New Study Reveals The 10 Cars 2025 Owners Get Rid Of Within Just A Year

• Cars

New car buyers will be well aware of the "new car feeling." You get to enjoy all the best bits of having the car — the smell of a freshly prepared interior, the chip-free paintwork — but you won't have had to live with its quirks or annoyances just yet. However, for some unlucky buyers, that new car feeling doesn't last long. The novelty of the car being new wears off, and they're left with a vehicle that isn't quite what they'd hoped for.

If the owner really isn't satisfied with the car, they could choose to resell it, sometimes less than a year after they bought it. A new study by iSeeCars breaks down which cars are most likely to be resold within a year, with each of these 10 models being far more likely than average to end up back on the market. The study found that, on average, 3.6% of new cars were resold within their first year on the road, but each of these poor performers saw well over 10% of new models resold.

Although it's easy to assume that the high resale numbers are solely down to owners deciding that they don't like the car in question, iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said it wasn't quite as simple. According to Brauer, "financial hardship and even creative dealer accounting" can contribute to high reported resale rates, since "some retailers [have] register[ed] demonstration vehicles as sold to increase sales numbers for their stores and the manufacturer."

Jaguar F-Pace — 13.3%

Jaguar's controversial reinvention as an all-electric luxury brand is well underway, with nearly all of its old lineup already discontinued. In the U.S., the 2025 model year will be the final year for Jaguar's last surviving combustion model, the F-Pace SUV, and production is set to end globally in 2026. The F-Pace was last given a notable overhaul in 2021, so Jaguar has had more than enough time to smooth out the production process to ensure the brand's notorious quality control inconsistencies don't spoil the ownership experience.

However, plenty of F-Pace buyers are still reselling their cars early, with 13.3% of new registered sales reappearing on the market after less than a year. Exactly why the resale rate is so high remains unclear. Potentially, it could be that plenty of buyers are genuinely dissatisfied with their experience. Or it could be that Jaguar dealers have employed some creative accounting practices to make it look like they're shifting stock in time for the upcoming rebranding.

Whatever the reason for the high number of resold cars, buyers looking for a lightly used F-Pace certainly won't be short of examples to pick from. We thought the 2021 refresh went a long way to making the car competitive against its luxury SUV rivals, several of which also appear in the top 10 most resold models.

BMW 5-Series — 13.4%

The latest generation of the BMW 5-Series hit dealerships for the 2024 model year and looks very different to its predecessor. It's also very different underneath, with a range of combustion, hybrid, and all-electric variants available. Even the base-spec variant of the car is far from slow, but we thought that the pricier powertrains in the 5-Series range were better value for most buyers. Anyone looking to make the leap to all-electric power also has multiple variants of the i5 to pick from.

Despite all the mechanical and styling changes, the core appeal of the 5-Series remains the same as it always has been. It's a comfortable, well-equipped executive car that's just as suited to interstate road trips as it is to the daily commute. However, it appears that a significant proportion of recent buyers found it to be too different to what they were expecting, with 13.4% of them selling the car within a year of purchase.

Land Rover Discovery — 13.6%

For the 2026 model year, Land Rover has announced multiple special editions of the Discovery, including the Tempest edition, which the brand describes as, "the most luxurious Discovery vehicle ever." The Disco hasn't been selling as well as other models in the JLR stable for some time now, and in 2023, its maker confirmed that it was looking to overhaul the model in order to generate new interest. Fast-forward two years, and that overhaul has yet to arrive, with the special editions presumably launched as a stopgap measure to keep buyer interest alive.

Even buyers that have opted for a Discovery over a Defender or Range Rover haven't kept it long. According to the iSeeCars analysis, 13.6% of new buyers sold their car in a matter of months. It isn't just the Discovery, either — three out of 10 of the most frequently resold models are Land Rovers. At least, if you're looking for a used Discovery rather than a new one, you won't be short of options.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class — 14%

The C-Class is the first of four Mercedes-Benz models to appear in the top 10 most frequently resold cars, with 14% of buyers trading it in within a year. It competes in a tricky segment, with rivals from German, Japanese, and South Korean brands all available to tempt buyers away from Mercedes' dealerships. Nonetheless, we think the latest C-Class remains a compelling choice, mixing a comfortable, tech-heavy interior with a sleek exterior and impressive efficiency figures.

It's not quite as athletic as other sedans in its segment, but it offsets that by being among the smoothest to drive. All-wheel drive is also available for added wintertime reassurance in colder parts of the country. Parts of the interior take heavy inspiration from the flagship S-Class, which results in the C-Class having one of the plushest interiors in its segment. It's arguably a solid all-rounder, but clearly buyers aren't as won over by its charms, at least judging by the rate that they trade them in.

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque — 16.4%

It might be the baby Range Rover, but its price still isn't all that small. The base-spec Evoque starts around $50,000 for 2026, but tick enough of the options list and the final price will sail north of $65,000. After putting the Evoque to the test in 2025, we also found its fuel economy to be far below the segment average, so buyers can expect big fuel bills too. 

