8:57 am, January 30, 2021
Used luxury cars values have taken a battering in the last year with Aston Martin and McLaren particularly badly hit.
Pricing data from Brego – a new tech-based valuations company that uses AI and machine learning to calculate trends – shows the performance car market has been seriously affected by the pandemic.
Creating a list of the worst affected supercars in 2020 for Car Dealer, Brego found that the biggest drop in terms of monetary value saw £49,000 wiped off the value of a Ferrari 812 Superfast.
The Mercedes AMG GT C was close behind, losing £48k, and the McLaren 720S lost £45k in the same 12 month period.
Simon Hunt, CEO of Brego, said: ‘It’s evident the depreciation curve in 2020 of these cars differs slightly from previous years.
‘In general, cars held their value well early in the year, but then in spring/summer we saw a sharp decline in value.
‘This is almost certainly a direct effect of the lockdown in the UK, and would explain why in previous years we have seen a different depreciation curve.’
Hunt singles out McLaren and Aston Martin as having particularly suffered during 2020 and the insight follows reports from luxury car dealers who told us they’d seen similar drops in value.
Last summer, Auto Trader reported that searches for supercars had rocketed as sofa surfers looked for ‘car porn’. It had seen a fall in values then with Lamborghini prices worst affected, down nine per cent in May in the same period in 2019.
Hunt says that trend continued throughout the year and has seen a number of models lose tens of thousands of pounds. This will affect owners and dealers that have them in stock.
He added: ‘There are some trends within the automotive industry that held true for 2020. We know that McLaren suffers from a huge amount of depreciation compared to their competitors, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
‘The same can be said for Aston Martin, a brand where values drop with the exception of a few models, the original DBS for example. All of these manufacturer trends continued in 2020 but with steeper declines than predicted.’
Supercar dealer Tom Hartley told Car Dealer at the end of last year that he’d ‘take the biggest bath in 47 years’ on some of the cars he has in stock as luxury car prices continued to fall.
He said: ‘The prices of luxury cars have dropped around 30 per cent this year which will make for very uncomfortable reading for some dealers,’ said Hartley.
‘I have taken the biggest bath in 47 years on some cars, but we are still buying. Prices have dropped and we are replacing stock now at far better prices.
‘It is a combination of Brexit, consumer confidence and the types of people buying these cars wanting to get a good deal.’
Brego on the Top Depreciating Supercars in 2020
Ferrari 812 Superfast – lost £49,000
Ferrari is usually a brand that holds its value extremely well. The Ferrari 458 is one of the best cars to buy in terms of residual values, but the 812 Superfast has not shared the same luxury and has instead gone down the same road as the F12 Berlinetta.
Mercedes AMG GT C – lost £48,000
The Mercedes AMG GT is a V8 powered supercar but, possibly due to the production numbers, we see a large level of price drop within the first few years. All Mercedes typically depreciate fairly rapidly, the GT unfortunately shared the same traits.
McLaren 720s – lost £45,000
The 720s is McLaren’s flagship car. Replacing the 650s, the 720 is objectively one of the prettiest McLarens out there. McLaren as a brand suffer deeply from heavy depreciation with nearly all of their cars losing tens of thousands in the first year alone.
Rolls Royce Dawn – lost £44,000
The Dawn is Rolls Royce’s soft top convertible made with luxury in mind. Every inch of the Dawn is covered with fine materials, but the existence of the Ghost and Phantom make it a less attractive Rolls Royce for buyers. The depreciation could be down to the type of buyer in the Rolls Royce market. Buyers often want bespoke customisations with their cars and would generally be willing to pay a premium for this service. As such, second hand values are often much cheaper than a new Rolls.
McLaren GT – lost £41,000
McLaren announced the GT as an ‘against the rules’ grand tourer car, a vehicle cable of 200mph while being comfortable and practical. The reviews of the GT are testimony to that, but the practicality side is still that of a supercar and the Bentley Continental GT still holds the honours for the most comfortable GT car. As a result, the McLaren has depreciated more than anyone could have anticipated and lost more than 25 per cent of its value in one year.
Aston Martin DB11 V8 – lost £40,000
The DB11 is Aston’s first true test of a Mercedes engine in their car. Although reliability is improving, the depreciation curve has remained steep for the British manufacturer.
Aston Martin DBS Superleggera – lost £36,000
The DBS is Aston’s flagship product. Boasting more power than the DB11 and more aggressive styling. Reviews of the DBS stated that whilst the additional power is a welcomed upgrade to the DB11, the interior was largely kept the same and this could explain the larger drop in value.
Bentley Continental GT W12 – £29,000
Generally Bentleys hold their value well, however this year has been unusual for the GT. The Bentley’s reputation holds its value, more so than some of its competitors. The number of older GT models for sale means that prices generally depreciate a bit more, but the reviews of this particular car keep the value fairly steady. Having said that, £29,000 is a fair amount of depreciation in a year and is probably driven more by Covid-19 than Bentley’s natural depreciation rate.
Lamborghini Urus – lost £24,000
The Urus was Lamborghini’s first SUV and while there was some debate if supercar manufacturers should build SUVs, the Urus was one of the most commercially successful Lamborghinis of all time. Despite this it has still dropped around the price of a Ford Focus in a year.
Lamborghini Huracán Performante – lost £20,000
Lamborghini is known for its loud, exotic, poster-worthy cars. The Performante came out as an extreme version of the standard Huracán, and while it has the lowest depreciation figures on this list, £20,000 is still a large amount to pay for a car that would have probably sat in the garage for most of the year.
