The 10 Best and Worst Cars for Holding Value

Two cars can cost the same on day one and be £15,000 apart by year three. That gap is not luck. It is supply, demand and reputation doing their work, and it is the biggest cheque most drivers write without noticing.

Summary

• The UK standard is 3 years and 36,000 miles. Every figure here uses that basis, so models are directly comparable.
• The best keep about 60% to 70%. Rugged 4x4s, low-volume sports cars and cheap, honest hybrids lead.
• The worst keep about 26% to 31%. Early EVs, plug-in hybrids and unloved luxury saloons fill the bottom.
• Depreciation beats fuel roughly three to one. On a £30,000 car, about £6,000 a year against £1,900 of petrol.
• You control the last 10%. Mileage, colour, service history and timing are worth real money.

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How Retained Value Is Measured

UK residual value data is quoted at three years old and 36,000 miles. That is 12,000 miles a year, close to the typical company car cycle and roughly when the first big wave of used stock hits the forecourts. The result is a percentage of list price: a car at 60% kept six pounds in every ten.

Percentages and pounds tell different stories. A Porsche at 69% sheds far more cash than a Dacia at 66%, because it started at four times the price.

The figures below come from Auto Express residual data published in September 2025 on that standard basis. They are the most recent full UK model-level tables available, and the 2026 market has moved since, especially at the electric end. Treat them as a ranking, not a quote.

Where the 2026 Market Sits

The SMMT recorded 2,016,232 used transactions in Q1 2026, down just 0.2% year on year, and Auto Trader's Retail Price Index put the average used car at £17,397 in April 2026, level with a year earlier. The market is flat, not falling.

Our full guide to car depreciation covers the mechanics, and the brand-by-brand depreciation rates show how much is decided by the badge alone.

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Depreciation Is Your Biggest Motoring Cost

Most people budget for fuel, insurance and servicing. Almost nobody budgets for the money evaporating out of the car on the driveway.

Take a £30,000 family car retaining 40% after three years, close to the mainstream average. It loses £18,000, or £6,000 a year. At 12,000 miles and 45mpg, with petrol near 160p a litre in August 2026, fuel costs roughly £1,900 a year.

Depreciation is more than three times your fuel bill, and you never see an invoice for it. Read it alongside our breakdown of total car running costs in the UK.

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The 10 Best Cars for Holding Value

Model	Segment	Retained at 3yr / 36k	Why it holds
Mercedes-Benz G-Class Electric (G580)	Luxury 4x4	70.1%	Icon status, tiny UK allocation
Land Rover Defender 90 D250	4x4	69.4%	Strong diesel, rural and trade demand
Porsche 911 GT3 (manual)	Sports	69.2%	Allocation-only, cult following
Dacia Bigster 1.8 Hybrid	Family SUV	66.2%	Low list price, little room to fall
Dacia Jogger 1.6 Hybrid	Seven-seat estate	65.6%	No direct rival at the price
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS	Sports	65.2%	Last naturally aspirated generation
Volkswagen Multivan eHybrid	MPV	63.6%	Genuine eight-seat scarcity
Toyota Land Cruiser 2.8D	4x4	62.9%	Reliability, global export demand
Kia Sorento 2.2 CRDi	Seven-seat SUV	61.8%	Seven-year warranty transfers
MINI Countryman 1.5 Cooper C	Small SUV	61.4%	Brand pull, steady private demand

The Four Mechanisms Behind Every Strong Performer

1. Supply is constrained. The 911 GT3 and G-Class are allocated, not simply ordered. You cannot flood a market you cannot access.
2. The new car was barely discounted. Dacia holds its prices, so the used value never has to fall to undercut a heavily discounted new one. This is the quiet reason cheap cars top these tables.
3. Buyers need the car, not just want it. Farmers, tradespeople and large families buy Defenders, Land Cruisers and seven-seaters because nothing else does the job.
4. Something transfers with the car. Kia's seven-year warranty still has four years left at year three, and the second owner is buying that reassurance.

Notice how few are ordinary saloons or superminis. If a model is everywhere, its used price is set by whoever is most desperate to sell one, as our look at the UK's best-selling used cars shows.

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The 10 Worst Cars for Holding Value

Model	Segment	Retained at 3yr / 36k	Why it falls
GWM Ora 03 48kWh Pure+	Electric supermini	25.8%	New brand, no track record, heavy discounts
Nissan Leaf 39kWh Acenta	Electric hatch	26.5%	Older battery tech, outclassed on range
Jaguar I-Pace 90kWh	Electric SUV	28.0%	Discontinued, brand in transition
Lexus UX 300e 72.8kWh	Electric SUV	28.6%	High list price, modest range
DS 3 E-Tense 54kWh	Electric crossover	28.9%	Weak UK brand recognition
DS 9 1.6 E-Tense	Executive saloon	28.9%	Large plug-in saloon, no used demand
Vauxhall Astra Plug-in Hybrid	Family hatch	29.2%	Fleet volume, complex drivetrain
Mazda MX-30	Electric crossover	30.4%	Short real-world range, narrow appeal
Fiat 500e 42kWh	Electric city car	30.7%	Oversupplied, aggressive new-car offers
Audi A8 60 TFSIe	Luxury saloon	30.7%	Big executive cars, long-running collapse

What Actually Went Wrong

Three patterns run through that list, and only one is about electric cars specifically.

