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Luxury SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade are accompanied by a predictably high sticker price. In the case of this full-sized Caddy, the base 2025 edition starts at $93,295 (including destination charges) and rises to over $137,000 for a fully-loaded Cadillac Escalade ESV, or Escalade Stretch Vehicle. Yet, the sticker shock doesn’t end there. Drive off the dealer’s lot, and depreciation kicks in, with the total value lost over time significantly impacting total ownership cost. For example, recent iSeeCars data shows that the Escalade may only be worth about 22% of its original value after ten years.

Understanding this drop in value can provide essential insights at trade-in time and may impact a purchase decision. Edmunds estimates the five-year ownership cost for a base 2025 Escalade at $108,700. About half ($54,287) is attributed to depreciation, while the remainder covers fuel, insurance, finance, and upkeep. To put those numbers in perspective, Edmunds estimates that the Chevrolet Suburban has a five-year ownership cost of $71,838 for the least expensive 2025 model, with depreciation accounting for 45% of that total.

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Looking at Escalade depreciation over different ownership periods highlights just how much value the Escalade sheds. Data from iSeeCars shows that an Escalade loses 33.7% of its value during the first three years, which is better than the average of 39.8% for all large luxury SUVs. The situation changes at the five-year mark, however. At this point, the Escalade’s value plummets by 60.9%, compared to the category average of 58.5%.

CarEdge reports similar estimates, forecasting a 56% five-year depreciation rate for the standard Escalade. The Escalade ESV fares worse, with a 62% decline in value over the same period. iSeeCars has a similar five-year projection for the longer Escalade.

At the seven-year milestone, iSeeCars says that an Escalade is worth 71.1% less than the initial MSRP, which aligns with the category average. At this stage, the Escalade’s depreciation is still worse than that of its mainstream GM siblings, like the Chevrolet Tahoe (62.7%) and the GMC Yukon (64.5%). Given this, we won’t blame you for choosing one of the cheaper and smaller alternatives to the Cadillac Escalade instead.

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The iSeeCars research underscores the Escalade’s status among the worst depreciating luxury SUVs (only beaten by the Infiniti QX80 and Land Rover Range Rover). After five years, the Escalade and the ESV variant have an average drop in value of 61.8%, translating to about $54,886 lost compared to MSRP. That decline is steeper than the 58.5% average for the entire large luxury SUV segment, and well above the 48.9% dip for all SUVs. In short, the mechanically similar Suburban and Yukon may be more appealing because they lose less value.

A high-percentage value decline on a six-figure SUV adds to more dollars lost than the same percentage drop on an $80,000 vehicle. Take the case of the Escalade ESV, with an iSeeCars-estimated five-year depreciation rate of 62.9%. During this period, an owner will lose almost $57,000. The Suburban’s projected 55.6% loss of value means a hit to the wallet of about $34,100 over the same period.

Lastly, reliability often plays a role in depreciation as buyers are more likely to seek out a used vehicle with a better reputation for dependability. Consumer Reports’ latest study ranks Lexus as the second most reliable brand behind Subaru, while Cadillac landed near the bottom, placing 21st out of 22 brands. If it’s any consolation, the Escalade isn’t quite the worst out there, with Jaguar’s I-Pace beating it to the honor of having the worst resale value on the market.