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Some cars and SUVs lose value faster than others; that’s just a fact. A few brands have a reputation for depreciation, but that isn’t exactly the most positive attribute. These five luxury SUVs have shown to have higher depreciation rates than others in the first five years of ownership. Check out which models tend to depreciate the most and how you can avoid the issue with one move.

Which SUVs depreciated the most in 2023?

Depreciation struck this BMW X5 more than other SUVs
The BMW X5 xDrive30d | BMW

Regarding depreciation, luxury cars and SUVs seem to have the most significant issue. That is probably because these models have a higher starting cost, which means more room to lose value. The SUV with the highest five-year depreciation is the Cadillac Escalade ESV, with 58.5% depreciation. Cadillac’s ESV is the extended version. In 2023, the Escalade ESV starts at around $80,090. iSeeCars found that the average difference from the MSRP was around $63,885.

SUV Make & ModelAverage Five-Year DepreciationAverage Difference from MSRP
Cadillac Escalade ESV58.5%$63,885
BMW X558.2%$44,828
INFINITI QX8058.1%$47,399
Maserati Levante57.8%$55,858
Audi Q756.8%$41,731
SUVs with the highest five-year depreciation

There are a lot of luxury cars on the list, but we will focus on the SUVs specifically. Following the Escalade ESV is the BMW X5, with 58.2% depreciation over the first five years. That works out to around a $44,828 difference from MSRP. The 2023 X5 starts at $63,900, so it makes sense there would be a little more room to lose value.

If one of these SUVs was at the top of your list, but you are worried about the depreciation issue, maybe a used option would be good. Most vehicles lose the most value in the first year, so selecting a used SUV that has already depreciated some might help.

These SUVs depreciated 56.8% or more in five years

Depreciation struck this Maserati Levante more than other SUVs
The 2023 Maserati Levante | Amanda Cline, Maserati

For the next SUV suffering from high depreciation rates, the INFINITI QX80 came in at 58.1%. That totals around $47,399 from the original MSRP, which seems quite high. Infiniti priced the 2023 QX80 at $74,595 and hasn’t changed the model very much in the last decade. It is more affordable than many large luxury SUVs in the segment, but its high depreciation rate doesn’t help.

Next up is the Maserati Levante, which also isn’t that surprising. The Maserati Levante price starts at a crazy $92,200 or so for the base model. In the first five years of ownership, the Levante saw an average 57.8% depreciation, or around $55,858. Even though the Maserati SUV has seen a positive reception since it hit the market, depreciation can impact models in different ways.

Finally, the Audi Q7 came in at 56.8% depreciation, or around $41,731 difference over the MSRP. There really aren’t too many SUVs on the list of vehicles that aren’t luxury sport utility vehicles, save for the Nissan Armada. It isn’t to say that any of these are bad vehicles either, just that the high price can sometimes mean a quicker rate of depreciation over the first few years.

How can you avoid depreciation?

The good news is that depreciation isn’t as significant of a factor if you plan to keep the car or SUV for a while. Every car depreciates at some point; these happen to see the biggest change in value over the first five years. If you can’t live without one of these vehicles, buy a slightly used model. This can help take some of the edge off of that immediate loss in value. The average vehicle loses 38.8% of its value over the first five years, or $17,221. That’s a pretty staggering difference over the SUVs on this list. Overall, finding one of these models used or going with a similar but not-so-depreciating vehicle might be a better solution.

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