Blue Book: Toyota And Lexus Hold Their Value Best, But The Winner Is The Wrangler

by Bertel Schmitt

November 19th, 2011 8:57 AM

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blue book toyota and lexus hold their value best but the winner is the wrangler

If you are one of those who are itching to buy a new car after years of economy-induced withdrawal, one of the many questions that may run through your mind is the exit strategy from that shiny new car. In other words: How well will the car hold its value? If you want the executive summary: Buy just about any Toyota, Lexus, or the 2012 Jeep Wrangler.

If you need more detail, hit the jump.

Residual value is an important data point in the business. Amongst many other things, the residual value influences your lease rate, and your trade-in, just in case you don’t want to hold on to that car for 10 years, which happens to be the average age of a car on U.S. roads.

To help you with this tough decision, Kelley Blue Book published its 2012 Residual Analysis Report and handed out its Kelley Blue Book’s Best Resale Value Awards. The awards went to Toyota and Lexus. Says Kelley:

“The brand in which the entire lineup of 2012 model-year vehicles is expected to retain the greatest amount of its original value after five years is Toyota. The luxury brand with the same claim is Toyota’s more refined sibling, Lexus. Both brands regain the titles they claimed from Kelley Blue Book back in 2010.”

“Despite Toyota’s success in the 2012 residual rankings, the company lost market share in the U.S. due to its supply shortage following the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The challenge for Toyota next year will be to regain this share without depressing its residual values,” said Eric Ibara, director of residual consulting, Kelley Blue Book. “A number of actions that could quickly increase sales and market share also could jeopardize its residual value crown, including over incentivizing and increasing daily rental volume. Clearly, Toyota’s actions through the next year will be pivotal in shaping its future direction.”

This may all be fine and good, but which car holds its value the best? Kelley came up with this top ten list. It shows the predicted resale value as a percentage of the purchase price after 36 and 60 months.

Kelley Blue Book Value Leaders 2012

RankModel36 months60 months12012 Jeep Wrangler68.0%55.0%22012 Toyota FJ Cruiser67.0%50.0%32012 Toyota Tacoma64.0%49.0%42012 Hyundai Tucson64.3%45.3%52012 Audi Q763.3%44.3%62012 Infiniti FX58.0%44.0%72012 Honda CR-V60.3%43.5%82012 Lexus RX64.0%43.0%92012 Nissan Frontier56.2%42.8%102012 Chevrolet Camaro57.0%42.2%

This list could save you a lot of green, but greenies could possibly congregate for a Kelley Blue Book burning: 9 out of 10 on the list are trucks (or trucklets). The only non-truck on the list is the archetypical American muscle car, in place 10. Also, the list is mildly un-American.

(I of course am morosely interested in which cars are at the very bottom of the list. Steve Lang, did you get your copy?)

#BertelSchmitt #KelleyBlueBook #ResaleValue

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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3 of 45 comments

Steven02 on Nov 21, 2011

I would think resale value would be based up on actual price paid vs MSRP. Easier to calculate vs MSRP, but not a good representation since no one pays MSRP.

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Redav on Nov 21, 2011
one of the many questions that may run through your mind is the exit strategy from that shiny new car Not really. My exit strategy is and always has been to drive my car until it dies. I view the money spent on a car just like that of every other purchase--a sunk cost.

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- Pch101 on Nov 21, 2011
  My exit strategy is and always has been to drive my car until it dies. Your exit strategy may be determined for you, such as if your car has been totaled in a wreck. Therein lies the problem with cars that depreciate rapidly. This can be a bigger problem if you're upside down on a loan at the time that the decision is made for you.
  
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