissan Titan XD loses 45.9% of its value after three years.

Also Read: Top 5 New Cars That Depreciate The Least After One Year

EVs and cars that originally stickered for $80,000 or more were given their own special categories. The EV side shows why as values plummet an average of 56.6% after three years.

The Fiat 500e has a depreciation rate of 69.7%, while the BMW i3 isn’t far behind at 63.3%. The popular Nissan Leaf also loses 59.6% of its value after three years.

On the high-end luxury side, the BMW 6-Series had a depreciation rate of 56.1%. It was followed by the Maserati Ghibli (55.8%) and Quattroporte (55.5%) as well as the Jaguar XJ (54.4%).