Used Car Depreciation Study 2026: Which Vehicles Hold Their Value

How much of a car’s value survives its first three years? We compared the median asking price of 3-year-old (2023 model year) vehicles against the current 2026 model year for every model with enough listings on both sides — 252 models in total. The gap between the best and worst performers is enormous.

Across all 252 models the median retention is 65.5% — a typical three-year-old vehicle lists for about two-thirds of what its current-year equivalent asks. But betting on “typical” would be a mistake: the top of the table barely depreciates at all, while the bottom loses more than half its value.

The vehicles that hold their value best

Two groups dominate. The first is enthusiast cars — the Civic Type R, Porsche 911, BMW M3 and M2, Toyota Supra and GR86, Nissan Z. Limited supply meets a buyer pool that knows exactly what it wants, and a three-year-old example often lists within 10–15% of a new one. The second is sensible, high-demand compacts — the regular Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Cross, Mazda3, the Prius. Mid-size pickups (Nissan Frontier, GMC Canyon) round out the list: work vehicles with steady demand and modest new-price inflation.

The fastest-depreciating vehicles

The bottom of the table is a warning label for two categories. The first is luxury EVs and flagship sedans — the Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS (both body styles), BMW i7, Audi A8 L and the Mercedes S-Class all lose half their value or more in three years. Rapid EV technology cycles, expensive-to-replace batteries, and a thin second-hand buyer pool for six-figure sedans all push the same direction. The second category is volume luxury with soft demand — Audi A6, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Infiniti QX80 — where a three-year-old example can be a remarkable bargain for the second owner.

What this means if you’re buying

• Buying new and keeping it? The retention table is your friend list: a Civic, Corolla Cross or mid-size pickup will give back far more of its price when you sell.
• Hunting for a used bargain? Read the bottom table upside down: a 2023 Audi A6 at 48.5% of the current model’s price, or a Nissan Leaf under $18,000, is the same engineering at half the sticker — as long as you accept it will keep depreciating.
• Enthusiast cars are not impulse buys — they’re stores of value. A three-year-old Type R or 911 costs nearly what a new one does; the flip side is you lose very little owning one.
• Check the specific model, not the brand. BMW appears in both tables: the M3 holds 87% while the M850i keeps 48%.

Methodology notes

We compared median asking prices of 2023 and 2026 model-year vehicles listed nationally in our snapshot of August 4, 2026, keeping only models with at least 30 active listings in both years — 252 models qualified. Retention = 2023 median ÷ 2026 median. Trim mix within a model is not controlled, so for models that were repositioned or redesigned between 2023 and 2026 part of the gap reflects pricing strategy rather than pure depreciation — the Maserati Grecale’s 38.7% is the clearest example. Medians, not averages, throughout. See how we build these studies.