Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

Today the Irvine California-based automotive vehicle information provider released its annual awards for best vehicle resale value by vehicle category as well as the top ten overall models.

Depreciation a major part of vehicle ownership costs

Here at Auto Credit Express, we realize that there is more to a vehicle’s cost than just its initial price. Over the life of a car, a number of things need to be taken into consideration: price, fuel efficiency, maintenance costs and, above all, depreciation.

According to Kelley Blue Book, during the normal ownership period of a car (five years), the loss in value, or depreciation, is the primary expense. It is also one area that consumers can realize a significant savings, simply by choosing a vehicle that depreciates less than a similar vehicle in the same category.

How Kelley Blue Book determines the winners

According to Kelley, the awards are, “designed to help consumers make more informed car-buying decisions.” Based on projections made by the staff at Kelley, the awards, “honor vehicles expected to maintain the greatest proportion of their original retail price after five years of ownership.”

In case you were wondering, the list does not include low-volume vehicles or new cars with a Suggested Retail Price of more than $60,000 (except in the luxury and high-performance categories).

And the winners are:

The Bottom Line

When buying either a new or a used car, you should never confuse cost with price. The price is what you pay for the vehicle, while the cost is what you will end up paying for it over the life of the vehicle ownership. “Especially in today’s tough market and difficult economy, consumers really need to take a hard look at the projected resale value of a car when choosing their next new-vehicle purchase,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst with Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. “Choosing makes, models and options wisely now can help new-car shoppers keep additional money in their pocket down the road when they go to sell or trade-in the vehicle used.”

At Auto Credit Express, we’ve always felt that an informed consumer is our best customer. As an informed consumer, make sure that with your next vehicle purchase you get a fair deal on the cost as well as on the price.

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