What is this asset actually worth over time?
Predict your car's resale value year by year — what it's worth at each point, how much you lose, and when to buy or sell.
01Vehicle
$
yr
yr
02 · Resale value · year 8
Your car will be worth
$8,400
24% of original · −$26,600 total
Depreciation per day
$9.11/day
≈
$273/mo · $3325/yr
silent cost · before fuel + insurance
Total loss · 8yr
$27k
Residual value
$8k
% retained
24%
Best year to sell
Y3
The cliff
Year 1 alone: −$7,000. Buying 2 yr old skips this entirely.
The depreciation rate drops below 10%/yr after year 3. That's the sweet spot to buy used — or sell to capture residual value before the next leg down.
02 · The curve
8 years of value erosion
Retained
Lost
Value retained over time
Year-by-year schedule
03 · The shortcut
Same car · −2 years on the odometer
NEW · age 0→5
Purchase price
$35,000
Value at age 5
$13,300
Net cost
$21,700
You take the year-1 cliff
USED · age 2→5
Purchase price
$22,750
Value at age 5
$13,300
Net cost
$9,450
Skip the cliff entirely
Buying used saves
$12,250
You skip the steepest part of the curve. Same vehicle, same end condition, same residual at year 5 — but you pay less upfront and avoid $12,250 of year-1+2 depreciation.
The financing side
Auto loan TCO
Combine depreciation with loan interest, insurance, fuel and maintenance — the full cost of ownership.
Open ↗The decision
Lease vs Buy
Leasing dodges depreciation but costs more in cycles. See where the math actually lands.
Open ↗Save your work
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