• Fleet and rental supply. Cars registered in bulk come back in bulk. When 500 identical Astras land at auction in the same quarter, the market sets the price, not the seller.
• Technology moving faster than the car. A 39kWh Leaf competes against newer cars with far more range at similar money. That is not a bad car, it is an overtaken one.
• Discounting on the new car. If a dealer sells a new one at 20% off, the three-year-old example must sit well below that. Heavy new-car incentives are the used market's worst enemy.

The Honest Position on Electric Cars in 2026

Guides claiming EVs are in freefall are now out of date. cap hpi reported three-year-old battery electric values rising 1.2% in May 2026 and described the market as having entered a more stable phase. Auto Trader put the average used EV at £23,555 in April 2026, up 3% month on month, with demand up 59% year on year and three to five-year-old EVs the fastest-selling stock at 25 days.

The steep EV depreciation in these tables is history, not a forecast. It is exactly why a used electric car can be a bargain today, and why buying one new still carries more risk than buying one at three years old.

If that is your direction, read our guide to buying a used electric car first, particularly on battery health.

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What You Can Actually Control

You cannot change the badge on the bonnet. You can change roughly the last 10% of the price, and on a £20,000 car that is £2,000.

Mileage

Mileage is the lever with the most direct price effect. Crossing round numbers such as 60,000 and 100,000 hurts more than the miles either side. Our guide to how mileage affects car value covers the thresholds, and buyers will verify your claim with a mileage check before handing over money.

Colour

Grey remains the UK's most popular new car colour at roughly a quarter of registrations, per SMMT data, with black and white close behind. Neutral colours sell faster. Bold shades can work on sports cars and hurt on family hatchbacks, as our piece on whether colour affects car value explains.

Options and Spec

Most factory options return very little. Metallic paint, a tow bar and a panoramic roof tend to pay back something. Extended leather, upgraded audio and cosmetic packs almost never do.

Trim level matters more than any single option. A mid-range trim everybody wants usually beats a base car with £4,000 of boxes ticked.

Service History and Condition

A complete, stamped service book is the cheapest value protection available, and the gap it defends widens as the car ages. See how service history affects car value for the numbers.

Kerbed alloys, a chipped windscreen and worn tyres are deducted at trade cost, which is more than they cost you to fix. Sorting them before you sell is normally profitable.

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When to Sell

The steepest loss happens in year one, so short ownership periods are the most expensive per year. Keep a car six or seven years instead of three and your annual depreciation roughly halves.

If you are selling at around three years, do it before the car needs its first MOT, not after. A clean first pass adds little, while an advisory-laden certificate sits on the public record for every future buyer to read.

The route matters too. Trade-in, online buyer and private sale can differ by well over £1,000 on the same car, which our comparison of private versus part-exchange versus online selling sets out in full. Start with an express valuation, and see our guide to the best time to sell your car for seasonal timing.

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Common Questions

Why is retained value measured at 3 years and 36,000 miles?

It matches the typical UK company car and PCP cycle, when the largest volume of used stock reaches the market. One common basis lets you compare a supermini and a supercar on the same terms.

Do electric cars still depreciate faster than petrol cars in 2026?

On average yes, but the gap has narrowed sharply. cap hpi reported three-year-old EV values rising 1.2% in May 2026, and Auto Trader found three to five-year-old EVs were the fastest-selling used stock in April 2026. The heavy losses in residual tables reflect cars registered in 2022 and 2023.

Does a cheap car always hold value better than an expensive one?

In percentage terms, often. In pounds, rarely. A Dacia at 66% might lose £10,000 while a Porsche at 69% loses £46,000. Percentage retention shows how well a model performs, not how much cash you lose.

Is depreciation really bigger than fuel?

For most drivers, yes, by a wide margin. A £30,000 car losing 60% over three years costs about £6,000 a year, against roughly £1,900 of petrol at 12,000 miles. Model your own with our car depreciation calculator.

Should I choose a car purely on residual value?

No. It is one input alongside purchase price, insurance group, fuel economy and whether the car suits your life. A car that holds value brilliantly but does not fit your family is a bad buy at any percentage.

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The Bottom Line

Value retention is not a reward for build quality. It is what happens when limited supply meets steady demand, and what fails to happen when fleets, discounts and newer technology arrive at once.

Buy something scarce and wanted and you lose less. Buy something ordinary at three years old and let the first owner take the hit for you. Either way, know the number before you commit, and check what your current car is worth with an express valuation before you shop for the next one.