Best Resale Value Cars for 2025
The best resale values are determined based on analyzing over 3 million vehicles to calculate how much each model depreciates after 5 years.
Best Resale Value Rankings by Vehicle Type
According to iSeeCars’ calculations, the single largest cost of vehicle ownership is a car’s loss of value over time, or depreciation. While almost all cars lose value over time, how much value they lose and when they lose it can vary across models. iSeeCars’s analysis of over 15 million vehicles shows the depreciation (and the remaining resale value) for new cars after 3, 5, 7, and 10 years. By comparing a used vehicle’s price to its cost when new, iSeeCars can determine how much value a car will retain based on how long it has been owned. The most common timeframe for evaluating vehicle depreciation is 5-years after it was new, making 5-year depreciation a useful benchmark when comparing retained value across vehicles.
As the price of new cars continues to rise, all costs related to buying them become more important for the average car shopper. While buyers can easily recognize the rising MSRP of new vehicles, they may not understand the second most expensive “cost” related to buying a new car: depreciation.
While all new cars suffer depreciation, the amount of depreciation varies substantially between models and manifests as the residual value a vehicle retains (also referred to as resale value or retained value) when it enters the used car market. The residual value is critical because it represents how much money a new car buyer can get back from a vehicle when it’s sold as a used vehicle or serves as a trade-in when buying the next car.
There are some basic guidelines to remember when looking for the best resale value. First, luxury cars tend to depreciate faster than similar models from non-luxury brands. For instance, a Land Rover Range Rover and Kia Telluride are similarly sized, but the Land Rover has a much higher MSRP and will thus experience a much higher level of depreciation versus the Kia after a few years. This remains true despite the Range Rover’s premium nameplate, higher original value, and excellent off-road capabilities.
Models that tend to hold their value better include heavy-duty, full-size pickup trucks like the Ford F-Series Super Duty and midsize pickups like the Ford Ranger. Smaller, fuel-efficient models from the compact car and compact SUV segments have also become more desirable due to rising fuel costs in recent years. The Jeep Wrangler and Subaru Forester are two examples of small SUVs with strong resale value, while the hybrid-powered Ford Maverick, a fuel-efficient compact pickup, holds its value extremely well. All of these models have won best resale value awards from various publications.
From a brand perspective, Lexus and Toyota are two of the best automakers for resale value, but shoppers should use the lists below to identify the best resale value models in each major vehicle category.
Best Resale Value Cars
Best Resale Value SUVs
Best Resale Value Trucks
Best Resale Value Hybrids
Best Resale Value Minivans
How We Rank These Cars
iSeeCars analyzed over 3 million vehicles to calculate the resale value for each model after 5 years. The resale value for a given model is based on the difference between the new car MSRP and the equivalent 5 year-old used car price for the model.
Vehicles within a given category are sorted to show the models with the best resale values first. If two cars have the same resale values, then we break the tie by seeing which vehicle has the higher overall iSeeCars Score. Along with resale value, we show comprehensive iSeeCars ratings for each model, because we believe multiple factors should be taken into account when buyers are seeking the best overall vehicle. Two of these additional factors are reliability and safety, both of which are included in our ratings system.
The overall iSeeCars Score is an analysis of these three key factors: reliability, resale value and safety. It is calculated based on the latest research and analysis by our data science team. The data analysis comes from over 12 million new and used vehicles in our Longest-Lasting Cars and 5-Year Depreciation Studies, combined with NHTSA and IIHS Safety Ratings.
Vehicles are scored in three categories:
Reliability
The reliability score represents an analysis of iSeeCars' proprietary research on the longest-lasting vehicles.
Value Retention
The value retention score is based on our data science team's statistical analysis and prediction of 5-year depreciation from MSRP to determine which cars hold their value best, using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to adjust for inflation.
Safety
The safety score is calculated based on the last five years of crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and incorporates the latest Top Safety Pick information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).