(Based on the Used Car Expert magazine Edition 3 2009)
The type of car you buy has an impact on how much you will pay and how much you will lose to depreciation.
The average depreciation across all cars over their lifetime is around 15% per annum (albeit, in any given year it can be as high as 40% and as low as 0%). However, city cars always hold a premium, so their lifetime annual average is lowest at 8% and luxury cars, as you might expect have the highest depreciation by sector of 14% on average.
The surprises are perhaps large and small family cars, where the volume of them on the market is hurting residuals:
| Car type |
Depreciation* |
| City cars |
8% (Ford Ka etc) |
| Small cars |
11.03% (Peugeot 207 etc) |
| Small family cars |
13.23% (Vauxhall Astra etc) |
| Large family cars |
13.7% (Ford Mondeos etc) |
| Luxury cars |
14% (Audi A8 Etc) |
| Small 4x4s |
11.9% (BMW X3 etc) |
| Large 4x4s |
12% (Land Rover Discovery etc) |
| Small MPVs |
12.17% (Citroen Picasso etc) |
| Large MPVs |
12.7% (Renault Espace etc) |
| Sports and GT cars |
11.2% (Toyota Celica etc) |
*(Average annual depreciation over a 10 yr span)
For a full price on any of these cars, average mileage and depreciation trends, see the price guide.
For a guaranteed price, and a regional password, get the magazine.