Car Depreciation Estimator

The percentages apply to the value at the start of each year (declining-balance), so the same rate removes fewer dollars as the car ages. Presets reflect typical market curves — adjust them for your model, mileage, and region.

Declining-balance depreciation

Cars lose value fastest when they are new and then more slowly as they age. This estimator models that with a declining-balance curve — a fixed percentage is removed from the value remaining at the start of each year, so the dollar loss shrinks over time even though the rate stays the same.

value = price × (1 − d₁) × (1 − d)(age − 1)

• price — the price paid when the car was new.
• d₁ — the first-year depreciation, which is always the steepest as the car leaves the lot.
• d — the rate applied to each following year.
• age — the vehicle age in years.

Standard curves by vehicle type

The presets set typical first-year and later-year rates seen across the used-car market:

Trucks tend to hold their value best; luxury cars and EVs depreciate fastest early on. These are broad market averages — actual resale depends on the specific make and model, mileage, condition, options, and local demand.

Worked example

A $35,000 SUV at 19% first-year and 12% each later year:

Year 1 → 35,000 × 0.81 = $28,350; year 2 → × 0.88 = $24,948; … year 5 ≈ $17,157, about 49% of the original price.