However, in return for their money, buyers get an SUV that's arguably one of the best looking in its class, as well as an interior that's similar to pricier Range Rover models. None of those things explain why buyers are so keen to hand over the keys to their Evoques to someone else after less than a year behind the wheel. According to iSeeCars, 16.4% of buyers do exactly that — a figure that's well over four times the overall market average.

Mercedes-Benz GLA — 16.7%

American buyers no longer get the A-Class sedan, but they do get Mercedes' SUV sibling, the GLA. It serves as the entry level model in the brand's expansive SUV lineup, with the current generation having debuted for the 2021 model year. Inside, it isn't particularly different from other entry-level Mercedes models, but that's no bad thing. After all, the brand's current interiors are regarded as being among the best in their respective segments. Unlike some brands that have opted for a screen-only approach, the GLA's cabin still features plenty of physical buttons too.

As appealing as they might be on paper, iSeeCars data shows that several of Mercedes' entry-level models are particularly likely to be resold by buyers. The GLA isn't the worst of the bunch, but its 16.7% resale rate is still far higher than most rival SUVs. That's despite the GLA having the lowest average new price out of all the frequently resold models here — $48,548 — and being the only model here with an average price below $50,000.

Mercedes-Benz CLA — 20.4%

Alongside the GLA, another entry-level Mercedes-Benz with a relatively attainable starting price is the CLA. Much like the GLA, the CLA is also one of the most frequently resold models on the market, with 20.4% of buyers parting with theirs within a year. The CLA is available in multiple guises, some of which prioritize sportiness while others prioritize comfort. We found both variants on both ends of the spectrum to be likeable, with our AMG CLA 35 being a good companion for spirited driving, while the CLA 250 was a comfortable commuter.

The CLA can fit adults in its rear row, but it isn't as roomy as other attainably priced Mercedes models like the C-Class. Since it's more low-slung than the likes of the GLA and GLB, buyers with limited mobility might also find it trickier to get in and out of. It's far from the most practical entry-level Mercedes, then, but it makes up for that with attractive styling and a sportier edge than most of its similarly priced stablemates.

Mercedes-Benz GLB — 21.2%

The GLB is a relatively recent addition to the Mercedes-Benz lineup, having first debuted for the 2020 model year. It was given a facelift in 2023, with tweaked exterior styling, new headlights, and additional interior tech. While the brand's other entry-level SUVs sport a modern, aerodynamically-optimised design, the GLB has a more traditional boxy look. Its styling takes inspiration from Mercedes' original SUV, the G-Class, but unlike the latter, the GLB is available with a third row.

The GLB offers impressively generous levels of legroom and headroom in its first and second rows, and retains a small overall footprint considering its ability to seat seven. Mercedes also offers an AMG-fettled version with 302 horsepower in case any buyers fancy giving their premium, compact family hauler an extra dollop of power. Despite being practical and relatively quick in its top-spec form, the GLB has the highest resale rate of any Mercedes-Benz model. According to iSeeCars, 21.2% of buyers traded in their new cars within the space of 12 months.

Porsche Macan — 22.2%

The all-electric Porsche Macan might not be to some purists' tastes, but we found very little to dislike when we put one through its paces earlier in 2025. It still handles like a Porsche should do, it's powerful enough to push you back into your seat if you floor it, and it's as roomy and practical as other similarly sized SUVs. One of the few downsides is its limited range — the sub-300 mile range of our tester wasn't ideal, although it's still plenty for most people's everyday driving duties.

Porsche still offers a Macan with a combustion engine under the hood alongside its all-electric model. Neither variant comes cheap: a base-spec gasoline Macan starts at a little under $70,000, while the cheapest electric Macan will cost slightly over $80,000. Adding options can push the final price much higher. Among buyers who were willing to cough up the cash, 22.2% sold the Macan within a year of their ownership.

Land Rover Discovery Sport — 28.3%

By a significant margin, the car that's most frequently resold within a year is the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Slotting below the Discovery, the Discovery Sport is Land Rover's joint most affordable new vehicle, alongside the Range Rover Evoque. The Evoque also makes an appearance on this list, but it's nowhere near as frequently resold as the Discovery Sport, which sees a whopping 28.3% of buyers sell it on within a year.

The current generation of the Discovery Sport has been on the market for a long time by the standards of its segment, with its last major facelift debuting in 2020. At its launch, we came away impressed with its refined cabin and plentiful tech, but in the intervening half a decade, its segment has become more crowded with highly competitive rivals. The car has also gained a reputation for being less reliable than many of those rivals, which likely contributes to its exceptionally high resale rate.

How we got here

This list uses data from an iSeeCars study published in October 2025 that analyzed data from 18.5 million new car sales. The study considered cars with model years between 2022 and 2025, and tracked each car's vehicle identification number (VIN) to establish whether it was sold within a year of its original recorded purchase date. According to the study's authors, heavy-duty vehicles, ultra-premium, and low-volume cars were excluded from the analysis. Each of the listed vehicles was available as a 2024 model, and each remains available in 2025.