Top 10 Luxury Vehicles With the Highest Resale Valueby Stephen Milioti and Matthew de PaulaMonday, June 11, 2007provided by
The most expensive, fastest and least-practical vehicles are often the ones that retain the most value over time.
Not every vehicle on our list of the top 10 new luxury vehicles with the highest resale value embodies speed, excess and impracticality — for instance, Toyota’s staid Avalon sedan made the ranking. But most of them have at least one of those qualities. The Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, which ties for first place, has all three: It’s a six-figure, brutish SUV that, despite its all-terrain pedigree, is tailored for driving on-road, not off.
High-performance capability and advanced technology, like sophisticated stability control systems or additional airbags and impact protection, are good indicators of high resale value, says Eric Ibara, director of market valuation at Kelley Blue Book, whose data was used to compile our list. The top-ranked Chevrolet Corvette, the supercharged BMW Alpina B7, and even the seemingly mild-mannered Infiniti M45 luxury sedan are all high-speed performers. Likewise, the two hybrids that made the list — the Lexus GS 450h and Honda Accord Hybrid — are performance oriented.
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Supply and demand also have a big influence on how much value a vehicle retains over time. A car that sells well, meaning that it doesn’t languish unwanted on dealer lots and commands full sticker price or close to it, “will get a correspondingly good price when it’s used,” says Larry Batton, president of Auto Appraisal Group, based in Charlottesville, Va.
That could be why only one American vehicle, the Chevrolet Corvette, made this list. “A disproportionate number of dealer incentives have been applied to American cars,” says Kelley Blue Book’s Ibara. American auto manufacturers accounted for about 62 percent, or $2.2 billion, of all incentives spending on new vehicles sold in the U.S. in April, according to CNW Marketing Research. By comparison, Asian automakers accounted for nearly 34 percent, or $1.1 billion, in incentives spending during April, and European manufacturers accounted for just over 4 percent, or $144 million in incentives spending, according CNW data. “When car companies resort to huge incentives on new cars, it applies downward pressure on one- and two-year-old vehicles — as the new car price drops, so do the used car prices,” Ibara says.
Most vehicles on this list sell for their manufacturers’ suggested retail prices (MSRPs). Ones like the ultra-rare BMW Alpina B7, a performance-tuned version of , could easily sell for more than the MSRP. In general, vehicles that are in high demand due to limited production retain their value well. This encompasses not just extremely scarce models like the Alpina B7, of which only 200 will be sold in the U.S., but even more mainstream ones that simply aren’t produced in huge numbers, like the Infiniti M45. “It isn’t as common as the Infiniti G35, which you see all over and is easy to lease for a reasonable amount,” Ibara says. Infiniti sold 8,136 M45s from January through May, and 23,988 G35s during that same time period, according to the most recent data from CNW Marketing Research.Note that the prices for all vehicles on this list are base MSRPs for the particular trim level and don’t include add-ons. That’s an important distinction when it comes to resale values, says Ricky Beggs, vice president and managing editor at Black Book National Auto Research, which tracks car valuation. If you stick $25,000 of options on any one of these cars, it could negatively affect the resale-value ratings.
“A lot of vehicles in dealerships have a lot of extra equipment on them — specifically, when people are leasing, they throw on a lot of extras,” Beggs says. “If the owners sell it in a few years, they’ll find that ‘fluff’ options might not retain value as much as the overall car does.” Those “fluff” options are features that could soon become obsolete, like dashboard-mounted touch-screen-type technologies, navigation systems, etc. — things that are expensive now when they’re new technology, but that could evolve quickly and become outdated faster than a pair of Skidz.
Our list of the top 10 luxury vehicles with the highest residual values was compiled using Kelley Blue Book data for new vehicles with MSRPs $30,000 and up, including specific trims of vehicles, not just base MSRPs. The residual values are expressed as a percent of the original MSRP five years into the future. We've put the vehicles in ascending order. Vehicles that tied for a particular ranking are in alphabetical order.
Kelley Blue Book estimates future vehicle values based on a model’s past performance as well as new or notable features. “The best indicator of future performance is past performance,” Ibara says. For newly introduced models, Kelley Blue Book looks to past similar models from a given manufacturer.
Copyright © 2007 Forbes.com LLC
Modified by buhdda at 8:38 AM 6/13/2007
m45, 4th highest resale value amongst luxury cars?
