When buying or selling a used vehicle there are many different issues to take into consideration, however residual value and used car depreciation rates are usually high on the list.

When selecting which vehicle to purchase it is important to know which makes and models retain their value, and on the flip side when selling a car it is important to get the best possible price.

Infact used car depreciation rates is something worth researching before letting any large sum of money change hands for an automobile.

Residual worth is the projected value of a car over it’s lifetime. It is important to note that this is not an exact science and residual value is a moving target. Changes in the market can cause a vehicle to depreciate at a higher rate, a good example would be the ever rising gas prices and their affect on the SUV market. Also the condition of the vehicle is a big factor in used car depreciation rates, common sense indicates that a well kept car will hold its value far better.

We looked high and low to find a comprehensive list of cars that hold onto their value. Thanks to Forbes.com, CNN, and Kelley Blue Book for providing the public with their lists of vehicles with high residual values. It seems that most sources don’t agree as to which vehicle will hold it’s value the longest so we will list ten of the vehicles that were seen more often to have low used car depreciation rates.

1. Mini Cooper
2. Honda Accord
3. Toyota Avalon
4. Acura TSX
5. Porsche 911 Carrera
6. Toyota Tacoma
7. BMW 5 Series
8. Mercedes Benz SL Class
9. Volkswagen GTI
10. Lexus RS

The above list proves that you get what you pay for, and many times a higher initial purchase price means a higher residual value. This is not surprising, however it is important to remember that keeping any vehicle in good condition, both cosmetically and mechanically will help it to earn the highest resale price.