Which Alfa Romeo Stelvio trim depreciates the fastest?
Being their very first SUV, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio marked a complete departure for this Italian company. It’s been very well-received by the motoring press, but local buyers’ response have been lukewarm so far. But how does its “outsider” status affect its value retention? We investigate the Stelvio’s depreciation.
Looks great, and drives even better than it looks.
To be honest, the Stelvio’s arrival surprised many onlookers. For starters, Alfa Romeo isn’t known for their SUVs (having never made one before), and some doubts were expressed about the wisdom of pushing the brand into this arena – mainly because of Alfa’s long history of sporty and stylish sedans and coupés.
Those purists need not have worried, however: the Stelvio turned out to be very good at being an SUV (practical and versatile), without losing the essence of brilliance that makes its Giulia platform-mate such a compelling driver’s car. It might look like a tall wagon, but it drives just like an Alfa should – athletic, responsive, and satisfying.
Unfortunately, these characteristics weren’t enough to sway local buyers, so the Stelvio is still, after more than two years on our roads, a rare sight. How does this relative lack of popularity (as a new car) affect its resale value? We got a hold of the original (2017) price list, and compared it to the 2017-model Stelvios currently listed here on AutoTrader to determine its depreciation.
* Current prices are calculated as an average pricetag derived from the cars in our listing pages, and the value retention is based on the ratio of the current prices to the trim level’s list prices when new.
* Seeing as the high-performance Stelvio Quadrifoglio only arrived later and its initial price was never officially announced, we’ve left that upper-echelon variant out of these calculations. Those are very specialised cars, however, which tend to depreciate at a slower rate.
Related: Read our first-drive impressions of the initial local Alfa Romeo Stelvio range here.
2017 Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.0T Super Q4
New Price: R 810 000
Average Current Price: R 527 740
Value Retained: 65.2%
Analysis
The only 2017 Stelvios in our listings are of the 2.0T Super derivative (which served as the entry-level variant at launch), with no First Edition or Quadrifoglio examples available from that year. Obviously, their pricetags will be influenced by the number of fitted optional extras, but that effect is vastly reduced in the used-car market. Mileage has a far greater effect on resale value in this case, with higher-mileage cars commanding significantly lower prices.
With that in mind, it’s still quite disappointing to see how much value those 2017 Stelvios have lost in a relatively short time. Losing more than 33% of its initial pricetag in just two-and-a-half years is a very poor showing, especially for a premium product with so much innate talent, and reflects on the low local demand for Alfa Romeos in general.
Related: What is covered by the Alfa Romeo Stelvio’s manufacturer warranty?
Summary
While its steep depreciation is a let-down, it does make for very good used-car buying. Think of it this way: budget-focused luxury SUV buyers have a very tempting alternative in the second-hand market, where they can score an excellent car at relative bargain prices. It’s not such great news for buyers of new Stelvios, though, because they stand to lose a lot of money very quickly. Our advice? Snap up those cheap, used Stelvios as quickly as possible, and enjoy the knowledge that you’ll be getting one of the finest SUVs that few people have ever heard of, and saving a bundle in the process.
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