Depreciation, depreciation, depreciation

In November 2006 MTI went shopping. We spent a not inconsiderable £350,750 on 18 brand new cars ranging from the popular Mini Cooper to the not so popular Renault Laguna. We thought it might be interesting, after the sharp decline in residual values that occurred in late 2008, to re-visit our (non) investment and see what our cars are worth now.
Now, of course, depreciation is a fact of life when buying a motor car and this is just a bit of fun and perhaps not that scientific but, as you might imagine some cars fared better than others. Our top performer was the Mini closely followed by the Honda Civic (currently being stock-piled at all major ports) and the ever dependable VW Golf and worst by a mile the truly dreadful Renault Laguna.
So in just two years and clocking up average miles our cars are now worth collectively just £129,050 and were we to cash in our chips we would have lost a whopping £221,700 (ouch!)

What does all this tell us (apart from how painful depreciation can be)? Well it would lead us to conclude that maybe opting for a Corsa, Civic, Golf or Mini might be the wise option if you are likely to want to sell in the next 2 years. Other than that, as always do your research and factor in the cost of depreciation along with the running costs of the vehicle.

Oh and maybe don’t buy a new Renault Laguna!

November 2007
Make	Model	Version	List 06/06	Nov 07	Depr’ amount	Depr’ %
BMW	Mini	Cooper Chili pk	14,500	10,500	4,000	28
Honda	Civic	1.8 vtec SE 5dr	14,500	10,250	4,250	29
VW	Golf	1.4 s 5dr	12,750	7,800	4,950	39
Vauxhaul	Corsa	1.0 life 3dr	9,000	5,800	3,200	36
BMW	3 Series	318 es auto	22,000	14,000	8,000	36
BMW	X5	3.0d sport	43,000	28,000	15,000	35
Land Rover	Discovery	2.7 TD HSE	44,000	27,500	16,500	38
Ford	Ka	style 1.3 3dr	7,500	3,500	4,000	53
Toyota	Avensis	2.0 d4d T2 4dr	15,700	8,000	7,700	49
Ford	Focus	1.6 LX 5dr	13,600	7,000	6,600	49
Peugeot	307	1.6 SW HDI SE	16,750	9,000	7,750	46
Fiat	Punto	1.2 Active 5dr	8,250	3,800	4,450	54
Nissan	Micra	1.2 5dr SE	10,350	4,700	5,650	55
Vauxhaul	Zafira	1.9 tdi life	17,000	8,500	8,500	50
Vauxhaul	Astra	1.4 Club 5dr	13,700	6,000	7,700	56
BMW	7 Series	730 se auto	53,500	25,500	28,000	52
Vauxhaul	Vectra	1.8 life 5dr	16,250	7,500	8,750	54
Renault	Laguna	2.0 Privilege 5dr	18,400	7,000	11,400	62

November 2008
Make	Model	Version	Nov 08	Total value lost	Depr’ %
BMW	Mini	Cooper Chili pk	7,500	7,000	48
Honda	Civic	1.8 vtec SE 5dr	7,250	7,250	50
VW	Golf	1.4 s 5dr	6,000	6,750	53
Vauxhaul	Corsa	1.0 life 3dr	4,200	4,800	53
BMW	3 Series	318 es auto	10,000	12,000	55
BMW	X5	3.0d sport	18,000	25,000	58
Land Rover	Discovery	2.7 TD HSE	18,000	26,000	59
Ford	Ka	style 1.3 3dr	2,800	4,700	63
Toyota	Avensis	2.0 d4d T2 4dr	5,500	10,200	65
Ford	Focus	1.6 LX 5dr	4,750	8,850	65
Peugeot	307	1.6 SW HDI SE	5,750	11,000	66
Fiat	Punto	1.2 Active 5dr	2,800	5,450	66
Nissan	Micra	1.2 5dr SE	3,500	6,850	66
Vauxhaul	Zafira	1.9 tdi life	5,500	11,500	68
Vauxhaul	Astra	1.4 Club 5dr	4,000	9,700	71
BMW	7 Series	730 se auto	15,500	38,000	71
Vauxhaul	Vectra	1.8 life 5dr	4,000	12,250	75
Renault	Laguna	2.0 Privilege 5dr	4,000	14,400	78