New or Used? If Price Is the Only Thing That Matters, These Depreciation Deals Are for You

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Autumn is here, leaves are falling, and dealers are marking down remaining 2016 inventory to free up room for models that won’t sound old in three months.

It’s a good time to hunt for that smoking deal on the 2016 vehicle of your dreams, but if your dreams — and bank balance — fail to reach that goal, looking back another model year could save you a lot of money.

New car looks and a low entry price can be yours if you’re willing to live with a vehicle boasting limited appeal and awful resale value. These are your best bets.

According to iSeeCars.com, which analyzed 14 million new and used cars between August 1, 2015 and July 31 of this year, buyers can easily save five figures on a number of 2015 models compared to their 2016 counterparts.

The crowned winner of the depreciation game is a vehicle almost universally loathed by the car buying public. We’re off to a bad start. Yes, it’s the Fiat 500L. Sales of this ungainly, Serbian-built Italian have flatlined, and resale values have tumbled off a cliff. Prices of 2015 models are 34.6 percent lower than the Class of ’16. Good news for the man or woman with eccentric tastes and a limited bank balance.

The second-largest drop in resale value goes to an old model that’s already extinct. The Lincoln MKS was axed from the lineup to make room for the 2017 Continental, meaning there’s likely a few good deals to be found on 2016 models. However, one-year-old model year MKS sedans undercut the 2016s in price by 34.5 percent, or a difference of $16,039. This could be a good option if you’re easing into retirement and your pension doesn’t allow the same buying power.

From Scandinavia comes the third-place depreciation winner, the Volvo S60. This Swedish sedan sees an average price drop of 34.4 percent between 2015 and 2016 models, a difference of $14,204.

The one-year-old depreciation list continues through the Kia Cadenza at No. 4 (who isn’t talking Cadenza these days?), Mercedes-Benz C250 (a $15,247 drop), Nissan Maxima, and Lincoln MKZ and MKZ Hybrid. The No. 8 placeholder, Jaguar’s XF, sees the largest price difference between 2015 and 2016 models — $19,966.

Numbers nine through 12 are occupied by the Fiat 500, Cadillac ATS, Chrysler 300 and Buick Regal. Even the models at the bottom of the list see a value drop of more than 31 percent.

The other side of the coin doesn’t help buyers looking for a deal, but it’s great for owners. The list of vehicles that saw the least depreciation is heavy with trucks and SUVs, go figure. While the crown goes to the Chevrolet Colorado, with a price drop of only seven percent over 2016 models, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and GMC Canyon aren’t far behind.

The Honda Fit and Nissan Frontier place No. 4 and 5 on the list, with the fifth-place finisher showing an 8.8 percent price difference over new. Subaru’s smaller cars take the next three spots, followed by the Toyota Highlander and Range Rover.

[Image: Volvo Car Corporation]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Lightspeed Lightspeed on Oct 24, 2016

    Am surprised the 4Runner wasn't at the top of the lowest depreciation list. Around here, the older they are the more they are going up in price, regardless of condition.

    • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Oct 24, 2016

      Keep in mind their data sample was less than a year for this, so you're only really going to get results on 2015 and 2016 cars because that's all that sells in large enough volume to make such a list. Stuff before 2015 is going to have a sample size too small.

  • Chan Chan on Oct 24, 2016

    A 500L with either the stick or the 6AT is a steal for a compact family car. Yes, the interior is a bit cheap but it's better than anything else you can get in the low $20s. Plus, uConnect rocks. I have the DCT version and would advise against it. It's programmed to auto-creep because FCA thinks Americans are too dumb to adapt to the lack thereof. Creeping a DCT is awful for the clutch unless you proactively prevent it from happening.

  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
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