Over 40% of Car Buyers Within the Last 3 Years Chose Vehicles with Resale Value in Mind!

U-POS Corporation (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture; Representative Director: Takahiro Kashiwabara), which operates a car buyback business, conducted a 'Survey on Awareness of Resale Value at the Time of Car Purchase' targeting individuals (men and women aged 20–50) who purchased a car within the last three years. This survey revealed insights into consumers' awareness of resale value during car purchases, the reasons behind it, and the conditions they compromised on to prioritize resale value.

<Background>

Amid prolonged inflation and growing economic uncertainty, consumers are increasingly adopting a 'resale value-focused' approach when purchasing high-cost items like cars. This means evaluating not just the purchase price, but also the future resale value to determine the actual total cost of ownership. However, no prior survey had clarified the actual behaviors and post-purchase awareness of consumers who consider resale value. Therefore, U-POS Corporation conducted this 'Survey on Awareness of Resale Value at the Time of Car Purchase' targeting those who bought a car within the last three years.

<Survey Summary>

・ Over 40% of people who purchased a car within the last three years reported choosing their vehicle with resale value in mind.

・ The main reasons for considering resale value when buying a car within the last three years were 'to use the proceeds for the next car purchase' and 'because they might sell the car in the future.'

・ Approximately 60% of those who considered resale value when buying a car within the last three years reported compromising on their originally desired vehicle conditions to prioritize resale value.

・ The top three conditions compromised on when purchasing a car within the last three years, prioritizing resale value, were: 1st 'body color,' 2nd (tied) 'manufacturer/brand' and 'grade.'

・ More than one in three people who considered resale value when buying a car within the last three years do not know their vehicle's current resale value.

・ The top three reasons for not knowing the current resale value of a car purchased within the last three years were: 1st 'no immediate plans to sell, so no need to check,' 2nd 'valuation requests lead to annoying sales calls,' and 3rd 'don't know how to check.'

<Survey Overview>

Survey Period: July 3–5, 2026

Survey Method: Online survey

Target Respondents: Individuals (men and women aged 20–50) who purchased a car within the last three years

Number of Respondents: 744

Panel Provider: RC Research Data

※ Due to rounding of percentages to the second decimal place, the total may not sum to exactly 100.0%.

Over 40% of recent car buyers considered resale value when choosing their vehicle

First, regarding the question 'When purchasing a car within the last three years, did you consider resale value?', the responses were: 1st 'not at all' (30.8%), 2nd 'to some extent' (29.2%), 3rd 'not much' (24.9%), and 4th 'strongly' (15.2%). Although the top response was 'not at all,' combining the percentages of 'to some extent' and 'strongly' gives 44.4%. This result indicates that over 40% of those who purchased a car within the last three years considered resale value to some degree when making their choice.

Main reasons for considering resale value when buying a car within the last three years: 'to fund the next car purchase' and 'because they might sell it in the future'

Next, among those who considered resale value when buying a car within the last three years, the question 'What were your reasons for considering resale value?' yielded the following results: 1st 'to use the proceeds for the next car purchase' (48.2%), 2nd 'because I might sell the car in the future' (42.4%), and 3rd 'to minimize the actual total cost from purchase to resale' (29.4%). These results show that the primary reasons for considering resale value were to fund future purchases and the possibility of future resale.

Approximately 60% of those who considered resale value compromised on their originally desired vehicle conditions

Next, among those who considered resale value when buying a car within the last three years, the question 'Did you compromise on your originally desired vehicle conditions to prioritize resale value?' received the following responses: 1st 'compromised somewhat' (46.4%), 2nd 'did not compromise at all' (41.8%), and 3rd 'compromised significantly' (11.8%). Combining the percentages of 'compromised somewhat' and 'compromised significantly' gives 58.2%. This indicates that approximately 60% of those who considered resale value compromised, to some extent, on their originally desired vehicle conditions.

Top three conditions compromised on when prioritizing resale value: 1st 'body color,' 2nd (tied) 'manufacturer/brand' and 'grade'

Additionally, among those who compromised on vehicle conditions to prioritize resale value when buying a car within the last three years, the question 'What conditions did you compromise on?' yielded the following results: 1st 'body color' (35.4%), and 2nd (tied) 'manufacturer/brand' and 'grade' (32.3% each). This shows that 'body color' was the most commonly compromised condition.

More than one in three people who considered resale value do not know their vehicle's current resale value

Next, among those who considered resale value when buying a car within the last three years, the question 'Do you know the current resale value of the car you purchased within the last three years?' received 'yes' (65.8%) and 'no' (34.2%) responses. This reveals that more than one in three people who considered resale value do not know their vehicle's current resale value.

Top three reasons for not knowing the current resale value: 'no immediate plans to sell,' 'annoying sales calls from valuation requests,' and 'don't know how to check'

Finally, among those who do not currently know the resale value of a car they purchased while considering resale value within the last three years, the question 'Why don't you know the current resale value?' yielded the following responses: 1st 'no immediate plans to sell, so no need to check' (51.3%), 2nd 'valuation requests lead to annoying sales calls' (20.4%), and 3rd 'don't know how to check' (16.8%). These results indicate that the main reasons for not checking resale value are lack of immediate selling plans, fear of sales calls, and uncertainty about how to check.