Premium without bleeding cash: how Lexus quietly outlasts Mercedes and BMW

A. Krivonosov

Lexus retains 61.6% of its value after five years, well ahead of Mercedes-Benz (53.8%) and BMW (50.1%), according to CarEdge — and the RC F leads all luxury models with 72.6%.

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A premium car almost always loses value — but not all of them lose it the same way. A fresh residual value ranking from CarEdge, reviewed by SPEEDME, shows that Lexus holds its price better than any other luxury brand, retaining an average of 61.6% of its original sticker after five years.

For a buyer of an expensive car, this isn’t dry statistics — it’s real money on the table at resale. The higher the residual value, the less the owner gives up after a few years on the road. In the premium segment, where starting prices are already steep, even a few percentage points translate into a serious sum.

The top five brands are Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Acura, Audi and Bentley. Mercedes-Benz averaged 53.8% over five years, Acura 53.2%, Audi 52.3%, Bentley 50.6%. BMW landed slightly lower at 50.1%, followed by Volvo at 49%, Genesis at 48.5%, Cadillac at 47.1% and Lincoln at 45.4%.

The model-level picture is even more interesting. The Lexus RC F leads outright, holding 72.6% of its value after five years. Next come the Lexus RC 350, IS 500, LC 500, LC 500h and the Genesis GV80 Coupe, all tied at 70.7%. The upper half of the list is heavy on Lexus, including the GX 550, LX 600, RX 350, TX and IS 300. That speaks not only to the brand’s reputation but to genuine demand for these specific models on the used market.

Also notable: the Audi S5 Sportback at 70.6%, Audi S4 at 68.2% and Audi RS Q8 at 65.8%. On the Mercedes-Benz side, the eSprinter and several versions of the commercial Sprinter retain 64.2% — a clear sign that residual value depends not only on luxury but on the practical utility a model offers on the secondhand market.

The takeaway for buyers is simple: in the premium segment, the showroom discount and the horsepower figure aren’t the only numbers that matter. Sometimes the most expensive mistake doesn’t begin at the purchase — it begins five years later, when it’s time to sell.