Used Car Expert recently compared a sample of the VW group’s 1 year old 5 door hatchbacks for depreciation.
They compared 2009 registered 1.9 TDI Audi A3s, Volkswagen Golfs, Seat Leons and Skoda Fabias. The results showed:
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4th Audi A3
A 2009 1.9 Tdi model with 9,215 average miles will be around £17,300, and you can sell it with 30,000 miles in 2 years for £12,100 (although average mileage is often 40,000). Total depreciation: £5,200
3rd Volkswagen Golf
A 2009 1.9 Tdi model with 11,000 average miles will be around £14,500, and you can sell it with 34,000 average miles in 2 years for £10,200. Total
depreciation: £4,300
2nd Seat Leon
A 2009 1.9 Tdi model with 3,000 average miles will be around £12,000, and you can sell it with 32,000 average miles in 2 years for £9,500. Total
depreciation: £2,500
1st Skoda Fabia
A 2009 1.9 Tdi model with 5,600 average miles will be around £10,100, and you can sell it with 29,000 average miles in 2 years for £7,600. Total
depreciation: £2,500
Editor Matt Tumbridge commented, “It seems that there is a high price to pay for being fashionable, with the Audi losing more than the other brands. But buyers of Skoda and Seat cars are quids in – they get a car that is as well built and reliable as the former but lose around £2,000 less.”
“We picked these cars because it reflects common advice we give to buyers: buy a 1 year old car to avoid the worst of the depreciation and sell in 2 years when the warranty expires to avoid the big repair costs. Of course the Volkswagen and Audi do have a higher quality of finish and you should factor that in, but its impact is subjective so we stuck to the numbers and ranked them according to depreciation, as that is your biggest fixed cost as a motorist.”