Latest study reveals British cars lose value fastest

British cars lose 51% of their value over 4 years, according to research from Car Search Engine Adzuna.co.uk. The new study also reveals that Leicester is the cheapest city in the UK to buy a used car, while Brighton is the most expensive.

The research, conducted in February 2013, analyses over 600,000 used car ads indexed on Adzuna across over 100 UK locations, extracting asking prices for the most popular models. This data was then benchmarked against new car prices from 2009, resulting in a “depreciation score” for every car.

British car brands have lost their value faster than cars from any other country in Europe, losing on average 51% of their worth over four years. French cars, last year’s top place in this category, follow closely behind on 49%. Brands like Jaguar, Vauxhall and Land Rover bring down the British score, all losing over 58% of their value in just 4 years. German and Italian cars hold their value better falling just 40% over the same period. The average new car in the UK has depreciated 49% in real terms over four years.

Volkswagen Polos and Smart cars keep their value the best over time, retaining three quarters of their new price after four years, while new Renault Meganes and Mazda 6’s are expected to lose 60% of their original price tag by 2017. ‘Supercars’ retain their value better than most, with the Audi R8 and Ferrari 430 dropping less than 29% over four years, and the Lamborghini Gallardo decreasing by only 31%.

Leicester is the cheapest city in the UK to buy a used car in 2013 with the average popular motor £544 cheaper than other UK cities. Brighton is the most expensive, with the average list price of used cars in the city over £13,000. Bargain hunters should head to Wales, where the study shows the same used car in England will be 5% cheaper if you make the trip across the border.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said “Listing every used car for sale in the UK in our search engine enables us to gain unique insights into the motors market. New car buyers in the UK should be looking to pick up motors which retain more than 50% of their value over the first 4 years of their life, and used car buyers should be willing to travel for a bargain.”

Average depreciation per country of make

Top 10 cars with the least depreciation over time

Top 10 car models with the greatest depreciation over time

Bargain Cities: the cities with the most cars under £1000 and £500