Car Depreciation Calculator
Car depreciation calculator — enter the price, holding period and a vehicle profile to project the resale value year by year, the total value lost and the percentage retained, on a depreciation curve. In your choice of currency. Runs in your browser.
Car Depreciation Calculator
How to Use the Car Depreciation Calculator
Enter the price
Type the new purchase price of the vehicle and pick your currency.
Choose a profile
Select the vehicle profile closest to yours — typical, luxury, EV, SUV and more — to set realistic rates.
Set the holding period
Drag the years slider to your planned ownership length and read the projected resale value.
Read the curve
See the value fall year by year, the total lost and the percentage retained — and compare new versus used.
The Hidden Cost of Owning a Car
Ask most drivers what their car costs and they will tell you about fuel, insurance and the occasional repair. Almost none mention depreciation, and yet for the typical owner it is the single biggest expense of all — the quiet erosion of the car’s value that never lands as a monthly bill but is very real the day you come to sell. This calculator brings that invisible cost into the open. You enter the purchase price, choose a vehicle profile and a holding period, and it projects what the car will be worth at each year of ownership, how much value it has shed in total, and what proportion of your money is still sitting in the metal.
The model behind it is the declining-balance method, which mirrors how cars actually lose value. A new vehicle takes its heaviest hit in the very first year — commonly fifteen to twenty-five per cent — because the moment it is registered it becomes a used car that no buyer will pay new-car money for. After that, it loses a smaller percentage of its remaining value each year, so the curve is steep at the start and flattens as it ages. Because different kinds of vehicle behave differently, the tool offers profiles: a typical car, a luxury model, an electric vehicle, an SUV, and slow- or fast-depreciating cases. Each sets representative first-year and ongoing rates, and switching between them shows starkly how much the choice of car affects how much money you will lose simply by owning it.
The most useful insight the curve delivers is the case for buying nearly new. Since the steepest depreciation happens in the first couple of years, letting someone else absorb that initial drop — by buying a car that is two or three years old — saves a large share of the loss while still giving you a modern, reliable vehicle. The calculator quantifies exactly how much value evaporates in those early years, turning a vague piece of folk wisdom into a number you can act on. The headline figures are estimates based on typical patterns rather than a valuation of your specific car; real depreciation depends on make, model, mileage, condition and local demand, and a popular, reliable model will always hold its value better than a thirsty or troublesome one. Used alongside running costs, this tool helps you see the true, full cost of a car before you buy — and it computes everything in your browser, so nothing you enter leaves your device.
Depreciation is the cost no one budgets for and almost everyone pays — and it bites hardest in the first year off the forecourt.
10 Facts About Car Depreciation
A new car often loses 15–25% in its first year.
Most cars lose ~50–60% of value in five years.
Depreciation is usually a car’s largest ownership cost.
It follows a declining-balance curve, steepest early on.
Buying 2–3 years used skips the worst depreciation.
Luxury and EVs have varied depreciation profiles.
High mileage and poor condition accelerate loss.
Popular, reliable models hold value better.
Depreciation is “invisible” — it isn’t a monthly bill.
This calculator runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Depreciation is the loss in a vehicle’s market value over time. It is the gap between what you pay and what you could sell it for later, and for most owners it is the single largest cost of running a car — usually bigger than fuel, insurance or maintenance — even though it never appears as a monthly bill.
- It uses a declining-balance model: the car loses a larger percentage in the first year, then a smaller percentage of its remaining value each year after. So the value at any year is the price times one minus the first-year rate, times one minus the annual rate raised to the number of later years. This matches the steep-then-shallow curve real cars follow.
- A car becomes “used” the moment it is registered, and buyers will not pay new-car prices for it, so it sheds a big slice of value immediately — commonly 15 to 25 per cent. After that the percentage loss each year is smaller because it applies to an already-reduced value, which is why the curve is steepest at the start and flattens later.
- Different vehicle types depreciate at different rates, so the tool offers profiles — typical car, luxury, EV, SUV, slow- and fast-depreciating — each with representative first-year and ongoing rates. Pick the one closest to your vehicle, or use them to compare how much value you would lose with different kinds of car.
- Financially, buying a car that is two or three years old lets someone else absorb the steepest early depreciation while you still get a modern, reliable vehicle. The calculator shows exactly how much value disappears in those first years, which is the strongest argument for buying nearly new if value retention matters to you.
- Reliability, brand reputation, demand, fuel efficiency, condition and low mileage all help. Popular models with strong reputations and reasonable running costs depreciate more slowly, while niche, thirsty or trouble-prone cars fall faster. The profiles approximate these patterns, but the real market for your specific model is the final word.
- Higher mileage lowers resale value because it signals more wear and shorter remaining life, and many buyers and valuation guides penalise cars above typical annual mileage. This tool models time-based depreciation; if you drive far more or less than average, adjust your expectations down or up accordingly.
- Less so — if you drive a car until it is worthless, you simply spread its whole purchase price over many years. But most people sell or trade in eventually, and even then depreciation determines how much of your money you get back, so it is worth understanding before you buy rather than at the point of sale.
- They are reasonable estimates based on typical patterns, not a valuation of your specific car. Actual depreciation depends on make, model, trim, mileage, condition, colour and local market demand. Use the curve to understand the shape and scale of the loss, then check real listings and valuation guides for precise numbers.
- Completely free, with no account or usage limit. It runs entirely in your browser, collects no data, and works offline once the page has loaded.
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