Depreciation can make a new car buyer clammy with fear. While it’s common for a new car to shed some of its value in the first year after registration, some cars can lose a lot more, sometimes over half their price. This is excellent news for used car buyers, as these lightly used cars make for bargains.
We’re breaking down 10 of the best new cars on sale that suffer from heavy depreciation. Whether you’re looking for a city car, sports car or family SUV, we’ve found some fantastic deals on cars that’ll cost much less than if you shop for one new.
There are a few factors at play that do feed into a greater level of depreciation. Used electric vehicles and the unfounded woes of battery degradation are a common concern, so this list is dominated by very good but heavily depreciating EVs. Low demand, oversaturated supply, or a combination of both, in the used car market can also produced ripe ground for bargains.
This isn’t very meaningful without context, so we will compare each of these cars to a rival that holds its value far better. Sometimes, this’ll be a different marque, but we’ll also highlight examples of petrol and electric alternates of the same car. The Vauxhall Corsa is one such example.
The best first year depreciation wins
The worst depreciating car here makes for an utter bargain
Shockingly, considering some of the heavy hitters on this list, the Vauxhall Corsa Electric Ultimate takes home the crown for the most heavily depreciating car here. Losing a whopping 54.8% of its value in the first year, it's clear that there isn't much appetite on the used market. That can't be helped by Vauxhall chopping the EV Corsa's new price either. Add the data from a petrol Ultimate Edition and it gets worse. A yearly deprecation rate of 34.3% may look tiny next to the EV version, but it is still catastrophic for a small car like this. Still, that means they're cheap.
To find out more, read our full Vauxhall Corsa Electric review
Pros
- New battery brings longer range
- Improved infotainment
- Entertaining to drive
Cons
- Cramped rear seats
- Limited boot space
Chic city car that drops 52% of its value in the first 12 months
Sit one next to the refreshed petrol-powered MINI Cooper dressed to the nines, and the depreciation difference is stark. The MINI has a similar list price, bags of retro charm and similar compactness, but it only loses 17.3% of its value, not the dramatic 52% a Fiat 500e will lose in its first year of registration.
To find out more, read our full Fiat 500 Electric review
Pros
- Stylish inside and out
- Quick and fun to drive
- Long range for a small car
Cons
- Quite expensive new
- Not particularly practical
Even bargain EVs find a way of getting cheaper
The ZS EV also helps show the extent of the issues EVs face on the used market. MG sell the ZS in both electric and petrol iterations, and the former sheds so much more value in its first year. With prices dropping 41.8% in the first year, you can realistically choose a one-year-old ZS EV or a brand-new petrol-equipped ZS for roughly the same value.
To find out more, read our full MG ZS EV
Pros
- Up to 273-mile official electric range
- Seven-year warranty
- Five-star safety rating
Cons
- Low-rent interior
- Not exciting to drive
A cheap entry ticket into this crucial sector
As much as we recommend a new Ioniq 5, used prices make it a more attractive prospect. With the Ioniq 5 shedding over 40% of its value in the first year, an approved-used example can be picked up for prices more typical of a Hyundai.
To find out more, read our full Hyundai Ioniq 5
Pros
- Roomy for people and luggage
- Good to drive, great to look at
- Long-range version available
Cons
- Driving range could be better
- It feels bulky on city streets
Electric company-car-favourite is well worth considering
Deprecation isn't too dramatic with the i4, but it still represents a near £27,000 saving against the list price if you don't mind some miles. It's only 10% worse than an equivalent BMW 3 Series and prices are almost equal after a year.
To find out more, read our full BMW i4 review
Pros
- Long electric range
- High quality interior
- Stunning performance
Cons
- Limited rear headroom
- Not as nimble as a 3 Series
Sporty Kia that works as fantastic family transport
All EV6s lose a good deal of money, so if you're after something even more affordable and with a better range, any EV6 will be a sure-footed buy. A Range Rover Evoque costs about the same as an EV6, but it holds its value better. That is a shocker.
