When we buy a new car, truck, or SUV, there’s a lot to consider. Pickup trucks are a booming automotive segment for the North American market. Whether a person lives in the urban jungle or deep within the most rural regions, there are endlessly compelling reasons to buy a truck. But do pickup trucks hold their value better than cars?
What vehicle holds its value the best?
The vehicle with the best resale value according to iSeeCars is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. This favored Jeep model depreciates 30.9% over five years. In fact, the average price difference after five years is $12,168.
In a recent study released by iSeeCars, a chart shows depreciation stats by the percentage a vehicle depreciated over five years off the lot. Overall, the vehicles with the best resale value are predominantly SUVs and pickup truck models––but there is a pretty good mix. Viewing the chart below, the models with the lowest rate of depreciation are popular models known for appealing to a wide range of consumers.
So the vehicle with the best resale value isn’t a pickup truck. However, pickup trucks do account for four of the 10 slowest depreciating vehicles on the list. So what other trucks made the cut?
Pickup trucks with the best resale value
According to iSeeCars, the pickup truck with the lowest amount of depreciation over five years is the Toyota Tacoma. Somehow, this just doesn’t feel surprising. This solid midsize pickup truck has held the title from Kelley Blue Book as the midsize truck with the best resale value for nearly two decades now.
Additionally, the Toyota Tundra is a good sturdy pickup that also retains its value over time. It’s the pickup truck with the second best resale value. The truck with the third best resale value is the GMC Canyon. Following that, the Nissan Frontier takes fourth.
Do pickup trucks hold their value better than cars?
On the first list of the vehicles with the overall best resale value or lowest depreciation rate over five years, three out of 10 are cars. Four out of those 10 are pickup trucks. However, the average depreciation rate over five years for each segment tells a different story.
The average percentage of depreciation over five years for cars is 41.6%. The average for pickup trucks is 44.1%. So that means that as a segment cars actually tend to depreciate a little slower than pickup trucks. Still, the Toyota Tundra and Toyota Tacoma are both trucks with some of the best resale value around––better than any car.
Depreciation stats
That said, it’s worth mentioning that the three cars that hold their value the best in their class all made the cut for the top 10 overall in terms of best resale value. The Porsche 911 (36%), the Subaru WRX (39.8%), and the Dodge Challenger (40.6%) are the cars with the best resale value.
But it’s actually the size and consistency of the car class––rather than a couple of high ranking models––that calculate an overall average depreciation that’s better than the pickup truck segment. So, yes, the Toyota Tundra and Toyota Tacoma are right up there with the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. But the pickup truck segment as a whole does not maintain resale value better than cars.
