Big surprises in Glass’s residual values Top 10

BUYING a new car is something people consider carefully – especially in these challenging financial times, but Glass’s has produced some useful information about which cars lose the least money – and there are some big surprises in the Top 10.
So pick your new car carefully and you might lose less than you think when it comes to trade-in time.
To demonstrate to motorists which cars will leave drivers better off, Glass’s – the car valuation experts – has compiled the top ten cars of 2011 which have held on to the most of their original value (residual value).
Based on three-year old vehicles currently on the market, which are worth the most today?

Glass’s Top Ten Residual Value Cars 2011
Based on three-year old vehicles currently on the market, which are worth the most today?

League table is based on three-year old vehicles (58 plate).

This year’s residual value winner is the Toyota Land Cruiser. This model has never been the victim of distress marketing by the manufacturer and this has ensured that used examples have been in limited supply. It enjoys the credentials of being a durable and reliable workhorse – an image that has endured for many years, and helped by exposure on the Top Gear television series in recent years.
The Land Cruiser takes over from the 2010 winner, the Volkswagen Tiguan, at the top of the leaderboard ,which still has a very respectable showing this year sitting just outside the top ten at number 11.
Second place goes to the Ford Kuga. As the best-selling 4×4 in the new market, there is a correspondingly large number supplying the used market. High supply is often the death knell for residual values, but in this case a very healthy retail demand has more than outweighed this high supply.
The most notable absentee from the top 10 is the Mini. Last year it gained second place, having been fifth in the previous year and the overall winner in 2008. This year it can be found in 22nd place.

Off Roaders lead the way
Six of the seven top places are occupied by Off Road 4x4s and Lifestyle 4x4s. Short bouts of severe wintry weather in each of the last two years have ensured that the popularity of these sectors continues.  These cars are also now in the peak selling months of the year which means that values will continue to rise month-on-month, and at least until next February. At the same time two wheel drive cars will continue to lose money at least until the end of the year.

Diesels’ showing strongly
It is no coincidence that seven of the top ten entries are powered by diesel. This is no surprise considering the popularity of 4×4’s – the larger the vehicle, the more important the fuel savings offered by diesel are – especially in the current economic climate.

‘New’ used cars
Many of the vehicles in the top ten table largely benefit from being fairly new in their product life cycle. The Kuga, Q5, XC60, 500, Scirocco, MITO, and Golf were all introduced to the market in 2008, meaning that 2011 is the first year that used car customers have been given the opportunity to buy these cars as three year old examples, which influences their desirability.

Big brands remain strong
Although the nation is in the grip of austerity measures and the economy remains fragile, customers have not gravitated to affordable budget priced cars in a very big way. Instead, the best residual values are reserved for 4x4s and those cars with a strong image. However, decisions to buy these cars are still being made with fuel efficiency in mind.