To find out more, read our full Kia EV6 GT review
Pros
- Rapid acceleration
- Sharper to drive than regular EV6
- Most EV6 plus points remain
Cons
- Range tumbles compared to lesser EV6s
- Intrusive road roar
Of course there's a Maserati in a list of heavy depreciators
And deprecation for a grand tourer isn't unusual, but the GranTurismo is a cliff-dive against its rivals, including the Aston Martin DB12. The extent is best summed up by the fact the Aston Martin will be worth more than the GranTurismo after a year of ownership, despite costing a fair amount less to buy when new.
To find out more, read our full Maserati Granturismo review
Pros
- Amazingly comfortable over long distances
- Characterful, powerful V6 engine
- Handles beautifully
Cons
- So-so interior quality
- Not as sporty as some rivals
A burly grand tourer makes for an awesome used buy
With such sporting credentials, you could also get a Porsche 911 for your money, in full-fat Turbo S form. It's probably the icon status the 911 has, but it holds its value far better than the posh Beemer, even with far more 911s on the used market.
To find out more, read our full BMW 8 Series review
Pros
- Excellent cruising ability
- High-tech chassis with great handling
- Instant acceleration
Cons
- Low roof means less headroom, poorer visibility
- It feels quite big on the road
Quick acceleration matches quick depreciation
As an executive car choice, it's more Black Wednesday than the Celtic Tiger. This is even more obvious when its petrol sibling, the Mercedes-AMG S63 AMG, is one of the lowest deprecating cars we could find. Despite an eye-watering list price, it loses a mere 15.7% of its value, far less than the 48.9% drop for an EQS.
To find out more, read our full Mercedes-AMG EQS review
Pros
- Rapid acceleration and good range
- Spacious interior
- Surprisingly manoeuvrable
Cons
- Interior quality could be better in places
- Firm ride for a luxury limo
A Porsche without the punchy price tag
The Taycan must be a headache for Porsche. It's a strong seller when new, but residuals quickly become dreadful. Porsche also makes the Panamera saloon, a petrol (or hybrid) competitor that has traditionally performed poorly on the used market. Yet it performs like an ISA next to the Taycan.
To find out more, read our full Porsche Taycan review
Pros
- Very fast and fun to drive
- Charges quickly
- Long driving range
Cons
- Can't completely disguise its weight
- Options are exceptionally expensive
How we chose these 10 cars
This is an editorialised selection of money pit cars, and we’re only choosing the ones we’d happily run ourselves. There are plenty of mediocre-to-bad cars that suffer from heavy depreciation, but the poor residuals don’t make them excellent second-hand buys.
We used the Parkers Valuation Tool for our data, charting how much value an example registered in January 2024 with 20,000 miles and no optional extras added against the list price. We looked at the range-topping example of each model; partially to show the extent of the depreciation, but also to highlight the exceptional savings you could be picking up just one year after the car’s registration.
We’ll be comparing these cars to a rival that holds its value better. In some instances, this’ll be from a different marque, but we’ll also be highlighting examples of petrol and electric alternates of the same car, the Vauxhall Corsa for example.
Why are there so many bargains?
You may have noticed that EVs make up the vast majority of this list, and rivals with petrol motors retain their value a lot more. Well, it’s no secret that EVs are having a tough time on the used forecourts, hence the exceptionally cheap used EV prices.
Despite record transactions for used EVs in 2024, the economic rules of supply and demand still result in effect. With strict zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) mandates in force now, manufacturers have to sell more and more EVs to avoid nasty fines, which means the used market is increasingly flooded with second-hand EVs (they made up 7.7% of all transactions last year). There’s not necessarily a market for them, and supply massively outstrips demand, meaning cheaper prices are needed to entice people and get them sold. All in all, it’s a great time to look if you’re after a bargain.
What are the worst depreciating cars?
For many reasons, we’re writing about cars that shouldn’t be near the top of your shopping list. Take the Fisker Ocean as the perfect example. Fisker went bust, so there’ll be limited support for this EV. No wonder it’s depreciated so heavily.
Then there is a sea of mediocre cars plentiful on the used market that are not particularly wanted or desired. A low price tag isn’t enough to tempt us, and as this list proves, far better cars are available for your money.
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