When you purchase a vehicle with a new car loan, you'll know the final price that you've negotiated with the dealer. What you may not realize, however, is how much that car will cost you over time.Sure, one model might appear to be cheaper than another model in terms of initial cost, but if it costs much more to maintain over it's lifespan, then a driver could be costing themselves money without knowing it. Similarly, depreciation plays a huge role in the value of a vehicle. Once you pay off your auto loan, you might want to sell your car or trade it in for another one. If the vehicle you chose depreciates very quickly, however, then you will end up with much less in your pocket when this time comes – thus costing yourself money.

Depreciation is difficult to predict, but if there's one company that would know, it's likely to be Kelley Blue Book (KBB). The guide has been helping consumers get a fair deal on used car loans for years now, and tracks tons of data on every single make and model.

KBB recently released their findings on the best brands in terms of cost of ownership, a metric that factors in depreciation along with maintenance, insurance, expected fuel costs and more. The data is predicted for the first five years of the vehicle, or about the lifespan of one car loan.

"Kelley Blue Book's Total Cost of Ownership gives car shoppers a realistic view of what they will spend during the initial one- to five-year ownership period, allowing them to get the most for their dollar in today's economy," said Juan Flores, director of vehicle valuation for Kelley Blue Book. "More informative than simply having the purchase price alone, Total Cost of Ownership empowers car shoppers by including all significant costs that are part of the ownership experience."

According to the news source, the average vehicle maintains 30 percent of their MSRP over these five years. However, some cars can hold up to 45 percent of their value – a big difference. To help drivers identify which brands were more likely to hold value, the news provider named the top three in both the luxury and non-luxury markets.

Kia was the top brand in terms of low cost of ownership, with its parent brand Hyundai in a close second and Honda in third. For luxury models, it was Audi leading the way, followed by Lexus and Cadillac.

Keeping this in mind, those in the market for new or used car loan financing might want to consider these models when they visit their dealer.