Which Renault Sandero trim holds its value better?
Compact hatchbacks are as popular as ever, and many buyers now shop in the lower end of this market segment, due to budgetary constraints. Consequently, the Renault Sandero has acquired quite a strong fan base in South Africa, and it’s easy to see why: buyers get a lot of car with many modern features, but at comparatively low prices. Given its popularity, how well does the Sandero’s value hold up in the used-car marketplace? We crunched the numbers to get you the answers.
Compact hatchback for city car prices?
Local buyers have really taken the current (second-) generation Renault Sandero to heart, with its popularity only increasing since it was first released here in the beginning of 2014. The value proposition on offer is particularly appealing, because the Sandero is a budget car with many non-budget features on offer.
Related: Renault Sandero Stepway Plus – a value-packed new range addition.
But does the Sandero’s popularity among buyers reflect in its value retention, and if so, which trim level holds its value the best? We evaluated the Sandero range, as it appeared after its mid-life facelift in early-2017, to see how well the three variants in the rationalised range has maintained their resale value.
To compile this report, we found average resale values for 2017-vintage Sandero variants listed on AutoTrader, and compared these values to the list prices of these variants at launch. We looked for cars that have covered a maximum of 20 000 km per year, as that is an industry average. This means that the Sanderos we considered in this evaluation all have less than 60 000 km registered on their odos.
Related: Find out more about the pre-facelift Renault Sandero in this report.
Fortunately, 2017 model year Sanderos are available in great numbers on the second-hand market, so our statistical sample sizes are significant enough to detect definite trends. And, because the Sandero is a “what you see is what you get” kind of car, there aren’t many optional extras to skew the picture. Value retention is expressed as a percentage of the list price when new, and gives a fair idea of each derivative’s value retention.
Renault Sandero 66 kW Expression
New Price: R 159 900
Average Used Price: R 128 596
Percentage of value retained: 80.42%
This is the entry-level variant in the current (facelifted) model range, and immediately puts up a very good showing at the age of 3 years. Retaining a smidge more than 80% of its new-car value, the basic Sandero Expression is proving to be surprisingly resistant to depreciation – especially considering that this is arguably the least-desirable trim level.
Renault Sandero 66 kW Stepway Expression
New Price: R 174 900
Average Used Price: R 135 329
Percentage of value retained: 77.4%
This is a very surprising result, given that the Stepway Expression trim (with its plastic body cladding and roof rails) is much more appealing than the entry-level variant. Used-car buyers don’t seem to agree, however, which pushed the cheaper Stepway’s average used price down to less than R 7 000 over the basic Sandero Expression. This is good news for pre-owned shoppers, because they can get a far nicer car without paying too much of a price premium.
Renault Sandero 66 kW Stepway Dynamique
New Price: R 189 900
Average Used Price: R 149 617
Percentage of value retained: 78.8%
As the range-topping 2017 Sandero, the Stepway Dynamique trim carries a relatively steep price premium over the lower-level Stepway Expression. On average, a used Dynamique will cost about R 14 000 more than an Expression, reflecting its new-car price jump over its lesser sibling almost exactly. It also retains is value slightly better than the Expression variant, but there are far fewer Dynamiques available in the pre-owned market.
Summary
Most of the action happens at the bottom and at the top of the Sandero food chain, but there is a clear trend that entry-level Expressions retain more of their value in the used-car marketplace. This is good news for those who want to buy a new Sandero Expression, because it means that their cars will be worth (proportionally) more when the time comes to sell it. But, for used-car buyers, either one of the Stepway variants will be a more-sensible purchase, because their slightly steeper depreciation will make them (relatively) more affordable than the base-spec car.