🚗 Car Depreciation Calculator
Enter your car's purchase price and age to estimate its current value, using typical industry-average depreciation rates (20% in year one, ~15%/year after). Actual values vary by make, model and condition.
The model used here
Two rates, because the first year is not like the ones after it:
Year 1 value = price x 0.80 (20% lost)
After that value = price x 0.80 x 0.85^(age-1) (15% a year)So a 30,000 car is worth about 24,000 after one year, 20,400 after two, and 17,340 after three. Depreciation compounds on the remaining value, not on the original price, which is why the losses shrink in absolute terms each year even though the rate is steady.
Why the first year is so steep
Most of that 20% goes the moment the car stops being new. A car with 50 miles on it is a used car to every future buyer, and it is competing against the manufacturer’s own discounts and finance offers on the identical new model. Nothing about the vehicle has changed; its category has.
What moves a real car away from this curve
- Mileage. The single biggest factor after age. Well under average mileage holds value; well over destroys it.
- Make and model. Some marques hold value far better than others, and the gap is large enough to swamp this model.
- Body and service history. A complete stamped history is worth real money. Accident damage on the record is a permanent discount even after a good repair.
- Fuel type and policy. Diesel values in cities and early EV values have both moved sharply on regulation rather than condition.
- The floor. No curve runs to zero. Older cars settle at a scrap-and-parts value the percentage model will happily undershoot.
Using the number sensibly
Treat it as a starting expectation, not a valuation. For an actual figure, check current asking prices for the same model, year and mileage in your market, and remember that trade-in offers sit well below advertised prices.
Where the model is genuinely useful is comparison: running two purchase prices through it shows how much of the difference you are likely to keep rather than lose.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new car lose in the first year?
Around 20% on this model, and that figure is widely quoted. Much of it goes immediately on the change from new to used rather than gradually over the year.
What is a car worth after 5 years?
About 41% of its purchase price on this model: 0.80 for the first year, then 0.85 four more times. A 30,000 car works out near 12,500.
Why is a 3-year-old car the common advice?
Because the steepest part of the curve is behind it. The first owner has absorbed roughly a third of the value while the car is still young enough to be reliable and often still under warranty.
Does mileage change the answer here?
Not in this tool, which uses age only. In the real market mileage is the second biggest factor after age, so treat the output as a baseline for an average-mileage car.
Do all cars depreciate at the same rate?
No, and the spread is wide. Models with strong reputations for reliability can hold noticeably more value at five years than the average this model describes.