Least beater depreciation:
1982 Mazda GLC winter beater, bought 225$, sunk 600$, sold for 400$ after 4 years.
1978 Buick LeSabre summer beater, bought 1200$, sunk 125$, sold for 900$ after 3 months.
New cars with least depreciation:
Wife's 1st new car, 1994 Toyota Tercel LS 5-speed, bought 11 500$, sold 8 500$ after 5 years.
And the champ - 2015 VW Golf TDI, bought back by VW through Dieselgate in 2017, after tax cost to me: 100$.