Fastest depreciating cars: top 10 worst motoring money pits
Almost every new car depreciates, but some shed value faster than others. These are the top 10 fastest depreciating cars on sale today
Forget fuel, road tax or insurance, the biggest cost of running a car is depreciation, otherwise known as the difference between the on-the-road price you pay to buy the car when new and the figure you can recoup when selling it to its next owner.
That second-hand price is also known as the car’s residual value, and if you’re not careful it can be a real sting in the tail of any new or used car deal. Here we’re looking at the fastest depreciating cars on the market, both in terms of percentage retained value and total value lost.
To help you avoid mobile money-pits, we’ve combed the latest new car depreciation data to create a list of possible new car purchases with the biggest sting in the tail - the UK's fastest depreciating cars.
Our list, compiled with expert UK market analysis data, covers cars that you can buy new today and looks at what they will be worth after three years and 36,000 miles of use. These are the disastrous depreciators that experts say you shouldn’t touch with a bargepole, if you want to hang on to your cash. Of course, look at it another way and these cars could be opportunities for the canny used buyer to pick-up a three-year old bargain.
All kinds of market factors have a say in car residual values. Just as rare cars or those with long waiting lists can have very slow depreciation, heavy discounting or abundant supply will usually force values down. Electric cars make-up a large part of the current fastest depreciating top 10 with increasing supply and choice on the market, falling new prices and discounting by manufacturers needing to comply with the ZEV mandate all having an impact.
The 10 fastest depreciating cars in the UK
Now scroll down to read more about the models that make the top 10, according to our expert data.
10. Jaguar I-Pace
- Variant: 90kWh 400 R-Dynamic
- Retained value: 30.75%
- Average new price: £69,995
- Average retained value: £21,525
Whatever Jaguar pulls out of the hat with its upcoming rebrand and the imposing Type 00 luxury vehicle it plans to sell in 2026, customers will be hoping for better residuals than for the company’s outgoing electric car. The Jaguar I-Pace was ahead of the curve with luxury EVs but the competition caught up quickly, and the car’s 292-mile range has been overtaken by some much humbler vehicles. That might be why an I-Pace is barely worth 30 per cent of its new value after three years – though the prospect of a three-year old model for little more than £20,000 is much more appealing for used buyers.
9. Maserati Ghibli
- Variant: 3.8 V8 580 Ultima
- Retained value: 30.68%
- Average new price: £159,625
- Average retained value: £48,975
The Maserati Ghibli originally looked and sounded like a car that could really make headway in the executive sports saloon class. Unfortunately, it is plagued with problems including high prices, questionable quality and the fact that it’s been on sale for a decade with only minor updates. If you want the full-fat V8-powered Ultima version, brace yourself because you’ll pay an average price of almost £160,000, with only a little over 30 per cent of that being recouped when you come to sell it three years later.
8. Audi S6
- Variant: S6 3.0 TDI
- Retained value: 30.42%
- Average new price: £87,925
- Average retained value: £26,750
The reserved, diesel-powered Audi S6 is somewhat forgotten next to the bellicose styling and V8 power of the RS6, which probably doesn’t help deprecation that sees more than £61,000 disappear into the ether over the course of three years. In most cases it’ll be a lease firm or PCP agreement facing the brunt of that, rather than a cash buyer, but it shows Audi’s values aren’t always as rock-solid as the company’s image. It’s another car that represents fabulous value used, however.
7. Vauxhall Corsa Electric
- Variant: 51kWh 156 GS
- Retained value: 30.34%
- Average new price: £32,625
- Average retained value: £9,900
The Vauxhall Corsa Electric shares the same underpinnings as the Peugeot e-208, and it suffers from even worse depreciation woes (the Peugeot is only 22nd worst depreciating on the market, rather than 7th…). Vauxhall’s supermini is one of the more “normal-feeling” EVs out there, which should help make it more appealing to drivers who are looking to move over from combustion for the first time.
The big problem is that the Corsa Electric costs over £10,000 more than the entry-level petrol version if you buy it brand-new and don’t negotiate a discount. As you can see from these figures, used buyers could save a packet on a three-year-old example.
