Buying a car is as exciting as is daunting. With the average price of a new car being upwards of $36,000, it’s now become more important than ever to understand the value of a vehicle beyond the monthly payments and sticker price.
Whether you’re buying or leasing a car, it is important to understand the depreciation of a vehicle to get the most out of the money you’re spending. Smart and savvy shoppers understand that vehicles that have strong residual values will help them to maximize their money at a trade-in to gain them lower monthly lease payments.
In simpler terms, the residual value is the best guess at what the cars will be worth at the end of the lease. So, the higher the value, the more the cars will be worth at the end of the lease period. These vehicles then make eligibility to be considered for the retained value award.
Edmunds annually releases a list of vehicles that have met the requirements for the best-retained value to provide shoppers with a list of vehicles that will provide them the best and highest residual value.
On April 3rd, Edmunds announced their 2019 Edmunds Best Retained Value Awards. The car shopping experts recognized the new 2019 brands and vehicles that had the highest projected residual values after five years. These awards were created to showcase and highlight the overall value of vehicles for shoppers.
Edmunds expressed the residual value as a percentage of their averaged True Market Value (TMV). Lexus and Toyota took home brand level honors in the luxury and standard categories, respectively. They had the highest aggregate retained value scores for their class.
“With record high number of vehicles coming off lease in 2019, and the interest rates and prices inching higher, understanding the retained value of a vehicle can play a big part in the amount a shopper can afford while looking for a new vehicle for purchase,” said Matt Jones, a senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.
Matt Jones continued by stating that “Edmunds Best Retained Value list was created to ensure that savvy buyers knew which vehicles will be the most likely to retain their value over the years. A higher retain value is what enables shoppers to get a better trade-in deal or a reasonable lease payment.”
Brands Honored With Three Awards
For Edmunds model-level awards, Toyota, Lexus, and Subaru claimed three wins each in a different variety of categories, which included Cars, SUVs, and Trucks and Vans categories.
Toyota’s winning vehicles were in the SUV category and the Trucks and Vans category. The winning vehicles included their 2019 Toyota Sequoia, for best [retained] value Large SUV, 2019 Toyota Tacoma for best [retained] value Midsize Truck, and the 2019 Toyota Tundra for the best [retained] value Large Truck. Toyota also won a brand-level honor for standard categories.
Lexus’s winning vehicles were in the Car category and the SUV category. The winning vehicles included their 2019 Lexus ES 350 for the best [retained] value Luxury Midsize Car, their 2019 Lexus NX 300 for the best [retained] value Luxury Compact SUV, and the 2019 Lexus GX 460 for the best [retained] value Luxury Midsize SUV. Lexus also took home a brand-level honor for the luxury categories.
Subaru’s winning vehicles were in the Car and SUV categories, similar to Lexus. The winning vehicles included their 2019 Subaru Impreza for the best [retained] value Compact Car, 2019 Subaru WRX for best [retained] value Sports Car, and 2019 Subaru Crosstrek for the best [retained] value Compact SUV.
Brands Honored With Two Or Fewer Awards
Following those brands was Honda with two awards, with one in the Cars category and the other in the Trucks and Vans Category. Their winning vehicles included 2019 Honda Accord for the best [retained] value Midsize Car and 2019 Honda Odyssey for the best [retained] value Minivan.
The rest of the brands on the Best Retained Value list, including Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, Audi, Porsche, Jeep, Land Rover, and Ford, won one award respectively.
Mercedes Benz was awarded the best [retained] value Luxury Compact Car for their 2019 Mercedes Benz CLA-Class.
Doge was awarded the best [retained] value Large Car for their 2019 Dodge Charger.
Audi was awarded the best [retained] value Luxury Large Car for their 2019 Audi A7.
Porsche was awarded the best [retained] value Luxury Sports Car for their 2019 Porsche 911.
Jeep was awarded the best [retained] value Midsize SUV for their 2019 Jeep Wrangler.
Land Rover was awarded the best [retained] value Luxury Large SUV for their 2019 Land Rover Range Rover.
Ford was awarded the best [retained] value Van for their 2019 Ford Transit Van.
Eligibility Requirements
In order for vehicles to be considered for a model-level award for Edmunds 2019 list, the vehicle must be a 2019 model year that was launched before or on December thirty-first. The model’s sales in January must not be less than twenty percent of the average aggregate sales for that month in comparison to the other models in the same award segment.
For each qualifying model, the awards are based on a computation of the average projected five-year depreciation for the first twelve months after the launch and the average cash TMV price over the first five months, minimum of three months.
For brands to be considered to the Brand-Level award, the automotive manufacturer should have eligible vehicles competing in at least four out of the eighteen segments. They are based on a computation of the sales-weighted averages of the projected five-year depreciation for all qualifying models and the cash TMV prices for the first five months (minimum of three months, if five months are not available) for all qualifying models of the brand.
Toyota has received the standard (non-luxury) brand-level award for four years in a row, 2015 to 2019. There was a gap in between those years with 2017 missing from the Best Retained Value Awards.
To get a full list of vehicles and their models visit Edmunds 2019 Best Retained Value Awards to see their 2019 awards list along with award winner from previous years. Within their award pages, you can click through to the individual models and see the features along with the pros and cons of each vehicle.
