Top 10 Luxury Vehicles with the Worst Resale Value (1st - 5th)

1. Lincoln Town Car


MSRP: $42,985
Residual Value After Five Years: 17 percent*

The Lincoln Town Car is archaic by today's automotive standards, much like the Mercury Grand Marquis that shares its platform. "It doesn't reflect the needs and wants of a modern consumer anymore — it's a niche vehicle," says Auto Appraisal Group's Batton. Not only that, but at nearly $45,000 to start and well over $50,000 with options, "it has dangerously entered the same price territory as significantly more sophisticated import luxury sedans," he says.

The average age of Town Car buyers is 69 — an indicator of the dwindling group of potential buyers for this vehicle. And like the Mercury Grand Marquis, the Lincoln Town Car is sold in large numbers to limo and other fleet services, which boosts the supply way past the demand once these vehicles hit the used-car market.



2. Mercury Grand Marquis LS


MSRP: $30,320
Residual Value After Five Years: 23 percent*

The Mercury Grand Marquis is "a big, bulky vehicle that simply doesn't reflect trends in the current market," says Auto Appraisal Group's Larry Batton. Buyers of the Grand Marquis owners are 67 years old on average. "The market for this huge car is small and getting smaller," Batton says.

Even though the Grand Marquis is a good value for its sheer size and features, the fact that so many are sold to fleet operations such as cab services hurts resale values. "When cars are used heavily in fleets, supply goes up, and demand — and prices — go down," Batton says.


3. Jaguar X-Type Sedan and Wagon


MSRP: 34,995
Residual Value After Five Years: 25 percent*

The X-Type has struggled since its 2002 debut. It never quite mustered the appeal and performance of more-capable competitors such as the BMW 3 Series, Infiniti G35, Lexus IS and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Jaguar plans to quietly phase out the lame duck X-Type. Poor reliability, as rated by Consumer Reports, is only one knock among many. Auto industry insiders fault the X-Type for being little more than a dressed up Ford Mondeo.


4. Jaguar S-Type V6


MSRP: $49,000
Residual Value After Five Years: 25 percent*

The current-generation S-Type debuted as a 2000 model and is near the end of its life cycle and will be replaced by an all-new sedan called the XF. Auto Appraisal Group's Batton says that residual values almost always suffer when vehicles are at the end of their life cycle as consumers gravitate to the latest and greatest offerings.

Besides being long in the tooth, the midsize Jaguar S-Type also suffers from poor reliability, according to Consumer Reports, a double-whammy for residual values. And its retro styling, though elegant, no longer stands out against jauntier competitors.


5. Mercedes-Benz E550



MSRP: $59,775
Residual Value After Five Years: 26 percent*

Reliability of Mercedes-Benz vehicles has plummeted, says Larry Batton of Auto Appraisal Group. Poor reliability erodes resale value. Mercedes execs have unofficially admitted to us that adding too much new technology without enough time to fully test it was a downfall with the E-Class and caused many of the model's widely documented problems in recent years.

Compared to the V8-powered E550, the six-cylinder-powered E-Class sedans and wagons — E350 and E320 diesel — retain more value: 37 percent after five years, according to KBB. Likewise, the low-production, high-performance E63 AMG, with 41 percent of its value retained after five years. The E550 cranks out 114 hp more than the E350 but costs a whopping $8,500 more.