#RetainedValue

The tsunami of pre-owned vehicles flooding dealer lots is great news for those seeking an affordable, low-wear used car, but the previous owners are taking a hit.

More than ever before, owners returning their vehicle for a trade-in are discovering their old car’s value sank faster than their ability to pay it off. New car buyers, take warning.

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.

If you’re looking to get the most money back when you drop your car onto the used market in five years, better get into something large and utilitarian.

Large and midsize trucks and SUVs grab the top five-year resale values in Edmund’s 2016 Retained Value Awards, with conventional and luxury midsize and large cars depreciating the most.

The National Automobile Dealers Association new electric vehicle retention list released last week has a tasty little tidbit in its roundup of value retention rates.

Tesla’s Model S, which topped the 3-year value retention rate list for EVs in the new list, also sported a better value rate for most cars on a similar list released last year for all segments, including mid-size luxury cars. That includes BMW.

But the news may not be all good, all the time.

We all know that the value of a car crashes the moment we drive it off the dealer lot. Some do more, some less. Edmunds compiled which brands and makes hold their value more than others.

On a brand level the most prudent cars are made by Acura (honorable mention to Lexus and Infiniti), and, for the more rugged types, by Jeep (honorable mention to Ram and Jeep.) However, people choose brands, but buy cars. So here are Edmunds’ “Best Retained Value Awards” by segment.

If you read, maybe even follow Steve Lang’s advice on car buying, then you know how important and hard it is to fight the dreaded depreciation of your car. The minute you drive it off the dealer’s lot, it has lost a good chunk of its value. Some cars hold their value well, others not so much. Here are the best.