5 Cars With the Best Resale Value

PORTLAND, Ore. (TheStreet) -- Buying a car is as much about what you'll sell it for years from now as it is about the current sticker price.

The standard wisdom is that your car depreciates in value as soon as it leaves the lot. Its value doesn't completely fall off a cliff, however, unless you decide to run it into the ground or buy a model not known for its longevity. The folks at auto pricing and valuation site Kelley Blue Book note that depreciation costs a car owner more than gas, maintenance or insurance during the first five years of new-car ownership.

Kelley Blue Book has been publishing its residual value guide since 1981 and knows a thing or two about resale value. That "blue book" value used car buyers talk about when pricing a vehicle? Yeah, they're the same guys, and they've been handing out their Best Resale Value Awards since 2003.

The 2013 model year's entries are going to make Toyota fans extremely happy, but will likely produce more grumbling from Detroit Three loyalists. Toyota and its Lexus division were named Best Brand and Best Luxury Brand, respectively, for their ability to retain their cars' value over the first five years of ownership. Despite the automaker's spate of recalls and its struggles after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year, Toyota took six out of KBB's 22 vehicle categories, while Lexus won two of three luxury categories (the Porsche Panamera won Best High-End Luxury Car).

Though Honda swept the small and midsized car categories and Toyota won both pickup honors, the Detroit automakers weren't completely shut out. The Ford Fusion Hybrid won Best Hybrid/Alternative Energy car over the Lexus ES 300h, General Motors' Chevy Volt won Best Electric Car over the Toyota Prius Plug-In and GM's Chevy Camaro took Best Sports Car and Best High-Performance Car ahead of the Porsche Boxter and Lexus IS.

There are only a handful of cars that give owners a big portion of their investment back five years later. According to Kelley Blue Book, the following vehicles are a car buyer's best chance of getting half of their money back or more once it's time to sell: