Depreciation is the largest cost of owning a truck, and it is the one almost nobody budgets for. You will argue about fuel economy for twenty minutes and never once ask what the truck will be worth the day you are done with it, even though that number is usually bigger than every fuel bill you will ever pay on it combined.

Shopping already? Browse our new Ram 1500 inventory in Portage la Prairie.

The fastest way to stop guessing is to get a real number on the truck you own right now with our instant cash offer tool, because your actual truck with your actual kilometres is the only figure that matters to you. What follows is the context around that number: where the Ram 1500 sits against the rest of the full size segment on retained value, what genuinely moves the number up or down, and the parts of it that are specific to living out here.

We are not going to print a depreciation percentage. Anybody who quotes you one to the decimal is reading a national average off a chart and applying it to a truck they have never seen.

Key Takeaways

• The Ram 1500 sits near the top of its segment on retained value, but not first. In Canadian Black Book's 2026 Best Residual Value Awards, released 12 February 2026, the full size pickup category went to the Toyota Tundra, with the Ram 1500 second and the Chevrolet Silverado third. Those awards project the percentage of original MSRP retained after four years.
• Dependability is where the Ram 1500 does win. The J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study ranked the Ram 1500 first in the Large Light Duty Pickup segment, ahead of the Silverado, F-150 and Sierra, measured in problems per 100 vehicles on three year old trucks.
• Trucks hold value far better than cars, which is why the dollar loss on a truck can look large while the percentage is actually good. Judge the percentage, not the dollars.
• The 10 year powertrain warranty does not travel with the truck. Ram Canada's 10 year or 160,000 kilometre limited powertrain warranty applies to the original retail purchaser or lessee and is not transferable except where provincial law requires it. It is a reason to buy new. It is not a resale prop.
• Out here, condition of the underside is a value item, not a detail. Ten Manitoba winters of salt and brine do more to a truck's trade number than a trim badge ever will.

Where the Ram 1500 Actually Ranks on Retained Value

Here is the verified picture, and it includes the part that does not flatter us.

Canadian Black Book published its 2026 Best Residual Value Awards on 12 February 2026. Those awards recognize the vehicles projected to retain the highest percentage of their original MSRP after four years. In the full size pickup category the winner was the Toyota Tundra. The Ram 1500 placed second. The Chevrolet Silverado placed third. Toyota also took the overall brand award for SUV and truck.

So no, the Ram 1500 is not the retained value champion of the segment, and we are not going to pretend otherwise on our own website. Second out of the full size trucks is a genuinely strong result in a segment where every entry holds value well, and it is a lot more useful to you than a claim you would catch us on in five minutes of searching.

Where the Ram does come first is dependability, and that is not a soft award. The J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study put the Ram 1500 at number one in the Large Light Duty Pickup segment. That study measures problems reported per 100 vehicles by owners of three year old trucks, which is exactly the age we are talking about here, and the Ram finished ahead of the Silverado, the F-150 and the Sierra. Our post on whether the Ram 1500 is reliable goes further into what that means in practice.

Those two facts sit together honestly. A three year old Ram 1500 is a strong retained value truck and, by the largest dependability study in the business, the most dependable of the full size half tons at that exact age.

What Actually Moves Your Number

This is the part a national chart cannot do for you, because it is about your specific truck.

Kilometres, but not the way most people think. The odometer is a crude proxy. Highway kilometres on a maintained truck are cheap. Short cold trips on a neglected one are expensive, and they leave different evidence. Our post on what counts as good mileage on a used truck breaks that down.

Records. A documented service history is worth real money at appraisal time, and the absence of one costs real money. This is the single easiest thing an owner controls and the one most often thrown away. Keep every invoice.

The underside. More on this below, because in Manitoba it deserves its own section.

Trim and powertrain, but less than people expect. A loaded trim costs more new and gives back a larger dollar amount over three years, which is why the highest trim is rarely the best value per dollar. The powertrain question is more interesting than the trim question, and our comparison of gas versus diesel in a Ram 1500 covers where each one earns its premium back.

Colour and configuration. Common colours and mainstream cab and box combinations sell faster on the used lot, and things that sell faster get appraised better. An unusual spec that thrilled you when you ordered it narrows the pool of people who want it later.

The Manitoba Part

Anything you read about truck depreciation written for a national audience is missing the thing that decides trade values out here.

Salt and brine. Ten winters of it does real damage to frames, brake lines, fuel lines and body seams, and when a truck comes in on trade that is one of the first places we look. Two identical trucks with identical kilometres can appraise very differently because one of them was rinsed through the winter and stored sensibly and the other spent a decade caked in road salt. That gap is not small, and it is entirely within the owner's control.

The other prairie specific item is the cold. Short trips at minus 30 are hard on a vehicle in ways that highway kilometres never are, and a truck that lived that life without regular maintenance shows it. A truck that lived that life with regular maintenance often shows almost nothing, which is the whole argument for keeping up with a service schedule even in the years when nothing feels wrong.

