5 Nissan Models With The Worst Resale Value

Nissan isn't well-known for keeping a high resale value compared to other brands. This isn't exactly a new development, either, as a certain Nissan model previously topped our 2018 list for the top 8 cars with the highest depreciation. Not every vehicle under this brand has faced similar fates, but the ones that have were hit hard by estimates from iSeeCars and CarEdge. In fact, the Nissan models with the worst resale value have some of the worst depreciation of any modern-day vehicles.

While Nissan might not be the best at keeping its secondhand values high, the prices of its vehicles can vary greatly. Certain models will technically have worse value, but they don't actually lose as much as some others due to their lower price. The percentages are still worth more focus, considering how the person reselling these models will be eating the cost once it's out of their hands. But depending on how much money you're willing to lose in the long run, a Nissan with worse resale value might not be as damaging as one with slightly better estimates.

The Nissan Murano sets a pretty harrowing baseline for the other models on this list. Its depreciation is set at around 55% after 5 years, already passing the halfway mark of its original cost. In this case, though, you might not have to worry about adhering to those estimates so closely. The 2020 model was actually one of the best years for the Nissan Murano — a label owed to its high ratings and reliability — making it a very attractive choice in the secondhand market.

If you're putting a used Murano up for resale, you should be aware of what might happen if you aren't so lucky with pricing it. A brand-new model costs around $40,000 (at its lowest, so a 5-year-old version could end up losing as much money as the cost of a new Nissan Kicks. As with any used car, wear and tear could be the deciding factor in just how much you can get away with. If you've put your own Murano through some tough weather and rough accidents, even one from 2024 might end up losing more of its original value than 56%.

Although the Nissan Pathfinder has a bit more variance in its depreciation than the Murano, its base cost isn't too far off. Its loss of value ranges from around 56% to 58%, but since it's around $4,000 lower, it ends up losing a very similar amount of money. Higher trim levels can affect this difference, though, since the top trims for both models are within $1,000 of each other. If you're buying one of these used Nissan models, the alternate trims could end up affecting which SUV is truly the better deal.

Regardless of comparisons, the Pathfinder doesn't measure up well in the secondhand market. Our 2024 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek review noted how it lacked dedicated features that could keep up with other off-roaders. In other words, other SUVs with better value are easily able to stand as fierce competitors, even with a half-decade of extra age. Still, it's at least able to keep more than 40% of its original price, which allows it to fare better than a certain other Nissan SUV model.

Nissan's Armada SUV finds itself with one of the worst resale values out there, with its depreciation reaching as high as 62%. When you factor in its MSRP of nearly $60,000, this also means its value will lose more money after 5 years than any other Nissan model on this list. Even by the most generous estimates, the Armada is nearly guaranteed to drop over $30,000 in that time period. The rate of depreciation is also very fast, causing the Armada to potentially lose over half of its value in just two years.

Perhaps the biggest reason why the Armada loses its value so quickly is thanks to its gas mileage. Until 2025, this SUV used a powerful yet hungry V8 for its powertrain, leading to it getting only around 14 mpg in cities and 19 mpg on highways. Even with the newer versions using a more conservative V6, those numbers only increase to 16 and 20, respectively. Quite a bit of extra money will be spent on putting gas into this vehicle, so it's not hard to see why secondhand buyers might be reluctant to accept a very high asking price.

The only place where the Nissan Leaf manages to seem like a good value is in comparison to other electric cars. Against the rest of Nissan's model lineup, you could make a strong argument for it having the worst resale value of them all, with its depreciation ranging from 62% to 65%. When we discussed the truth behind the Nissan's Leaf terrible resale value in 2022, it was able to keep over half of its original cost, making it clear that time has not been kind to this particular EV.

In spite of its depreciation, the Leaf actually manages to scrape by without losing as much money overall. Its MSRP is the lowest of any Nissan model on this list at just under $30,000, making its losses closer to vehicles like the Murano or Pathfinder rather than the Armada. It's also among the cheapest EVs out there, so it's actually quite low-risk compared to what you'd pay for other cars of its kind. In this case, even a car with terrible resale value isn't guaranteed to sell at undesirable prices.

The Nissan Ariya is comparable to the Leaf in many ways, even having similar depreciation of around 64%. The biggest difference comes from the Ariya being an electric SUV, which also bumps its base price by an extra $11,000. The impact of its lowered resale value affects it much more as a result. If you purchased a brand-new one with a higher trim, the value it loses after 5 years could have been used to buy a whole brand-new Leaf instead.

It should be noted that the Ariya hasn't actually reached the 5-year mark yet; 2023 is its oldest model year, so it might end up with better value than what's predicted by the estimates. Unfortunately, things aren't looking very good for it already, as used versions of its higher-MSRP 2023 model are struggling to keep half of their original cost. If it can't hold its value well today, you probably shouldn't expect the Ariya to make a sudden turnaround after a few more years have passed.