12 Views
No One Wants Your Worthless Small Car, and Its Retained Value Shows It
by
Steph Willems
(IC: employee)
Published: October 27th, 2016
Share
Is there a tiny pinpoint of light that can stir some meager hope in the heart of the compact and midsize passenger car segment? No, no there isn’t.Even as sticker prices for these vehicles rise and as manufacturers endow them with enough technological goodies to make your mom’s car from yesterday look like a chuckwagon, retained value is dropping as fast as the segments’ market share.Once a driving force, the segment has now become a red-headed stepchild at auction. According to data from Kelley Blue Book, no one wants to pay more for the extra content on these vehicles and it’s dragging down the industry-wide retained value average.The average price of all one- to three-year-old vehicles sold at auction remains static, but retained value continued its downward slide. Average retained value hit 56 percent of MSRP by the end of the quarter — a nearly four percent decrease from 2014’s average.This isn’t to say that there aren’t hot segments stacked with vehicles that hold their values at auction. SUVs and pickups are sales leaders with high sticker prices that consumers are only too happy to pay and they top the retained value list. The best performer? The growing midsize pickup segment, which sees 2015 models retain 87 percent of their value.Still, it’s compact and midsize passenger cars that serve as a high-volume boat anchor. Used compact cars saw a retained value decline of 9.7 percent, year to date, while midsizers declined 10.8 percent. That puts the average auction price of a one- to three-year-old compact at $9,931 and midsize cars at $11,645.This is great news for those looking to buy a slightly used sedan. More content at no extra cost? Who can complain? Still, the value drop is indicative of the segments’ declining popularity — a market shift that was once unthinkable. Now, America’s changing buying habits are Mexico’s manufacturing gain.Crossovers and SUVs overtook passenger cars in new vehicle sales this past summer, and the trend continued last month. Sales of compact cars dropped 1 percent and midsize cars dropped 11 percent. The worst offender among one-year-old compact vehicles? The 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer, which kept only 47 percent of its value. The midsize segment’s worst offender, the soon-to-be-dead Chrysler 200, fared even worse with a retained value of only 46 percent.Full-size cars are in trouble, too, and subcompacts share the same affliction. Still, none of these segments can claim the lowest rung on the retained value ladder. That infamy goes to hybrids and battery electric vehicles.[Image: Toyota]
Steph Willems
More by Steph Willems
Published October 27th, 2016 3:00 PM
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- Harry HOW i RECOVER MY LOST OR STOLEN FUNDS:You should gather and document all relevant details about the theft, such as transaction IDs, wallet addresses, and any communication with the scammer if any, and then proceed to message SYLVESTER. G. BRYANT to get back your lost/ stolen funds by sharing the evidence you've compiled. he was the only one who was able to recover my funds I was so surprised he got back my money worth $52k but glory be to God and all thanks to him.. here is his contact below: Instagram: Yt7crackerszEmail: Yt7crackersz@ gmail,com
- Daniel J I had read an article several years ago that one of the issues that workers were complaining about with this plant is that 1/3 of the workforce were temporary workers. They didn't have the same benefits as the other 2/3 of the employees. Will this improve this situation or make it worse? Do temporary workers get a vote?I honestly don't care as long as it is not a requirement to work at the plant.
- Kosmo Tragic. Where in the name of all that is holy did anybody get the idea that self-driving cars were a good idea? I get the desire for lane-keeping, and use it myself, occasionally, but I don't even like to look across the car at my passenger while driving, let along relinquish complete control.
- Bof65705611 There’s one of these around the corner from me. It still runs…driven daily, in fact. That fact always surprises me.
- Master Baiter I'm skeptical of any project with government strings attached. I've read that the new CHIPS act which is supposed to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. is so loaded with DEI requirements that companies would rather not even bother trying to set up shop here. Cheaper to keep buying from TSMC.
Comments
Join the conversation
" I don’t like floating around in a big goddamn boat of a car. But I do realize I’m in the tiny, tiny minority." . That's not necessarily true ~ Most of the folks of any age group I know prefer smaller vehicles because they're much more fun to actually _drive_ . I'm an outlier because I grew up in the 1950's and 1960's squeezed into tiny little crap imported boxes but I see lots and lots of people of all ages out driving small two door Coupes every day, every where I go . It depends on what you want to do : I only had one child to raise and we never carried the Metric crap load of unnecessary junk most Parents think they need these days so a 1948 VW Beetle or a '1962 Renault Dauphine Sedan were just fine and dandy if slow . The same with pickup trucks ~ if a Motocycle will fit in the bed (1969 Chevy C/10 stepside) that's enough ~ most of the time I'll only carrying a tool box or engines/trannies so no actual need for a 3/4 ton behemoth that's not fun to drive in the canyons, thirsty at the fuel pump and unpleasant to parallel park . Small vehicles rock ! . -Nate
How about the resale on used luxury sedans? Enjoying the heck out of a 2013 E Class for less than new Camry money. The E350 really goes with the new engine and (to me) it handles like my 84 Porshe 944. It is a little too stiffly sprung and under-damped, but still fun.