Toyota Tundra Tops NADA Guides Best Retained Value List – Low Sales?
Tim Esterdahl | Apr 07, 2014 | Comments 7
The National Automotive Dealers Association has published a report stating the Toyota Tundra has the best retained value among full-size trucks. NADA claims this is because of low sales. Are you buying that?
The Toyota Tundra tops the NADA guide for the best retained value. While that is great, the reason NADA gives is not. Photo Courtesy of Aaron Turpen.
In the March edition of NADA Perspective, a story proclaims full-size trucks have the highest retained value of all three-year-old light duty trucks and SUVs at 62.5%. This tops all other segments including mid-size vans who have the worst rating of 49.2%.
“Americans have always had a penchant for pickups,” said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst of NADA Used Car Guide, according to a press release. “A recovering housing market, better fuel economy and a wide range of trim levels have helped increase demand and keep retention values among the highest in the industry.”
If you don’t know, NADA publishes a Kelley Blue Book type guide on vehicle values. The NADA guide is mainly used by dealerships to determine value on vehicles including those being traded in.
For the retention rate survey, NADA looked at the MSRP of vehicles sold without incentives or rebates and divided that against a three-month average (Jan. 2014 – March 2014) of NADA’s average trade-in value.
Here is the complete list of full-size trucks and their retention rate according to NADA.
| Rank | Make | Model | Generation Lifecycle | Retention % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota | Tundra | 2007-Present | 71.6% |
| 2 | Chevrolet | Avalanche 1500 | 2007-2012 | 65.3% |
| 3 | Chevrolet | Silverado 1500 | 2007-2013 | 63.4% |
| 4 | Ford | F150 | 2010-Present | 63.3% |
| 5 | GMC | Sierra 1500 | 2007-2013 | 62.7% |
| 6 | Dodge | RAM 1500 | 2009-2012 | 58.3% |
| 7 | Nissan | Titan | 2004-Present | 53.1% |
| Segment Average | 53.1% |
While the Toyota Tacoma lead all vehicles with a 80.7% retained value – no surprise there – NADA says the Tundra has a 71.6% retention rate. This rate is more than 6% better than the nearest competitor, the Chevy Avalanche. Not so fast, NADA says this is because “the Tundra lags its domestic competition in sales by a considerable margin.”
Sure, the Tundra doesn’t sell as many units as the other manufactures, but that doesn’t mean it is a poor product. Consider the Nissan Titan at 53.1% – the segment’s basement dweller. Nissan’s full-size truck doesn’t sell as many units either and it is on the bottom. If we were to believe NADA’s conclusion of low trucks sales and thus used truck inventory is driving up prices, then the same would have to be same for the Titan. This is clearly not the case.
It is great that the NADA guide recognizes the value of the Tundra. We just wish it were for the right reasons.
What do you think? Is our opinion on NADA’s conclusions accurate?
Click here for the press release.
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Filed Under: Tundra News
It is three-fold:
1.) Yes, there are fewer Tundras on the market. basic supply vs demand model. Drives up the value of Tundras, however….
2.) The Tundra has shown to be a reliable and capable truck being competitive with the domestics in terms of towing, hauling, and configuration. The Titan has not enjoyed this success to the same degree. I also think consumers, in general, get a warm and fuzzy over the Toyota nameplate. That in itself drives up prices in perceived quality and reliability i.e. consumers are not expecting to replace components as often or do as many repairs so they are willing to pay more.
3.) Toyota typically does not discount their trucks when new. Higher initial price tends to mean higher resale values.
In comparison, the Chevy Avalanche has typically done well on JD Power surveys. Its resale is high as well and inventory is low. I think the same rules apply for it as the Tundra with the exception that the Avalanche is nowhere near as attractive as the Tundra.
Jonathan Banks has an excellent education from an excellent university. He has worked in automobile leasing and the related fringes of online business for years and has done quite well for himself.
Unfortunately, he knows nothing about automobiles and even less about trucks; therefore it is understandable that with all that brain power he reached the wrong conclusions.
For those of us that know how to flush a toilet we know the retention value is based on QDR and John Q. Public must know the same thing…the figures say that much.
Amen, Randy. Amen.
By nada statement about the tundra, how do they explain the titan. Doesn’t make sense.
He’s putting a negative spin on the fact that the Tundra is not purchased by fleets. The F150 outsells the Tundra by a factor 4 (for every Tundra sold, 4 F150s are sold). This figure includes fleet sales. With this fact in mind, he’s not making a fair comparison–I guess that’s to be expected.
If consumer only figures are compared, there would be no way for him to make this statement.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2.....-2013.html
Tim,
There is a major issue with their formula.
How can they use MSRP in the formula when your lucky to get a tundra with a few grand under MSRP and I got over 10K off MSRP on my Ram.
of course the tundra will be higher, you paid way more up front, that has to factor in.
I would bet the tundra is still the highest, but not by a margin as large as they think.
just a matter if you want your money up front or on the back end to some degree
I would say there is a lot wrong with their reasoning.