CanadianBlackBook.com today released its annual "Best Retained Value" winners across 19 vehicle categories. The much-desired awards track vehicle values over a four-year period, with the organization’s analysts scouring hundreds of thousands of sales transactions and other data points from live auctions, online auctions, dealerships and other proprietary sources.
This year’s awards measure how well 2010 model year vehicles have held their values through December 2013.
Announced on the cusp of the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, the "Best Retained Value" awards shine a light on those vehicles that are shown to hold their value the best based on recent performance. This often points to vehicles which depreciate the least.
Considering depreciation as part of any purchase decision can help every consumer buy smarter, and utilizing the free Future Value tool atn CanadianBlackBook.com can help the consumer with this process.
Consistency is the theme for the 2014 awards. Toyota leads the pack with the most wins, two of its models earning top honours for the 5th consecutive year.
Chrysler, Honda and Subaru also racked up repeat 1st place finishes, all for at least three years running.
"Although CanadianBlackBook.com proclaims the winners, in effect, it’s the Canadian car buyer who decides who wins our Best Retained Value awards," says Josh Bailey, VP, Research & Editorial for Canadian Black Book. "In the end, it is consumer perceptions and how much they’re prepared to pay for cars and trucks that ultimately determines how much a vehicle is worth."
A case in point – and surprise winner – is the Hummer H2, which delivered the highest retained value percentage of all vehicles for 2014. It topped the scales delivering a whopping 71 per cent of its original MRSP after four years of ownership. "Its value actually increased last year, so it’s bit of an anomaly," says Bailey. "The vehicle is now out of production which is contributing to its desirability."
CanadianBlackBook.com names 1st, 2nd and 3rd place "Best Retained Value" award winners in 19 popular car and truck categories.
Toyota’s Prius, Avalon, Tacoma, Tundra, FJ Cruiser, Sequoia and the Lexus GS, all posted 1st place finishes.
Among domestics, Chrysler chalked up the best performance with Jeep Wrangler winning Compact SUV for the 4th straight year; and the Challenger winning in the Sports Car category for the 3rd year in a row.
Two first place finishes each by Porsche and Mercedes-Benz helped European manufacturers double the number of awards secured this year compared to 2013.
2014 CANADIANBLACKBOOK.COM "BEST RETAINED VALUE" AWARD WINNERS
| MODEL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Sub-compact Car | Honda Fit | Kia Soul | Volkswagen Beetle |
| Compact Car | Toyota Prius | Volkswagen Golf | Subaru Impreza |
| Mid-size Car | Subaru Outback | Volkswagen Passat CC | Volkswagen Passat |
| Full-size Car | Toyota Avalon | Nissan Maxima | Buick LaCrosse |
| Entry Luxury Car | BMW 1 Series | Audi A4 | Lexus IS Series |
| Luxury Car | Lexus GS Series | BMW 5 Series | Mercedes-Benz E-Class |
| Premium Luxury Car | Porsche Panamera | BMW 6 Series | Lexus LS Series |
| Premium Sports Car | Porsche Boxster | Nissan GT-R | Audi R8 |
| Sports Car | Dodge Challenger | Volkswagen GTI | BMW Z4 |
| Small Pickup | Toyota Tacoma | Ford Explorer Sport Trac | Toyota Tacoma |
| Full-size Pickup | Toyota Tundra | Checrolet Avalanche | Ram Heavy Duty |
| Minivan | Toyota Sienna | Honda Odyssey | Honda Odyssey |
| Full-size Van | Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | GMC Savana | Chevrolet Express |
| Compact SUV | Jeep Wrangler | Honda CR-V | Subaru Forester |
| Mid-size SUV | Toyota FJ Cruiser | Hummer H3 | Toyota 4Runner |
| Full-size SUV | Toyota Sequoia | Nissan Armada | Kia Borrego |
| Compact Luxury SUV | Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class | Acura RDX | Infiniti EX Series |
| Mid-size Luxury | Land Rover LR4 | Infiniti FX Series | Porsche Cayenne |
| Full-size Luxury SUV | Hummer H2 | Mercedes-Benz G-Class | Lexus LX570 |
CanadianBlackBook.com offers consumers three free value calculators – Trade-in Value, Future Value and Average Asking Price. Values for all of the mainstream Canadian cars and trucks going back to 2001 can be found on the website.
Historically, Canadian Black Book is best known for being the trusted source of vehicle values to the car industry for over 50 years. But five years ago the company evolved.
"We made available our web-based value calculators to consumers, free of charge, four years ago and the popularity of the tools continues to grow," says Kathy Ward, President and CEO, Canadian Black Book. "Look-ups by car shoppers of trade-in value, future value and average asking price now top more than 250,000 monthly."
Dennis DesRosiers, a leading automotive analyst, is a strong advocate of factoring in a vehicle’s retained value before making a decision. "This can help car buyers get a better sense of the total cost of ownership which is becoming even more relevant today, as people get into longer-term financing situations."
A full listing of this year’s winners, along with previous winners can be found on CanadianBlackBook.com.