6. GWM Ora 03
- Variant: 48kWh 171 Pure+
- Retained value: 30.24%
- Average new price: £31,995
- Average retained value: £9,675
The Chinese car industry is catching up fast with European brands, and some might say it’s overtaken Europe in several areas. It hasn’t escaped electric car depreciation, however, if the GWM Ora 03 (formerly Ora Funky Cat) is any indication. That’s because for a car that cost more than £30k new, you can expect the Ora 03 to be worth under ten grand after three years. With buyers not exactly clamouring for this oddly-styled vehicle from an unfamiliar brand, expect it to be even cheaper given another year or two on the market.
5. Audi A8
- Variant: 50 TDI V6 Sport Technology Pro Pack
- Retained value: 30.16%
- Average new price: £96,165
- Average retained value: £29,000
Luxury car for the price of a new high-end supermini, anyone? That’s what those buying a three-year old Audi A8 will get, given it’ll be worth little more than 30 per cent of its original price after that period. There’s very little wrong with the car itself, but compared to their smaller counterparts, big German luxury saloons have always depreciated quickly, with owners only too happy to trade into new models after a few years, and used buyers hesitant to take on the hefty fuel and maintenance bills that a car like this can spring up.
4. Maserati Levante
- Variant: 3.8 V8 Trofeo
- Retained value: 29.13%
- Average new price: £143,225
- Average retained value: £41,725
We’re not too surprised to see our second Maserati in this list; just like the Maserati Ghibli, it’s the top-of-the-line version of the Levante SUV, in this case the Trofeo, that loses the most value over three years, shedding more than £100,000 – yep, our eyes are watering from that too. The 523bhp, V8-powered Trofeo is good to drive and undoubtedly looks and feels special, but a high performance SUV from a brand struggling to find its place in the modern world is clearly an ephemeral thing with buyers.
3. DS3 E-Tense
- Variant: E-Tense 54kWh Pallas
- Retained value: 28.32%
- Average new price: £39,200
- Average retained value: £11,000
If you’re using this article as a shopping list for your next used family car, then here’s another to consider: a three-year old DS3 E-Tense will set you back only £11,000 on average, just 28% of what it cost when new. The DS3’s far from the best compact electric SUV you can buy today but given that its high new pricing is one of the less appealing things about it, that’s a rather large barrier removed for used buyers. The 54kWh model here has a claimed 250-mile range, and it’s a refined drive with an attractive, if slightly confusing, dashboard layout.
2. Vauxhall Mokka-E
- Variant: 54kWh Ultimate Long Range
- Retained value: 28.30%
- Average new price: £42,045
- Average retained value: £11,900
If the DS3’s styling is a little much for you, then its Stellantis sibling, the Vauxhall Mokka-E, may be worth a look – provided you’re buying used. New buyers, or their finance companies at least, have to suffer a £30k drop in value over three years, to just 28.30% of the car’s new price in Ultimate trim. Like the DS3 the Mokka-E is a perfectly serviceable small electric SUV, looks good, and has a sensible cabin design, but if you’re buying new, stick to one of the cheaper lower trim levels, which don’t shed their value quite as quickly.
1. Nissan Leaf
- Variant: 39kWh Acenta
- Retained value: 26.97%
- Average new price: £29,290
- Average retained value: £7,900
The Nissan Leaf isn’t long for this world. It was the pioneer of accessible electric cars when it launched back in 2011, and the second generation introduced in 2017 brought meaningful improvements to the formula, but the car will be put to pasture in 2026, replaced by something else.
Buyers overlooking it in favour of more interesting, longer-range, and better value EVs may have something to do with that, and also why the Leaf takes the wooden spoon for depreciation in 2025, losing within a few percentage points of three quarters of its new value after three years. It could be a smart buy if you’re shopping for a used car as a result, even if its 239-mile range is now well off the pace.
Top 10 fastest depreciating cars in the UK
- Nissan Leaf
- Vauxhall Mokka-E
- DS3 E-Tense
- Maserati Levante
- Audi A8
- GWM Ora 03
- Vauxhall Corsa Electric
- Audi S6
- Maserati Ghibli
- Jaguar I-Pace
What makes a car depreciate fast?
As you’d expect, the slowest depreciating cars are models in strong demand, with desirable badges and good reputations for reliability, quality and safety. They are discounted less than rivals when new, and hold their money at resale time.
Strangely, the worst depreciators often have highly desirable badges too, but their new prices are just too stratospheric to do anything but plummet when it’s time to find a second owner. Bread and butter models from mainstream brands whose badges offer little in the way of aspirational value, and whose reputations for quality or performance are not in the same league as models from the ‘in demand’ brands, can suffer too.
