Does Toyota Highlander Hold Its Value?

By Max Anthony •  Updated: 06/29/22 •  3 min read

If you purchase a Toyota Highlander, its value is likely to decrease by 35% after five years. Consequently, you can expect a five-year resale value of a little over $27,000. This is under the assumption that if you were to buy it brand new, it would cost about $42,000.

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The Toyota Highlander does a fantastic job of holding its value over the short-term. It consistently ranks among our best 20 cars, staying strong throughout the 3 year rank, 5 year rank, and 7 year rank. If you are among those who are looking for a vehicle in the vehicle class, the Highlander offers excellent value. That means that you can feel confident in the purchase, whether it is new or used.

To Buy a Toyota Highlander New or Used?

It is possible that if you purchase a used Toyota Highlander that is only two years old, that you could save nearly $10,000 compared to buying a brand new car. You can even still have a very new model with plenty of useful life left. In the example above, if you plan to keep the vehicle for three years, your total cost of depreciation will amount to a little over $5,000.

You might also try other age and ownership length combinations, or different vehicles. This is done in order to find where there are vulnerable spots in terms of depreciation where this cost is the lowest. So, try to buy only vehicles that are around three years old. The value of new vehicles depreciates quickly.

What are the Best Model Years to Buy a Toyota Highlander?

The 2020 Toyota Highlander is our favorite. It is the most affordable model year for the Highlander. When you buy a vehicle in 2020, you will pay on average only a little over 80% of the price as when you buy it brand-new. Even so, there will be at least 90% of the vehicle’s life left, which means little in terms of wear and tear. Aspiring Highlander owners can also choose from the 2019 and 2018 model years, as an alternative.

How to Maintain the Value of a Toyota Highlander

Making sure the value of a Toyota Highlander stays up is not just a matter of keeping track of how it depreciates. Sometimes, it all comes down to how a specific owner takes care of a specific Highlander. It is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind that a Highlander can easily last for around 300,000 miles. The exact number will depend on how you take care of it.

If your Highlander breaks down often, the value of this vehicle will drop significantly. The reason for this is that its reliability has decreased, which means that there are fewer vehicles available to buy and less demand for used vehicles in general. This makes it even more likely that you will have to pay more money to fix your car. So, make sure that you take good care of your Toyota Highlander to keep its value in the high marks for the longest time.

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Max Anthony

Max is a gizmo-savvy guy, who has a tendency to get pulled into the nitty gritty details of technology and cars. He attended UT Austin, where he studied Information Science. He’s married and has three kids, one dog and a GMC truck and a Porsche 911. With a large family, he still finds time to share tips and tricks on cars, trucks and more.

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