If you want to protect your number, the three things that actually work here are washing the underside through the winter, keeping the records, and fixing small things before they become the reason somebody knocks a chunk off the appraisal.

The Warranty Point Nobody Mentions

Ram Canada's 10 year or 160,000 kilometre limited powertrain warranty, announced in August 2025, is a genuinely strong piece of coverage. It applies to retail customers who buy or lease a new and previously unregistered 2026 model year Ram 1500, 2500, 3500, Chassis Cab or ProMaster from an authorized Canadian dealer, with fleet purchases and full battery electric vehicles excluded.

Here is the part that matters to a resale conversation. It is not transferable. It applies only to the original retail purchaser or lessee, except where provincial law requires otherwise. Quebec, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan are the exceptions written into the terms.

So when somebody tells you the long warranty will prop up the truck's resale value, that is not how it works. The coverage is an excellent reason to buy the truck new and keep it. It is not a feature the second owner inherits, and you should not build a resale expectation on top of it. Our post on Ram warranty coverage in Canada has the full picture.

Three Years In: Trade, Keep, or Run It Out

The three year mark is where most owners start doing the math, usually because a lease is up or a loan is getting close to the equity line. There are three honest answers and the right one depends on you, not on the truck.

Trade if the equity is real and you want out of the maintenance curve. Three years is often where a truck still carries strong money and has not yet hit the wear items. If you are into positive equity, that is a genuinely good moment, and it is worth checking rather than assuming. Start with a number on what your trade is worth in Manitoba.

Keep it if you like the truck and it owes you nothing. The steepest part of the depreciation curve is behind you at three years. Every year after that costs you less in value lost, which is the strongest financial argument for keeping a truck you are happy with. Our post on how long a Ram 1500 lasts covers what you are signing up for.

Run it out if the use case has changed. If the truck is now a work vehicle rather than a daily driver, running it well past three years and maintaining it properly is usually the cheapest transportation you will ever have.

What settles it is real numbers rather than opinion. Get the appraisal, look at what is on our used lot and at our new Ram 1500 inventory, and put the payments side by side. Incentive programs move every month, so check our current pricing here for the most up to date pricing information, less any applicable incentives, before you decide. If keeping your truck wins, we will say so.

If a change does make sense, sorting the money first keeps the decision clean, and you can start that with our finance application.

FAQs

How much does a Ram 1500 depreciate?

There is no honest single number, because it depends on the trim, the powertrain, the kilometres, the condition and the market at the moment you sell. What can be verified is where the truck ranks. Canadian Black Book's 2026 Best Residual Value Awards placed the Ram 1500 second in the full size pickup category behind the Toyota Tundra and ahead of the Chevrolet Silverado, based on projected percentage of original MSRP retained after four years. For your own truck, an appraisal is the only real answer.

Does a Ram 1500 hold its value well?

Yes, by the standards of vehicles generally, and near the top by the standards of full size trucks specifically. It placed second in its category in Canadian Black Book's 2026 residual value awards. The whole full size pickup segment retains value well compared with cars, which is why the dollar figure lost can look big while the percentage is strong.

Which Ram 1500 holds its value best?

Mainstream configurations in common colours tend to appraise best, because they sell fastest on the used lot. The very top trims cost the most new and give back the largest dollar amount, so they are rarely the best value per dollar even when they retain a respectable percentage. Bring us the specific truck and we will tell you how its exact spec reads in this market.

Does the 10 year Ram powertrain warranty increase resale value?

No. That warranty applies only to the original retail purchaser or lessee and is not transferable, except where provincial law requires it. It is a strong reason to buy new and keep the vehicle, but the second owner does not inherit it, so do not price your truck as though they will.

What hurts a truck's trade value most in Manitoba?

Corrosion from road salt and brine, missing service records, and deferred small repairs, roughly in that order. Two trucks with the same kilometres can appraise very differently based on the underside alone. Washing through the winter and keeping every invoice are the two cheapest things an owner can do to protect the number.

Is three years the right time to trade a truck?

Often, but not always. Three years frequently lands after the steepest part of the depreciation curve and before the major wear items, which is a good window. It is also the point where keeping the truck starts costing you less per year in value lost. The way to settle it is to get the appraisal and compare the real payments, not to follow a rule of thumb.

The Bottom Line

The Ram 1500 is one of the better retained value trucks in a segment that holds value well, second in its category in Canadian Black Book's 2026 awards, and first in its segment for dependability at the three year mark in the J.D. Power 2026 study. That is a good position, honestly stated, and it is more than most owners realize they are sitting on.

What you control is the rest of it. Wash the underside, keep the records, fix the small stuff, and do not build a resale plan on a warranty that does not transfer. When you want an actual number rather than a national average, run our instant cash offer or bring the truck in and we will put it on a hoist and tell you exactly what it is worth and why.

Tyler Dunn, Dunn Ram Trucks, Portage la Prairie