Re: m45, 4th highest resale value amongst luxury cars? (buhdda)
although the rationale seems right i dont think M45 have good resale value, yes supply is limited but i think demand is also very small for japaneese luxury cars
Re: m45, 4th highest resale value amongst luxury cars? (buhdda)
Opinions regarding resale values presented in magazines are not always in tune with the real world. Neither are those listings in authoriative sites such as KBB or Edmunds.
Case in point: While with a friend who was looking to buy a new luxury sedan I asked the dealers what they would give me on my 2006 M45 with 5,200 miles on it. It has the journey and tech packages, Lojack and a hard-wired passport 8500 radar detector installed.
Here is what I found:
Lexus in Peoria, AZ $32,000 (trade-in on a GS450h)Mercedes in Phoenix, AZ $30,000 (trade-in on a E320 Bluetec)BMW in Scottsdale, AZ $31,000. (trade-in on a 550)
Both KBB and Edmunds had a much higher value listed for the M45.
If I were going to buy a new car, I would not trade-in my M45. Instead, I would seek a private party. Who knows what the real value of the M45 is? It is whatever someone will pay for it.
Case in point: While with a friend who was looking to buy a new luxury sedan I asked the dealers what they would give me on my 2006 M45 with 5,200 miles on it. It has the journey and tech packages, Lojack and a hard-wired passport 8500 radar detector installed.
Here is what I found:
Lexus in Peoria, AZ $32,000 (trade-in on a GS450h)Mercedes in Phoenix, AZ $30,000 (trade-in on a E320 Bluetec)BMW in Scottsdale, AZ $31,000. (trade-in on a 550)
Both KBB and Edmunds had a much higher value listed for the M45.
If I were going to buy a new car, I would not trade-in my M45. Instead, I would seek a private party. Who knows what the real value of the M45 is? It is whatever someone will pay for it.
Re: m45, 4th highest resale value amongst luxury cars? (buhdda)
Ha. Ha. And HA!!!!
2007 M45 Sport with aero kit and technology package. Flawless condition with 11K miles. Paid $57K for it last August. Tried to trade it in a few weeks ago...
$40K was the highest the Lexus dealership would go.
What a joke. Last Infiniti I ever own.
Tony
2007 M45 Sport with aero kit and technology package. Flawless condition with 11K miles. Paid $57K for it last August. Tried to trade it in a few weeks ago...
$40K was the highest the Lexus dealership would go.
What a joke. Last Infiniti I ever own.
Tony
Re: m45, 4th highest resale value amongst luxury cars? (Tony407)
^I agree with you but 2 be fair even the article points out that the options hold value much worse than the car.
Re: m45, 4th highest resale value amongst luxury cars? (buhdda)
I said goodbye to my 2006 M45. This came about because of the events.
A few months ago, while I was in a parking lot, someone took a ring or coin or some such hard edge and ran it vertically on my back bumper. The scratch was about eight inches long. I took my M to the dealer and got an estimate of just under $600 to repair the damage. A local paint shop wanted closer to $500. Both vendors wanted the car for three days.
I did not do the repair and instead tried to ignore it. Unfortunately, every time I looked at the back of my M, that damn scratch seemed to grow in my eyes. So, I took it back to the dealer and was set to have them do the repair. I asked them to confirm the charge before they began work.
Instead of the $600 originally quoted, the cost had risen to $1000. I blew my stack and went into the main office to complain. On the way, I met my new car sales rep. I told him my complaint. He commiserated with me then e inquired if I was interested in trading to a 2007 M45.
Just last month I had gotten proposals on my M by BMW, Lexus and Mercedes dealers when I had taken someone who was looking for a new car. It was then that I first learned how much the value of the M had dropped. At that time I was only mildly interested. Now, I was very interested.
FYI, I paid $60,000 for my45 equipped with tech and journey packages, ceramic window tinting, Lojack and hard-wired Escort Passport 8500 X50. It now had a grand total of 5,400 miles on it. Thus, the car was quite new and had very low milage.
My sales rep told me if I came up with $30,000 cash, I could drive away in a new 2007 M45, I was aghast that my Infiniti dealer would not give me more for the M he had sold me just last year.
I thought that if its value had plummeted so much in a very short time, what would my M be worth once the 2008 models came out? I left the Infiniti dealership and headed home . . . burning!
