Car Depreciation Calculator
Quick Answer: A new car loses about 16 percent of its value in the first year and about 42 percent over five years, so a $35,000 car is worth roughly $20,370 after five years. Use the calculator below to see your car's value year by year, with a full table, a chart, and the monthly cost of the loss.
Estimate What Your Car Will Be Worth
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12,000 miles a year is the usual benchmark.
10 to 15 percent is typical for a new car.
Value by year
Year-by-year depreciation schedule
| Year | Value | Lost that year | Total lost | % kept |
|---|
Cost of driving 1,000 extra miles a year: $0 more lost over the period shown.
Estimates for planning only, not a valuation or financial advice. Real values depend on the make, model, miles, condition, accident history, and local demand.
How Car Depreciation Works
Depreciation is the gap between what you pay for a car and what it is worth when you sell it or trade it in. Buy a car for $35,000 and sell it for $20,370, and you have absorbed $14,630 of depreciation. No money leaves your account each month under that label, but it is a real cost, and for most cars it is the largest cost of ownership over five years, bigger than fuel, insurance, or routine maintenance.
A car loses value the moment it is driven off the lot because it changes from new to used in the eyes of the market. Buyers always have access to newer models, parts and technology keep moving on, and every mile adds wear. The rate is not constant. The steepest drop comes in years one through three, then it slows as the car moves from nearly new to established used. After year seven or eight, the yearly percentage loss is usually small in dollar terms because the remaining value is low.
This calculator models depreciation the way the used market prices it. Each year, the car loses a percentage of its current value, not of the original sticker price. Because the percentage applies to a shrinking number, the dollar loss gets smaller over time even when the rate stays similar.
How to Use This Calculator
Start with the price you paid, or the price you are considering. Then pick the vehicle type, because a pickup truck and an electric car do not lose value at the same speed. Choose new or used: a new car follows the steep schedule, and a used car starts past the steepest drop. Enter the miles you drive in a year. The usual benchmark is 12,000, and above that the tool trims a little extra value each year. Then slide the years to 3, 5, 7, or 10 and watch the table and the chart update at once.
The realistic curve is the default and the best choice for most people. It uses a 16 percent drop in year one, the figure in Kelley Blue Book's published schedule, then one steady yearly rate after that, set so the five-year total lands exactly on that vehicle type's figure in the iSeeCars March 2026 study. If you know a model's own rate, use the custom yearly rate instead. Business owners can use the straight-line method, which spreads equal dollar amounts over the years down to a residual value you choose.
How Much Does a Car Depreciate Per Year?
For an average new vehicle, roughly 9 percent of value disappears the instant the sale completes, and the total first-year loss reaches about 16 to 19 percent. By the end of year five, roughly 42 percent of the original price is gone. A $35,000 car therefore loses around $5,600 in year one and about $14,630 over five years. The numbers below come from the iSeeCars March 2026 study of more than 950,000 five-year-old cars sold from March 2025 to February 2026.
| Vehicle type | Lost over 5 years | Kept after 5 years |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup truck | 34.2% | 65.8% |
| Hybrid | 35.4% | 64.6% |
| Average vehicle | 41.8% | 58.2% |
| SUV / Crossover | 44.9% | 55.1% |
| Electric vehicle | 57.2% | 42.8% |
Some individual models beat the average by a wide margin. The Jeep Wrangler loses only about 27 percent over five years, and the Toyota Tacoma about 30 percent. At the other end, large luxury sedans like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class lose roughly 67 to 71 percent. The gap between the best and worst models is worth tens of thousands of dollars on the same starting price, so check resale value before you buy.
New vs Used: Why the Curve Bends
A new car and a used car follow different schedules because a used car has already absorbed the steepest part of the curve. On the realistic curve in this calculator, a new $35,000 average car loses $5,600 in year one and is worth about $20,370 after five years. Run the same $35,000 price on the used-car schedule instead and the first year loses about $3,500, leaving the car worth about $23,060 after five years. The gap of roughly $2,700 is the new-car premium, expressed as math.
That gap is why buying a two- or three-year-old car is often the cheapest way to own a recent model. The first owner took the steepest hit, and you still get a car with most of its life left, often with some factory warranty remaining. A certified pre-owned car at that age can be the sweet spot, but a high used price can erase the benefit, so compare today's actual prices before you decide.
What Makes a Car Lose Value Faster?
