Looking to buy a vehicle? You'll want to avoid these highest-depreciating cars, trucks in Seattle

Sales associate Miguel Lopez stands next to all electric Nissan Leaf cars for sale at Tynan's Nissan May 17, 2016. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Andy Cross/Denver Post via Getty Images

If you are in the market for a used vehicle in Seattle right now, there are several models you should stay away from.

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A new report from iSeeCars, an online automotive search engine and research website, examined over 800,000 purchases of 2016 vehicles to determine which makes and models had the highest and lowest depreciation after five years on the road.

The report found that nationally, a five-year-old vehicle depreciated by about 40% in 2021, as compared to about 49% in 2020.

“We’ve seen record high used car prices over the past 15 months as a result of the microchip shortage, and that has slowed down the average depreciation rate across all vehicles,” iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said. “Vehicles that have historically maintained their value well have depreciated even less this past year, but even in today’s market some cars continue to drastically drop in value.”

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On average, a vehicle in Seattle depreciates by 36.7% after five years according to the report. However, some cars like trucks, truck-based SUVs and sports cars often retain much of their value. Luxury cars were found to depreciate the most over a five-year span in Seattle.

Nationally and locally, the Nissan LEAF reported the highest amount of deprecation over five years. BMW models also dominated the list, both in the Seattle area and across the county, with three models making the cut.

Keep scrolling to see the top five vehicles in Seattle that had the highest depreciation after 5 years.