Special Edition cars prove worse at resale

Springing for that limited edition model with the special paint or custom performance parts may seem like a good idea at buying time but when it comes to offloading your car at trade-in you may be in for a little surprise. Despite usually costing more, when it comes time to sell, special edition models are more often than not worth less as a percentage of their original price than when compared with standard models.

The findings are the result of the latest Kelley Blue Book study, which looked at 14 different special edition vehicles produced since 2001. The study found that in all cases the special edition models lost more value than the standard models in both dollar and percentage terms. One of the worst offenders was Nissan’s 2005 35th Anniversary Edition 350Z, which only retained 65% of its original value compared to the standard car which retains 71%.

Making the situation even worse for the special edition cars is the fact that the study was based on new car sticker prices. In reality, buyers usually pay less than sticker price on standard new models whereas they’re more likely to pay close to, and in some cases more than, the sticker price for special edition cars.