Brand reputation and demand are the biggest drivers. Trucks, compact SUVs, and off-roaders hold value because buyers reliably want them used. High mileage, accident history, unpopular colors, and missing service records all speed up the loss. Unusual or very loud colors can cut resale by 5 to 15 percent. Luxury sedans depreciate fastest because repair costs scare used buyers away.
Mileage is a quick signal of wear. Crossing common mileage milestones can reduce buyer demand, especially if the car is approaching expensive scheduled service or the end of a warranty. The calculator trims about 0.25 percent more value per year for every 1,000 miles a year above 12,000. Driving 20,000 miles a year instead of 12,000 costs roughly 2 percent more value per year. Early-generation electric cars depreciated sharply because of rapid battery improvements and incentives for new models, though newer EVs from popular brands are holding value better.
How to Slow Depreciation
You cannot stop depreciation, but you can slow it. Buy a model with a strong resale record, and check the five-year numbers before you sign anything. Keep the miles reasonable, stay under 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year if you can, and keep every service record. A full service history is one of the cheapest ways to protect resale value, because it tells the next buyer the car was looked after. Fix small damage promptly, and avoid colors or trims with weak demand.
Why Depreciation Matters When You Lease or Buy
Depreciation decides more than your trade-in value. A lease payment is mostly depreciation plus a finance charge, so a model that holds its value is cheaper to lease. A loan is affected too: if the car loses value faster than you pay the loan down, you end up owing more than the car is worth, which is called being upside down. That matters if you want to sell or trade in early, or if the car is totaled and insurance pays only its current value.
Before you take a loan, run the numbers here for the same years as the loan term, then compare the value at the end with the loan balance. If the value is lower than the balance, a bigger down payment or a shorter loan term fixes it. If you are choosing between leasing and buying the same car, use our lease vs buy calculator to compare the true total cost of both routes over the same months, including the equity you keep when you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a car depreciate in the first year?
A new car typically loses about 16 percent of its value in the first year, and roughly 19 percent once you count the instant drop from new to used. A $35,000 car loses about $5,600 in year one on the realistic curve in this calculator. Used cars lose less in year one because the first owner already took the steepest drop.
How do I calculate my car's depreciation?
Multiply the price by one minus the yearly rate, once for each year. At 15 percent a year, a $25,000 car is worth $25,000 x 0.85 x 0.85 x 0.85 x 0.85, which is $13,050 after four years. This calculator does that math for you and shows every year in a table.
Which cars depreciate the least?
Pickup trucks and hybrids hold value best. In the iSeeCars March 2026 study of more than 950,000 five-year-old cars, pickup trucks lost 34.2 percent over five years and hybrids lost 35.4 percent. The Jeep Wrangler and Toyota Tacoma are among the best individual models, losing only about 27 to 30 percent over five years.
Which cars depreciate the most?
Large luxury sedans lose the most value. The BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and E-Class lose roughly 65 to 72 percent over five years. Electric cars also lost a lot in recent studies, about 57.2 percent over five years on average, driven by price cuts on new EVs and fast improvements in range and charging.
Does high mileage make a car depreciate faster?
Yes. The usual benchmark is 12,000 miles a year. For every 1,000 miles a year above that, a car loses about 0.25 percent more of its value each year. Driving 20,000 miles a year instead of 12,000 costs roughly 2 percent more value per year. Driving less than 12,000 miles a year does not add value back, it only avoids the extra loss.
Is depreciation the same as my tax deduction?
No. This calculator shows market-value depreciation, which is what your car is worth if you sell it. Tax depreciation for a business vehicle uses a separate system called MACRS in the US, with its own schedules, and it does not follow the resale value. Talk to a tax professional about the deductible amount on a business-use vehicle.
Does an accident permanently lower my car's value?
Yes, even after a full repair. The accident stays on the car's Carfax or AutoCheck history, and buyers discount it. Minor damage can cut resale value by 10 to 25 percent, and severe structural damage can cut it by 50 percent or more. This loss is called diminished value, and you can sometimes recover it from the at-fault driver's insurer.
How much value does a car lose after 5 years?
The average car loses about 41.8 percent of its value over five years, according to the iSeeCars March 2026 study. That means a $35,000 car is worth about $20,370 after five years. Pickup trucks lose less at 34.2 percent, and electric cars lose more at 57.2 percent over the same five years.
Reviewed by the AutoFixr Editorial Team. Depreciation figures are planning estimates based on published iSeeCars and Kelley Blue Book data. Actual resale values vary by make, model, condition, mileage, and local market. Always check current prices for your exact car before buying or selling.