Car Depreciation Calculator
Most tools hand you an average nobody can check. This one measures the real rate for your car from what you paid and what it is worth now - then shows what it will be worth when you sell.
Value lost each year
0%
- Lost so far
- $0
- Worth in 5 years
- $0
- Lost by then, in total
- $0
- Average loss a year
- $0
Where the money goes
The split shows what the car has lost so far against what it will have lost by the end.
Move it and watch
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at {v} for what you paid
And what you can change
Why your own figure may differ
Year by year
Notice how the loss shrinks each year. The same percentage of a smaller number is a smaller number.
| After | Worth | Lost that year | Lost in total |
|---|
Value = price x (1 minus the rate) to the power of the number of years. Working the rate out from two prices is the same sum turned around: divide what it is worth now by what you paid, take the root matching the years owned, and subtract from one.
Car depreciation: real examples
Three ways of seeing what a car costs by simply existing. Click any card to load it.
- Working out your real rate
Paid $30,000, worth $15,360 after 3 years
You know both numbers, so no guessing is needed.
That is a real rate of 20% a year. measured from your car, not an average of cars you do not own.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - The first year bites
A new $40,000 car
Estimating 20% a year with no resale figure yet.
It loses $8,000 in year one alone. That is more than most people spend on fuel and insurance together in that year.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Keeping it longer
Holding on for 10 years
The same car, kept twice as long.
The yearly loss shrinks sharply the longer you keep it. The steep part is over early, and everything after is cheap.
Load this scenario in the calculator →
Common questions about car depreciation
What is depreciation, in plain words?
It is the value your car loses while you own it. Buy at $30,000 and sell at $15,000 four years later, and owning it cost you $15,000. Nobody sends an invoice, so it feels like nothing happened. It is usually the biggest cost of running a car.
Why does this tool ask me for the rate?
Because quoting an average would be making something up. Depreciation varies enormously between models, and the industry data behind those averages is not published anywhere you can check. If you know what your car is worth now, put it in the second box. The tool then works out the real rate for your car, which beats any average.
How do I find what my car is worth now?
Look up your exact model, year and mileage on a couple of valuation sites, and check what the same car is actually selling for near you. Take the lower end. What a dealer will give you is usually below what a private buyer pays.
Why is the first year always the worst?
A new car stops being new the moment you drive it away, and buyers will not pay a new-car price for a used car. That gap appears immediately. It is why buying something two or three years old lets someone else absorb the steepest part.
Does high mileage make it worse?
Yes. Two identical cars of the same age can be worth very different amounts if one has done twice the miles. If you drive a lot, expect your car to lose value faster than the same model driven lightly.
Can I avoid depreciation?
Not entirely, but you can dodge the worst of it. Buying a car a few years old skips the steepest drop. Keeping a car far longer spreads the loss over more years. And some models hold value much better than others, which is worth checking before you buy, not after.