Britain's depreciation winners and losers
The new Porsche 911 will hold its value best over the next three years
Want to know how well today’s factory-fresh cars will retain their value three years from now? The figures are usually off limits, but Auto Express has been given exclusive access to produce a winners’ and losers’ league table of models bought this summer – and this reveals the car predicted to hold most of its value is the Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet.
We compiled the 10 best and worst lists using up-to-the-minute ‘forecast trade value’ data from industry specialist CAP. This contained more than 40,000 models, prices, percentages and predictions. But to prevent the top and bottom 10 being dominated by versions of a single car, we’ve only allowed one of each model on to our league tables.
This also gives us a biggest depreciator list, showing the cars that will lose their value fastest if bought new today. At the bottom is the Volvo S80.
And while the Germans are the depreciation champs with several brands (Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, BMW and BMW-owned MINI) in the Auto Express/CAP top 10, US-owned GM appears to be the chump, with too many Vauxhall and Cadillac models in the bottom 10.
The detailed, normally top-secret CAP figures demonstrate that the ‘best’ cars are predicted to depreciate by less than 50 per cent, three years/30,000 miles after being purchased new. But the ‘worst’ will plummet by more than 80 per cent, making them atrocious new car investments.
The 911’s position at the top underlines Porsche’s reputation for producing desirable new cars that become “high demand” used models, according to the brand. “The long-standing attraction to our products is a factor in their sustainability,” said a spokesman. “Around two-thirds of all Porsches built are still on the road today.”
Volvo, on the other hand, stressed that new S80s are not big sellers. “Around 90 per cent of those purchased are delivered to business customers – mainly high-mileage chauffeur companies on airport runs,” its spokesman said, suggesting there are barely any three-year-old/30,000-mile S80s on the road anyway.
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Depreciation busters |
The top 10 |
| Make/model | Future trade value* |
| Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet PDK | 55.30% |
| MINI Roadster Cooper SD [Chili/Sport/Media Pack] | 55.00% |
| Ferrari 458 Italia | 53.60% |
| Morgan 4/4 1600 Tourer Sport | 52.80% |
| Mercedes A-Class A180 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY AMG Sport | 52.30% |
| Audi A3 1.6 TDI SE 3dr | 52.20% |
| Mercedes SLK 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Auto | 52.10% |
| Porsche Boxster 2.7 PDK | 51.90% |
| Morgan Roadster V6 [4 seats] | 51.80% |
| BMW M135i M Performance 5dr | 51.70% |
|
Worst investments |
The bottom 10 |
| Make/model | Future trade value* |
| Volvo S80 T6 AWD SE Lux | 19.30% |
| Proton Gen-2 Persona saloon 1.6 Auto | 20.60% |
| Vauxhall Insignia saloon 2.8T V6 4X4 Elite Nav Auto | 21.70% |
| Vauxhall Zafira 1.6i [115] Design | 21.70% |
| Citroen C5 saloon 1.6i THP VTR+ Nav | 22.00% |
| Cadillac CTS 3.6 V6 Sport Luxury Auto | 22.20% |
| SsangYong Rodius diesel 270 EX Auto | 22.60% |
| Proton Savvy 1.2 Style 5dr Auto | 22.90% |
| Cadillac STS 4.6 V8 Sport Luxury Auto | 23.10% |
| Jaguar XJ Saloon 5.0 V8 Supercharged Ultimate Auto [LWB] | 23.30% |
*What each car is predicted to be worth, as a percentage, after being bought new in mid-2012 then traded in with 30,000 miles on the clock in mid-2015. Source: CAP
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