Mini Diesel Named UKs Lowest Depreciating Car

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Thu, 27 Nov 2008

The Mini 1.4TD has topped a table of Britain’s slowest depreciating used cars for the second year in a row.

A study of the residual values of three-year-old cars by EurotaxGlass's found that the diesel-powered Mini currently has an average trade-in value of 63.2 per cent – a drop from last year's figure of 71 per cent.

The fall from its 2007 peak equates to around £600 off its current trade-in value.

EurotaxGlass's cited Mini’s strong brand image and small running costs as major contributing factors to its impressive performance.

Second in the residual values chart was the Citroen C1, retaining 61.2 per cent of its value, followed by the Ferrari F430 Coupe/Spider with 60.9 per cent.

This year’s Top 10 list featured a number of small, fuel-efficient and relatively low-cost cars, including three-year-old models of the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, and Smart 700 . Each of these cars retail between £4,000 and £5,000 and qualify for lower levels of VED.

The worst performer was the Alfa Romeo 166, retaining just 12 per cent of its value after three years, according to the survey.

The Alfa was joined by the Rover 45 and 75 and the Saab 9-5 as cars which retained less than 18 per cent of their original list price.