If You're Worried About Depreciation, Buy a Jeep Wrangler

Yellow Jeep Wrangler 1941

Photo: Jeep

For a lot of Americans, depreciation can be a good thing. New cars are expensive, with the average new car price now closing in on $50,000, which is more than a lot of people make in a year. So depreciation makes used cars more affordable. But if you’re buying new and want to maximize resale value down the line, it makes sense to avoid depreciation as best as you can.

According to a recent study released by iSeeCars, the new car with the lowest depreciation over five years is the two-door Jeep Wrangler, followed closely by the four-door Jeep Wrangler. In the study, they only lost 7.3 percent and 8.7 percent of their value in that time period. After that, it’s the Porsche 911 at 14.6 percent and the Toyota Tacoma at 14.9 percent. The Honda Civic, Subaru BRZ, Ford Mustang, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Versa, and Chevrolet Camaro rounded out the top 10.

Seeing the Nissan Versa on the list is a little surprising since you probably just shouldn’t buy a Versa in the first place, and it’s hard to imagine only getting a 19.9 percent discount on a five-year-old Versa versus a new one. It’s possible the methodology is flawed, but maybe pandemic-induced shortages really did drive up demand for basic, cheap cars. Plus, there’s the fact that better subcompacts such as the Honda Fit can’t be bought new in the U.S. anymore.

Overall, the study found that five-year depreciation improved from 40 percent on average in 2021 to 33 percent in 2022. Three-year depreciation averages out to only 17 percent. Incidentally, over three years, the Porsche 911, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Jeep Wrangler, and Porsche Cayman all increased in value.

Incidentally, and likely not accounted for in the study, is the fact that those are some of the most in-demand vehicles you can buy new today. Dealer markups are high, and since the study compared used prices to MSRP, that doesn’t appear to be accounted for in the study.

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Maybe the most valuable takeaway is the list of vehicles that depreciated the most over five years. Those are probably the ones you definitely don’t want to pay a dealer markup on, no matter how much you want them.

A screenshot of the cars with the highest depreciation. The BMW 7 Series, Maserati Ghibli, Jaguar XF, and others.

Screenshot: iSeeCars

Yeah, if any dealer wants more than MSRP on a Maserati Ghibli or Jaguar XF, it’s definitely time to walk. If not, you’re on track to lose a whole lot of money.