Some of the most lustworthy cars never seem to drop in price. Jalopnik readers know ten cars from the past ten years that have frustratingly refused to depreciate.
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Now, we could have filled this list with nothing but Koenigseggs and 599 GTOs and Alfa Romeo 8Cs and Porsche GT3 RS 4.0s. It’s no surprise that very limited-production sports and supercars stay desirable for years and hold their value.
And we could have also filled this list with fairly straightforward Subaru WRXs and Scion xBs and Toyota Tacomas.
We decided to go somewhere in the middle. Not every car that hasn’t depreciated in the last ten years is on this list, and we aren’t totally restricting ourselves to high- or low-value cars. We think we got a nice balance in the middle.
But we need you to fill in the rest. If you know a car from the past ten years that has fought against depreciation and we didn’t put it on this list, let us know in Kinja below.
A good place to back up any prices is on eBay Motors’ Completed Listings page, and Cars.com/research is a great place to find original MSRPs.
Photo Credit: Audi
10.) VW TDI - Lost 40% or $8,000
Any TDI fanatic will tell you that they fight off daily offers of hundreds of thousands of dollars for their Golf or Jetta diesel. They don’t quite resist depreciation like their owners claim, but they do hold their value very well.
Suggested By: HammerheadFistpunch and Xelmon, Photo Credit: j.khounthavong
9.) Mini Cooper – Lost 40% or $5,000
Again, Minis never really change in the looks department, they seem like quality items, and they have a very particular style that people will pay extra for. Expect to pay a few grand under MSRP for one that’s a few years old.
Suggested By: uncommonstuff, Photo Credit: Mini
8.) Honda Fit - Lost 36% or $5,000
For what is functionally a basic hatchback, Fits hold their value exceedingly well. That’s what good looks, fine handling, and strong brand recognition will do for you.
Suggested By: Chairman Kaga, Photo Credit: Honda
7.) Jeep Wrangler – Lost 30% or $8,000
Maybe it’s because Jeeps never seem to change, but these things hold their value like crazy.
Suggested By: McLarry, Photo Credit: Jeep
6.) Pontiac G8 GXP – Lost 22% or $8,000
It turns out that some Americans do love handsome, classic V8 sedans. Well, there aren’t that many of these patriots anymore, but there are enough to keep the prices of limited-production G8s high. GXPs seem to have only dropped a few grand into the mid $30s from the low $40s.
Suggested By: jakepi541, Photo Credit: Jalopnik
5.) Ford Raptor- Lost 13% or $6,000
These low-production pickups hold value to the point that many just buy new. MRSP for a brand new Raptor starts in the mid $40s, and most used ones on eBay are going from the high $30s and up into the $50s. Try and avoid ones with frame damage; owners have a reputation for beating on their Raptors.
Suggested By: PilotMan, Photo Credit: bradn23
4.) BMW 1M - Lost 0% or $0
Surprise! A limited-production, high-performance BMW hasn’t appeared to depreciate at all.
Suggested By: Victorious Secret, Photo Credit: Otis Blank
3.) Audi R8 – Lost 0% or $0
The Audi R8 started out for about $100,000-$130,000 back when the line was brand new. How much does an Audi R8 cost you today? About $100,000-$130,000. Not much depreciation here, folks.
Suggested By: 930_whaletail, Photo Credit: Audi
2.) Ford GT – Gained 20% to 47% or $30,000 to $70,000
The Ford GT never depreciated. Brand new, you had to buy them well over the $150,000 sticker. Now examples can run from around $185,000 to $220,000. Not bad for an American car.
Suggested By: rickakated10, Photo Credit: Jez B
1.) Ferrari Enzo - Gained 115% or $750,000
It’s no surprise that a limited-edition Ferrari hypercar would appreciate in value. When new you had to be invited to buy one of these things for something over $650,000. Now they can fetch $1.4 million at auction. We only expect that to go up, even if the car gets whipped like a beater Nissan.
Suggested By: KSUENGINEER, Photo Credit: Otis Blank