Is Platform Sharing Ruining Luxury Brand Resale Value?

As our own Matthew Guy has marvelously demonstrated recently, it’s widely known a new-car purchase’s best value can often be found in the base-level trim. Rarely is a vehicle improved in proportion to the cost of additional options. Nor is the money spent on additional options or higher trim levels recovered in resale as secondhand customers are reluctant to pay more money for bells and whistles because, quite often, they’re obsolete by the time the car sells the second time around.

If we take these truths to an obvious conclusion, it can be said that the higher the trim level, the worse the resale value — and in my years of experience working for Autotrader, I can tell you that’s true. Many of the low-end pricing tools used by dealers to determine used car values often don’t even take trim into account.

Is it any wonder then that General Motors’ and Ford’s top trim levels have wretched resale values?

No, I’m not talking about “LTZ” or “Titanium.” I’m talking about Cadillac and Lincoln.

HenryN - 10/17/2016 2:34:03 PM

+1 Boost

The Audi is pictured here but I don't see Audi on the list. Is this another one of your subliminal messages ?

carsnyc - 10/17/2016 2:57:46 PM

+2 Boost

I think the A4 sits on the Passat platform. Maybe also used by Skoda. I am not sure.
In any case, VAG is not the only one doing it across own reg and premium lines

MDarringer - 10/17/2016 7:42:05 PM

-1 Boost

The A4 and the Passat have different platforms. The A4 has a north/south engine placement and the Passat is transverse.

TomM - 10/17/2016 7:01:26 PM

+2 Boost

I don't believe that the average buyer cares if their car is based on a Corporate Platform- with maybe the exception of the very highest priced cars. ANd I also don't believe that the average buyer even knows that to be the case as well. (How would they sell the Es350 for thousands more than the Avalon)

I believe the problem is that the lower end cars are getting the same equipment in the Luxury line - much sooner -so the used car is behind the curve quicker - hence the lower prices. In addition - at a time when people are looking for their new Luxury car - there are lots of choices - far more than before - and people are simply finding that they don't like the cars they chose to try this time. That along with disappointments in reliability - have also have their effect.

MDarringer - 10/17/2016 7:42:31 PM

-3 Boost

Lexus proved this true with the ES that is so obviously a Camry.

valhallakey - 10/18/2016 10:30:49 AM

+3 Boost

Definitely even the low end models are incorporating the new features much quicker than in the past. Lane assist, auto stop detection etc... are available in the low end VW models. Also performance has moved down as well, we have 300hp Golfs now, who really needs an S3??

GermanNut - 10/18/2016 12:40:53 PM

+2 Boost

If platform sharing destroys a luxury brand's resale value, it should hold true that Audi, Porsche and Bentley all have terrible resale values because they all share platforms with each other but this is not the case.

dumpsty - 10/18/2016 2:59:43 PM

+1 Boost

If you can buy a new car with a tape deck, then yes, the equipment would be obsolete. However, in today's market, there aren't vastly new tech options being installed in new cars. These tech-wiz gadgets may look different but most of them do the same things.

In the US - which continues to add these new tech gadgets as standard equipment via Federal regulations - base vehicles often include "base" versions of these systems.