This is the second year running that Subaru has earned several top honors including best brand at the awards show. Subaru claimed 4 model winners out of the twenty-two vehicle segments.
How are the winners chosen?
This is the 14th year of this award show and everything has been based on the KBB Official Residual Value Guide. These residual values have been established by the automotive analysts with years of experience who review outputs from statistical models which are built on millions of transactions.
The vehicles which get 5 year values and which is expressed in percentage of their MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price), they are chosen for the prestigious awards. Vehicles with low sales volumes and have MSRP's over $60,000 are excluded from the awards except in the high-performance, luxury, and plug-in categories.
Subaru's awards
Apart from the best overall brand at the awards show, Subaru also picked up the award for the best compact car for its Subaru Impreza. The Subaru WRX also picked up the award for the best sporty compact car. The final award was picked up by the Subaru Legacy for being the best mid-size car in terms of resale value.
This means this company is doing something right. This is not even mentioning the fact that this company has a factory that produces no waste. How many other car companies can say that? None! In fact, other companies in industries that are outside the auto market have called up Subaru asking about how they made such an incredible car manufacturing plant that is 100% renewable.
KBB's advise to new car buyers
Even though most buyers today look at sticker price as a vital number when it comes to buying a new vehicle, editors at KBB recommend shoppers should look at this number which they are not going to find on any window stickers. Depreciation usually is the biggest expense that a car owner incurs over the first 5 years of ownership.
An average vehicle from the 2016 model year is going to retain just around 34.8% of its MSRP in 2021. This means that a brand new car which costs $50,000 today could cost as little as $17,400 in 5 years. Vehicles that have below average or even average resale values are in abundance in today's marketplace and quite easy to find.
But there are some vehicles which are expected to hold on to their value more than others. While much of the resale value of a car is determined by supply and demand mixed with current & projected market conditions, vehicles which retain value the best are the ones which are discounted the least and can generate higher levels of interest among consumers.
Features and extras
Most packages and options do not add to the resale value of a car but there are a few exceptions to this rule. Performance packages or high performance engines certainly increase a vehicles value. Regional preferences are known to impact a vehicles value too. In the colder parts of the country, 2WD vehicles will not have as fine a resale value as 4WD or AWD vehicle. In warm climates dark-colored cars are not going to have as high a resale value as in other regions. It is amazing people own black cars in the Phoenix area.
Even though the Residual Value Guide has been in publication since 1982, the Best Resale Value Award was only established in 2003.
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