The resale price of any car, domestic or import, is dependent on the supply and demand of the car in the used market. For the last 15+ years the perception, right or wrong, has been that certain models of imports are just better cars than their domestic counterparts and the result is a stronger demand in the used the market with higher resale prices. You can see the opposite in some of the truck segments of the used market with the domestics having stronger resale values. Other factors such as the demographics of the averaged used car buyer must also be considered. For example, high priced luxury vehicle buyers usually don’t look for used 1-2 year old models, therefore the initial depreciation is dramatic for such high end vehicles.
Reputation, volume, model selection, public perceptions, etc. all are important to resale values. Honda and Toyota (and their luxury off shoots Acura and Lexus, respectively) have done an excellent job in building a reputation of building vehicles that are exceptionally reliable and durable. This has resulted in most of their models holding their value very well. But not all import manufacturers have this reputation. Nissan and Mazda have struggled along with most of the Korean manufacturers. In general the European manufacturers have also struggled with Audi and Volkswagen models depreciating terribly. Certain models of BMW and MB hold their value relatively well but most of their expensive models suffer from very stiff depreciation curves from the luxury buyers syndrome.
Personally, I think used vehicles are the only way to go. Vehicle durability has increased so much and the popularity of changing vehicles every 2-3 years has resulted in a glut of quality used cars and great prices. Even the traditional resale price power houses suffer $1000’s in depreciation the first couple of years.
