Subaru Resale Value

Sell your Subaru within three to five years to get the most value back in your pocket.
Written by Cassandra Hamilton
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
You can get up to 70% of the original value on your Subaru if you sell it within three to five years of purchasing it new. You’ll have to take condition, mileage, and market demand into account when calculating your car’s worth, though.
Subarus are known for their longevity, great handling, and standard all-wheel drive. All the same, you might be ready for a new ride by now, andcyou need to know what your beloved Subaru’s resale value is.
It’s common knowledge that a new vehicle depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot, but what’s not as well known is what your car’s resale value is. This is crucial information for your financial planning when seeking to sell your car.
How will you know where to start when determining your resale value? Don’t worry, the top-rated
car insurance
app,
Jerry
, can help you begin. We’ve got all the info on how your Subaru’s value is decided, what you can do to get the most money for it, and how to find the best
Subaru insurance cost
for it.

What goes into determining my Subaru’s resale value?

Your Subaru has taken you all over, from your front door to the office and off into the great unknown on your latest camping adventure. Unfortunately, you can’t sell those great memories—but you can calculate your Subaru’s resale value with a few different factors
Let’s take a look at the different influences on your Subaru’s resale value:
  • Depreciation: Your car lost some value as soon as you drove it off the lot. Subarus are known for retaining their value, but some models lose up to 65% of their value within the first three years of ownership.
  • Mileage: Mileage has a lot to do with your car’s condition, and if you drive it more than 12,000 to 15,000 annual miles, you may take a hit on your resale value.
  • Accident history: An accident, even a small one, can drop your car’s value by 15% to 30%. Do your best to avoid accidents to keep your resale value high.
  • Model popularity: If you bought a gimmick car, it won’t hold value the same as a hatchback or SUV will. The
    Subaru Crosstrek
    ,
    Subaru Forester
    , and
    Subaru Outback
    all hold their value the best thanks to market demand.
  • Interior and exterior conditions: You’ll need to maintain your Subaru extremely well to get the most out of its resale value. Dents, dings, blemishes, and put-off repairs are big hits to your car’s resale value.

Resale value vs. trade-in value

There are benefits and drawbacks to trading in your car or going with a private sale, so let’s review the differences. A trade-in gives your car to a dealership in exchange for a credit towards a new car. This typically isn’t a cash payment and has value only at that dealership.
The better choice financially is resale, but it’s a lot of work to privately sell a car. You’ll be selling your car to a stranger, so imagine a whole bunch of strangers scrutinizing your car’s age, condition, and mileage with little to no feedback on how you could get more money for your car, unlike at a dealership.

What is the MSRP of my Subaru?

Do you remember how much your Subaru was worth when you first purchased it? It’s important to know the original MSRP of your Subaru before putting it up for resale.
Kelley Blue Book has a
great guide
on Subaru’s MSRPs so you can figure out the starting point for your price.
 Key Takeaway You’ll need to calculate your Subaru’s worth based on its MSRP, condition (both interior and exterior), accident history, age, and model type before you can sell it.

How does wear and tear affect my Subaru’s value?

The condition of your car is one of the most important aspects of figuring out your car’s resale value, and thankfully it’s a factor that’s within your control. If you followed Subaru’s recommended
car maintenance schedule
, the value of your car will likely be higher than if you ignored it. 
If the buyer of your car has to pay for your wear-and-tear out of their own pocket, you won’t get as much for your Subaru.
If you know how much you’ve spent on repairs, you can calculate your car’s repair depreciation. A good rule of thumb is to subtract $2,500 for every $5,000 spent on repairs, whether those repairs were due to an accident or other causes. If you didn’t save every repair receipt, you can use
Subaru’s guide to wear and tear
to calculate an estimate.
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How to calculate the resale value of your car

Every car and every Subaru model has a storied journey behind it, but you can still estimate the unique resale value of your Subaru using this
awesome tool
, no matter what it’s been through.
You’ll want to get an idea of how your own car compares to other Subaru models on the market, and you can start by determining the depreciated value of your car. Right now, Car Edge rates the 2020 model year as the best year for retaining value—usually 83% of the new price. You can’t go wrong purchasing a 2020 Subaru, new or used.
Let’s get into some particular examples so you can get an idea of how your Subaru stacks up. If you bought a 2020 Subaru Outback $34,953. You drove it 12,000 miles annually for three years and are ready to sell it. It has retained 70.19% of its value, making its resale price $24,534.
If you bought a 2020
Subaru Impreza
, the numbers look a little different. The original MSRP was $23,651 and depreciated over three years to the resale value of $17,431.
These prices sound great, but they assume the car is in top condition. Model year plays a role in depreciation, but not as much as some of the other factors we’ve discussed.
MORE: Trade-in vs private sale: What’s the best way to sell your car?

The bottom line: is my Subaru worth reselling?

Okay, you’ve organized your information: your Subaru’s MSRP, its depreciation, condition, and mileage—what’s next? Well, you’ve got to decide if reselling is really worth it. 
If your Subaru is in great shape cosmetically, has less than 15,000 miles per year on average, was brand new within the last three to five years, and is an SUV or hatchback, you will probably get a substantial payoff from selling it privately.
If your Subaru doesn’t quite match these conditions, you might want to make some last-minute changes to increase your chances of resale.

How to prep your Subaru for resale 

Obviously, you want to get the most money possible for your Subaru, no matter what your situation is. Try following these steps before handing the keys to the new owner to maximize your profit: 
  • Get your car detailed. Get the tiniest crevices clean so your Subaru will look as close to brand-new as possible.
  • Take care of routine maintenance. Top off your fluids, change the oil, get the tires rotated, and get the wheels aligned before you list it for sale.
  • Gather the original parts. You’ll want to track down any owner’s manuals, keys, and accessories that originally came with the car so the next owner can have these components.
Taking care of these factors will get you the most out of your Subaru’s resale potential and assure any potential buyers that they’re buying a quality car that has been well cared for.

Finding cheap Subaru car insurance 

It’s time to say goodbye to your beloved Subaru—but wait! You still need to get around! Whether you decide to purchase a new Subaru or change directions with a new make altogether, you’ll need great car insurance to protect your vehicle. After all the work you put into selling your Subaru, who has the energy to shop for car insurance?
Jerry
does!
 Jerry is the top-rated car insurance app in the App Store, and it’s easy to find out why. See how quickly Jerry finds multiple competitive quotes for you to review (hint: it’s less than two minutes) after you input your information, and find out how much you can save by switching!
 Jerry keeps your insurance price low by automatically shopping for new policies every six months so you continue getting the lowest price possible. To make it even easier, Jerry takes care of the paperwork and even helps you cancel your old policy. Don’t wait—see how your savings stack up against the average of $887 per year saved by other Jerry users.
 “After signing up with
Jerry
, I went from $199/month to $97/month for my car insurance. My 2019 Subaru Forester now has full coverage for a great price!” —Rhonda H.
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FAQs

The Subaru model with the best resale value is the Subaru Crosstrek, followed closely by the Subaru Forester and Subaru Outback.
You can determine your Subaru’s value by looking at its depreciation, mileage, condition, accident history, and more. You can also use this
helpful tool
from Edmunds to get a general idea of what your car is worth.
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