On the way I passed a different Lexus dealership from the one that had given me a proposal while I was with my friend. I stopped in and looked at their stock. The prices for the LS models were outrageously high. The prices for the G series were less costly but still kind of high. Nevertheless, I test drove both the GS and GS hybrid. Neither impressed me. What did impress me was a totally different car, one that supposedly is a step downward from both the M and GS cars. It was the ES350 sedan.
Now, the ES350 is not a high-power V8 Lexus GS or an Infiniti M45. Instead, it has a sedate V6 engine but, when I test drove it, I liked its smooth engine response. I was also impressed with its cockpit and overall ambiance.
I asked the salesman to build a cost sheet with all of the features that I desire and already had in my M. He came back with a price that was surprisingly fair and reasonable. I asked what he would give me (eight inch scratch included) for my M. Five minutes later, he told me that they would give me $37,000 for the M. This was more then my M delear would give me or any of the other three who had already given me pricing.
Quickly I thought about paying $1000 to repair the scratch and then how much the M had depreciated since I bought it. My conclusion was to trade the M for the Lexus.
My M was a beautiful automobile. I was quite disappointed that its value dropped so quickly. I enjoyed owning and driving it. But, I left it before its value fell even more.
Modified by carbuff at 11:26 AM 6/25/2007
A few months ago, while I was in a parking lot, someone took a ring or coin or some such hard edge and ran it vertically on my back bumper. The scratch was about eight inches long. I took my M to the dealer and got an estimate of just under $600 to repair the damage. A local paint shop wanted closer to $500. Both vendors wanted the car for three days.
I did not do the repair and instead tried to ignore it. Unfortunately, every time I looked at the back of my M, that damn scratch seemed to grow in my eyes. So, I took it back to the dealer and was set to have them do the repair. I asked them to confirm the charge before they began work.
Instead of the $600 originally quoted, the cost had risen to $1000. I blew my stack and went into the main office to complain. On the way, I met my new car sales rep. I told him my complaint. He commiserated with me then e inquired if I was interested in trading to a 2007 M45.
Just last month I had gotten proposals on my M by BMW, Lexus and Mercedes dealers when I had taken someone who was looking for a new car. It was then that I first learned how much the value of the M had dropped. At that time I was only mildly interested. Now, I was very interested.
FYI, I paid $60,000 for my45 equipped with tech and journey packages, ceramic window tinting, Lojack and hard-wired Escort Passport 8500 X50. It now had a grand total of 5,400 miles on it. Thus, the car was quite new and had very low milage.
My sales rep told me if I came up with $30,000 cash, I could drive away in a new 2007 M45, I was aghast that my Infiniti dealer would not give me more for the M he had sold me just last year.
I thought that if its value had plummeted so much in a very short time, what would my M be worth once the 2008 models came out? I left the Infiniti dealership and headed home . . . burning!
On the way I passed a different Lexus dealership from the one that had given me a proposal while I was with my friend. I stopped in and looked at their stock. The prices for the LS models were outrageously high. The prices for the G series were less costly but still kind of high. Nevertheless, I test drove both the GS and GS hybrid. Neither impressed me. What did impress me was a totally different car, one that supposedly is a step downward from both the M and GS cars. It was the ES350 sedan.
Now, the ES350 is not a high-power V8 Lexus GS or an Infiniti M45. Instead, it has a sedate V6 engine but, when I test drove it, I liked its smooth engine response. I was also impressed with its cockpit and overall ambiance.
I asked the salesman to build a cost sheet with all of the features that I desire and already had in my M. He came back with a price that was surprisingly fair and reasonable. I asked what he would give me (eight inch scratch included) for my M. Five minutes later, he told me that they would give me $37,000 for the M. This was more then my M delear would give me or any of the other three who had already given me pricing.
Quickly I thought about paying $1000 to repair the scratch and then how much the M had depreciated since I bought it. My conclusion was to trade the M for the Lexus.
My M was a beautiful automobile. I was quite disappointed that its value dropped so quickly. I enjoyed owning and driving it. But, I left it before its value fell even more.
Modified by carbuff at 11:26 AM 6/25/2007
Re: m45, 4th highest resale value amongst luxury cars? (carbuff)
^sad 2 hear that u had such a bad experience with an M. I think ESs are nice but seem like a camry with a body kit that attracts old people. As for you last statement about leaving before the value drops more, i think you already have been hit with the worst depreciation. It can depreciate much more from here.