People like to joke about cars losing half their value the moment they’re driven off the forecourt but that’s rarely actually the case. Even the worst performers will take a couple of years or more to lose half their value, while some rare, exotic or limited production models may even rise in value – or appreciate – but, of course, that’s not the experience for most new car buyers.
Still, there’s a vast range of depreciation performance across the new car spectrum. Typically a strong performer will lose less than half of its value over a three-year/36,000-mile ownership cycle, with the slowest depreciating cars still worth 60-70 per cent of what you paid for them. Conversely, a poor depreciator can easily lose 50-60 per cent of its on-the-road price over the same timeframe.
Remember that all depreciation is calculated based on the car’s official list price and if dealers are offering heavy discounts on a car, the depreciation figures will look bad but very few people will actually be paying that much to buy new. Plus, depreciation is a cost that only crystallises when you sell the car. If you hold on to it for longer it isn’t a concern.
Why are some electric car residual values so low?
In the UK, the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate means that manufacturers are now legally required to sell a rising proportion of fully-electric cars every year up until 2030, when this number will reach 100 per cent.
In order to meet these percentage targets, brands are increasingly resorting to discounting or long-term price cuts to help boost sales of EVs. Naturally, this has an effect on the value of electric cars on the used market further down the line.
In addition to this, the rapid development of EV technology and the expanding amount of choice for consumers means that some older models can start to feel dated quite quickly, thus reducing their appeal to car buyers compared to new alternatives. And it’s not all EVs that have a depreciation issue, some of the more popular and competitively priced options hold their value very well.
Car depreciation: the worst of the rest
Our list of the top 10 fastest depreciating cars includes a heady mix of the overpriced, the unfashionable and the unremarkable. If you look further down the charts there’s more of the same, as well as some surprises.
| Model | Average new price | Average part-ex value (3 years/36,000 miles) | Average retained value (3 years/36,000 miles) | |
| 1 | Nissan Leaf 39kWh Acenta | £29,290 | £7,900 | 26.97% |
| 2 | Vauxhall Mokka-E 54kWh Ultimate Long Range | £42,045 | £11,900 | 28.30% |
| 3 | DS3 E-Tense 54kWh Pallas | £39,200 | £11,100 | 28.32% |
| 4 | Maserati Levante 3.8 V8 Trofeo | £143,225 | £41,725 | 29.13% |
| 5 | Audi A8 50 TDI V6 Sport Technology Pro Pack | £96,165 | £29,000 | 30.16% |
| 6 | GWM Ora 03 48kWh 171 Pure+ | £31,995 | £9,675 | 30.24% |
| 7 | Vauxhall Corsa Electric 51kWh 156 GS | £32,625 | £9,900 | 30.34% |
| 8 | Audi S6 3.0 TDI | £87,925 | £26,750 | 30.42% |
| 9 | Maserati Ghibli 3.8 V8 580 Ultima | £159,625 | £48,975 | 30.68% |
| 10 | Jaguar I-Pace 90kWh 400 R-Dynamic | £69,995 | £21,525 | 30.75% |
| 11 | Fiat 500e 42kWh Giorgio Armani | £33,995 | £10,625 | 31.25% |
| 12 | Honda E 35.5kWh Advance | £38,345 | £12,100 | 31.56% |
| 13 | Maserati Quattroporte 3.8 V8 Trofeo | £142,745 | £45,775 | 32.07% |
| 14 | BMW 840i M Sport | £83,990 | £27,325 | 32.53% |
| 15 | Fiat Tipo 1.5 MHEV Cross | £29,225 | £9,650 | 33.02% |
| 16 | Mazda MX-30 35.5kWh Makoto | £32,395 | £10,700 | 33.03% |
| 17 | MG5 61.6kWh Trophy | £34,040 | £11,325 | 33.27% |
| 18 | Volvo C40 Recharge/EC40 82kWh Twin Motor Ultra | £61,885 | £20,700 | 33.47% |
| 19 | DS9 1.6 E-Tense PHEV Opera | £64,800 | £21,775 | 33.60% |
| 20 | Mercedes-Benz C220 Cabriolet AMG Line Edition Premium | £51,640 | £17,350 | 33.60% |
We’re done with the depreciation disasters, now take a look at the cars that hold their value best...
