Best Resale Value Compact Cars for 2023
The best resale value compact cars are determined based on analyzing over 3 million vehicles to calculate how much each compact car model depreciates after 5 years.
The Subaru WRX has the best resale value among compact cars. The WRX retains 70.7 percent of its value after 5 years, with an average price of $26,930 for 5-year-old models. The WRX's resale value puts it 9.8 percent above the resale value average for compact cars, which is 60.9 percent.
The Honda Civic ranks #2 for best resale value for compact cars. The Civic retains 69.6 percent of its value after 5 years, with an average price of $20,324 for 5-year-old models. The Civic's resale value is 8.7 percent higher than the resale value average for compact cars.
The Honda Civic (coupe) is the #3 ranked compact car with the best resale value. The Civic's resale value is 69 percent after 5 years with the average price for a 5-year old Civic being $21,537. Its resale value is 8.1 percent more than the average resale value for a compact car.
The Subaru WRX has the best resale value among compact cars. The WRX retains 70.7 percent of its value after 5 years, with an average price of $26,930 for 5-year-old models. The WRX's resale value puts it 9.8 percent above the resale value average for compact cars, which is 60.9 percent.
The Honda Civic ranks #2 for best resale value for compact cars. The Civic retains 69.6 percent of its value after 5 years, with an average price of $20,324 for 5-year-old models. The Civic's resale value is 8.7 percent higher than the resale value average for compact cars.
The Honda Civic (coupe) is the #3 ranked compact car with the best resale value. The Civic's resale value is 69 percent after 5 years with the average price for a 5-year old Civic being $21,537. Its resale value is 8.1 percent more than the average resale value for a compact car.
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5-yr resale value 70.7%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $26,930
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
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Reliability 7.0 / 10
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Value Retention 9.3 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
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5-yr resale value 69.6%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $20,324
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
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Reliability 8.8 / 10
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Value Retention 9.1 / 10
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Safety 9.0 / 10
3. Honda Civic (coupe)
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5-yr resale value 69%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $21,537
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 9.0 / 10
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Value Retention 9.1 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
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5-yr resale value 67.2%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $17,884
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 8.7 / 10
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Value Retention 8.8 / 10
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Safety 9.0 / 10
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5-yr resale value 66%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $18,414
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
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Reliability 8.6 / 10
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Value Retention 8.7 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
6. Volkswagen Beetle
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5-yr resale value 64.2%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $22,134
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
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Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention 8.5 / 10
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Safety Not Available
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5-yr resale value 64%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $23,611
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 8.3 / 10
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Value Retention 8.4 / 10
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Safety 9.0 / 10
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5-yr resale value 63.8%
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention 8.4 / 10
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Safety 9.0 / 10
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5-yr resale value 62%
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
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Reliability 8.9 / 10
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Value Retention 8.2 / 10
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Safety 9.0 / 10
10. Hyundai VELOSTER
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5-yr resale value 61.7%
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
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Reliability 7.5 / 10
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Value Retention 8.2 / 10
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Safety Not Available
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5-yr resale value 60.5%
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 8.9 / 10
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Value Retention 8.0 / 10
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Safety 9.0 / 10
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 7.6 / 10
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Value Retention 8.0 / 10
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Safety 8.0 / 10
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5-yr resale value 60.2%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $24,008
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 7.3 / 10
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Value Retention 8.0 / 10
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Safety 9.0 / 10
14. Volkswagen Golf
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5-yr resale value 60%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $19,069
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
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Reliability 8.2 / 10
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Value Retention 8.0 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
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5-yr resale value 59.8%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $34,337
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention 8.0 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
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5-yr resale value 58.9%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $15,752
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 7.8 / 10
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Value Retention 7.9 / 10
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Safety 8.6 / 10
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5-yr resale value 58.7%
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention 7.8 / 10
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Safety Not Available
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5-yr resale value 57.9%
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention 7.8 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
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5-yr resale value 57.1%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $11,801
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 7.1 / 10
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Value Retention 7.7 / 10
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Safety Not Available
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5-yr resale value 56.8%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $16,608
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 8.2 / 10
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Value Retention 7.6 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
21. Chevrolet Cruze
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5-yr resale value 56.3%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $15,338
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention 7.6 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
22. Hyundai ELANTRA GT
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5-yr resale value 56.3%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $17,013
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 7.1 / 10
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Value Retention 7.6 / 10
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Safety 8.0 / 10
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5-yr resale value 55.9%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $14,333
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 7.9 / 10
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Value Retention 7.5 / 10
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Safety 9.1 / 10
24. Chevrolet Cruze (hatchback)
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5-yr resale value 53.8%
- Avg 5-yr old price: $16,384
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention 7.2 / 10
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Safety 10 / 10
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability 7.0 / 10
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Value Retention 6.8 / 10
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Safety Not Available
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5-yr resale value Not Available
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars-
Reliability Coming soon
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Value Retention Coming soon
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Safety Not Available
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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 | 33.3%
The reliability score represents an analysis of iSeeCars' proprietary research on the longest-lasting vehicles.
Value Retention | 33.3%
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 | 33.3%
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).