‘Automotive Answers: 2999999999999 9 9999999999 999999999 9999999999999 999929999929 9999 Vehicles That Best Retain Their Value (NAPSA)—While sticker price may be considered one of the most significant numbers when choosing a new vehicle, you should also consider a numbernot found today on any windowsticker. Depreciation (or loss of value) often is the greatest expense incurred by drivers during thefirst five years of vehicle ownership. To get the most for your money, do some extra homeworkto ensure you make wise purchase decisions based on several key factors other than just the negotiated sale price. “When purchasing a new vehicle, consumers often forget to take future resale value into consideration, something that can have a major effect on their finances down the road,” said Jack R. Nerad, editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. What You Need To Know About Vehicle Depreciation An average vehicle will only retain about 35 percentofits original value after a five-year ownership period, meaning that a $20,000 new car today will only be worth somewhereclose to $7,000 after five years. Vehicles with average or below-average resale values are generally plentiful in the marketplace and easy to find, such as models often found in rentalfleets. But certain vehicles are projected to hold their value better than others. Vehicles that maintain their nal value after a five-year owner- 2006 BEST RESALE VALUE: BRAND BMW and MINI (Tie) ship period. Features That Help Vehicle Resale Value What can you do to enhance the resale value of a vehicle you’re about to purchase? Certain features available on new cars today will be desirable by a majority of used-car buyers three or five years 2006 BEST RESALE VALUE: TOP 10 (in alphabetical order) BMW5 Series Chevrolet Corvette Honda Accord Hybrid Lexus GX 470 MINI Cooper Porsche Cayenne Toyota Prius down the road, and these features will help the vehicle maintain Infiniti G35 Coupe Volvo XC90 Infiniti M45 more of its original value. Consider the following options in your next new vehicle to help better 2006 BEST RESALE VALUE: CATEGORY SEDAN: Honda Accord Hybrid COUPE: Infiniti G35 Coupe LUXURY: retain its value. First, choose a Infiniti M45 PICKUP: Toyota Tacoma PreRunner CONVERTIBLE: Chevrolet Corvette SPORTUTILITY: Porsche Cayenne WAGON: Subaru Outback VAN/MINIVAN: Honda Odyssey HATCHBACK: MINI Cooper/ Toyota Prius (Tie) @ value best are those that are designed and engineered well, and usually they are in limited supply and in high demand. To help car buyers make better purchase decisions, Kelley Blue Book named the top 2006 model year vehicles that will best hold their value after five years, based on the company’s residual value guide. These vehicles will retain closer to 50 percent of their origi- popular exterior color, such as black, white or silver. Then select equipment that many buyers want. Included on this list are: antilock brakes (ABS), alloy wheels, CD player/CD changer, parking sensors, navigation system, sensing cruise control and leather-covered seats. At the same time, avoid less popular colors and go easy on customization. “Vehicles that are painted in odd colors and vehicles that have been overly personalized will be desired by a smaller group of people down the road,” said Nerad. “That will negatively affect their resale value.” For more information about new or used car values, vehicle purchasing advice and more, visit Kelley Blue Book’s Web site at www.kbb.com.
