Leasing is starting to gain popularity, especially among millennials. It allows people to enjoy a new car for low monthly payments, but at the cost of never owning the car. Leasing is not for everyone, but it might be worth it for the type of people who like to trade their car in sooner rather than later. iSeeCars has just released a list of the top cars that people trade in within the first year. Six of the top 11 models are from German luxury brands, and four of these are BMWs. Although, there might be an interesting explanation for this.

The average percentage of new cars that are resold within the first year is 1.5 percent. These are the top 11 models according to analysis of over 24 million new car sales: 1. BMW 3 Series 8.0 percent 2. BMW 5 Series 7.1 percent 3. Mercedes C-Class 6.1 percent 4. Nissan Versa Note 4.0 percent 5. Dodge Dart 3.9 percent 6. BMW X3 3.9 percent 7. BMW 4 Series 3.9 percent 8. Mercedes E-Class 3.9 percent 9. Chrysler 200 3.8 percent 10. Subaru WRX 3.3 percent 11. Nissan Versa 3.2 percent

The easy assumption for all of the German cars appearing on this list is that customers just don't like them, and end up trading them in early. However, Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars.com explains that "these auto manufacturers offer their dealers incentives to buy new cars to use as loaner vehicles, which are then sold as used when they are still under a year old. This is a marketing strategy with a two-fold purpose. It puts brand-new models in the hands of current owners when they bring their cars in for service, increasing the likelihood that they will buy another car from that brand." This strategy also counts towards the number of new cars sold each year, which helps in the race for the luxury sales crown.

There is another explanation for why these cars are traded in. Ly says that most of the trade-ins are base models, so "some consumers who buy these luxury models, especially the top three, are doing so as their first foray into the brand, only to discover that although they own the status symbol they were seeking, these particular models, especially the entry level trims, don't provide the level of luxury they expect. Disappointed, they trade-in these cars exceptionally early."