New cars are said to lose value the second you drive them off the dealership lot. The exact percentage of depreciation varies in folklore; some say half, others say a third, others still peg the number between 10 and 20 percent. However, the sentiment is the same across the board. Buying a new car isn’t the smartest financial decision you can make, but going the used route doesn’t insulate you from depreciation either, since you still have to consider wear.

Now, while depreciation is pretty much a constant, some car brands retain their value better than others. They primarily achieve this through reliability, meaning their models are less likely to break down, provided they’re properly maintained. According to CarEdgeToyota and Lexus top the value retention list of popular and luxury brands. On average, over a seven-year span, Toyota models retain 57% of their value while Lexus cars come in at 54%. This puts the Japanese manufacturer nearly 12% ahead of its nearest luxury competitor (Mercedes-Benz, 43%).

Given the current economic climate in the automobile industry, where the average price of a new car has consistently broken new ground, it’s logical to seek out models that can give you the biggest bang for your buck. To this end, we’re comparing five popular models from Toyota and Lexus to inform your next purchase.

We mentioned that dependability plays an instrumental role in keeping depreciation figures low. The Corolla is one of the cheaper cars you can get north of 200,000 miles out of. Playing in the compact sedan niche, the Lexus IS is its more expensive cousin to Toyota’s entry into the luxury segment.

So, what’s the difference in terms of depreciation? Well, it depends on the trim of both models. The base Corolla, for instance, has a slow start on the depreciation curve compared to the Hatchback — CarEdge estimates a 69% resale value after four years of ownership for the base. The Cross comes in at 73%. At the seven-year mark, the picture flips: the base Corolla keeps 65% of its value while the Cross drops to 60%.

The Lexus IS trims have similar figures but very different depreciation curves. From the four-year mark to the seventh year, the IS 500 holds between 75% and 60% of resale value, while the IS 300 and 350 drop sharply. That volatile nature and lower percentiles than the Corolla trims are to be expected — they’re luxury cars, after all — but they compete sensibly enough with the IS 500, even beating out the Cross for value retention.

The Toyota Camry is another car generally considered reliable. Logically, you’d expect that sentiment to show up in its depreciation chart, and it does, if only a little. Comparison between the Lexus ES and the Camry trims tells a different story.

In the initial period after buying a Camry, it only marginally outpaces the industry average. For the first three years, to be specific, the Camry is about of 5% better in retaining value than the average car, maintaining between 78% and 70% of resale value. The Lexus 350h, on the other hand, hits its peak resale value after two years at 18% above industry standard (86% overall). Despite that initial discrepancy, all ES trims and the Toyota Camry each the same resale value of 67% by year four.

Past that point, the ES350 is the most impressive of the bunch. Its value decreases slightly to 60% by year seven, when the Camry and the ES300h come in at 55%. This is when the resale difference of the ES350 to the market’s average reaches 17% in favor of the ES. In a nutshell, if you’re eyeing a short-term vehicle, the Lexus ES350h is the best choice in this category, but you should consider an ES 350 if you have a longer timeframe in mind.

Sedans are no longer the most popular car type on the roads these days. Modern drivers tend to prefer larger-sized vehicles, which is why the SUV market has boomed in the last few years. In fact, the RAV4 is Toyota’s best-selling model, outselling the Corolla and the Camry by well over 100,000 units. Although there’s a wide disparity in sales volume between the RAV4 and its luxury cousin, the Lexus NX, the latter is also one of the most popular vehicles in its maker’s catalog.

In terms of raw depreciation numbers, compact crossovers fare slightly better at holding their value than sedans — at least in the short term. It’s not immediately obvious; the RAV4’s resale value after one year is estimated at 86%, with the RAV4 Prime worse off at 83%, followed by the Lexus NX 250/350h trims at 80.39%. By contrast, the Lexus ES300h was almost at 90%.

Toyota’s RAV4 line outpaces the NX in value retention, and it isn’t even close. The NX’s curve is pretty flat; past the two-year ownership mark, the resale value ranges outperform the industry average by between 6.4% and 8%. So, on paper, they’re sound choices to get back market value, at least. The RAV4, however, places as high as 21% above average, with a 68% resale value on year six. From CarEdge’s estimates, you’ll have a massive advantage over the average car if you decide to resell your RAV4 down the line, way more than you’d be getting from an NX.

The RX is Lexus’ best-selling model by quite some distance. It sold over 113,000 units last year, beating out its closest in-house competitor, the NX, by around 37,000 units. It’s been around since 1998, and dependability has been a major part of its appeal: it’s one of the best used Lexus models you can find on the market. Toyota’s Highlander model is three years younger than the RX, and in 2024, the Japanese automaker added a new three-row trim to the mix: the Grand Highlander. Since the Grand Highlander is still relatively new, we will include the standard Highlander in our comparison.

The depreciation curves for the hybrid trims of the RX are all the same, at least according to CarEdgeand the Highlander has a very similar curve — the two never deviate by more than 1% in resale value over the span of a decade. The gas-powered RX 350, on the other hand, is far superior to its hybrid trims and the standard Highlander in this regard. At peak resale value, two years after purchase, you’re estimated to recoup 88.95% of your purchase fee. That mark is 21.4% above the industry average, while the hybrids and the non-grand Highlander are stuck at about 6% above it.

The gap closes respectably as the years go by, and by year seven, the RX recoups an average of 57% its initial value, compared to about 50% for the other two. The Grand Highlander is projected to be tougher competition, though, outpacing the gas-powered RX by the fourth year of ownership, when it recoups 72% of total value, before ultimately converging with the others at year nine, when it’s valued at little below 50%.

If you plan to go off-roading frequently and are searching for a suitable SUV, chances are you have both the Lexus GX and the Toyota 4Runner on your shortlist. The price gulf between these options is quite large — the 2026 base GX goes for $64,250 while most 4Runner trims are well-below $60,000, and some cost $50,000 or less. With this in mind, there are obvious differences between them. The GX is the luxurious option, with an extra row’s worth of seating, but the 4Runner’s status as one of the most reliable SUVs ever made is nothing to sniff at either.

In terms of depreciation, the GX retains the most value of any model we’ve examined on this list, at 98.5% one year after purchase. That’s basically a full recoup of what you spent on it. Between the fourth and ninth year of ownership, it moves between 70% and 50%. During this time, the 4Runner overtakes it by depreciating much more slowly, maintaining between 76% and 59% of its original value.

By raw numbers, the 4Runner is the more economical option, as it costs less to buy and keeps a larger percentage of its value over a long period. However, if you’re inclined to enjoy the luxurious things in life, the GX’s retention is still impressive, especially in the short term.