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Hi guys I understand a brand new car depreciates the most, now from this site it says after 8 years the car doesn't really depreciate anymore is that right? Car depreciation | AA I think it still depreciates but just a lot slower maybe? If that's the case then get an 8 years old car...and fix the car yourself or find a not totally beat 8 years old car that still runs ok. That way you save the most money on cars is that right, and also insurance!?!! almost forgot about insurance.
but if you want the car to depreciate not so much but also want it semi-new and reliable. Would you guys say it will be around 2, 3 years old cars?
Now for bikes I heard after 4, 5 years their value tend to stay the same is that right? after 4, 5 years they don't depreciate much anymore. what's your guys take on depreciation of cars, how to take the least depreciation but still get an ok car. thanks guy
I bought an 18k new car, took really good care of it and sold for only maybe 8k after 100k miles (6 years old). That was a bit disappointing.
We bought a car that was around 23k new, for 11k used, with 100k miles (5 years old), and it will probably be worth 2k at 200k miles, but with significantly more $$$ put into maintaining it. So on both vehicles I'll look at roughly a 9-10k loss over 100k miles, but I think I did better on the new vehicle, not having to put much into maintaining it at all, and having a more reliable vehicle.
Seems like the sweet spot could indeed be 3 year old vehicle, still very reliable but significantly cheaper than new.
There are lots of online resources (charts, calculators) to look at car depreciation and they all agree that a car has lost at least 50% of its value at the 5-yr mark and then level off. So it's not that a car doesn't depreciate anymore after 8 years, it's just a slower, more gradual pace. Depreciation also varies by make/model as well.
When cars reach the $1-$3k range, they are done losing value. Even if it doesn't run, you can still strip it or sell it for parts. Don't ever junk something without consulting CL. I've had people pay up to $1500 for cars we completely wrote off. Either they thought they could fix it (good luck...) or they wanted to harvest it.
I personally don't buy any cars over $5k cash. I've had mostly great luck with it, but it requires a very steep learning curve.
I like paying cash for cars so I have no monthly car payment and don't have to have comprehensive insurance. I estimate about $1000 per year that I need to spend to have a car that runs well, which means a car that costs $5000 should give me 5 years without mechanic costs beyond routine maintenance. Then in the 6th year, maybe I pay a mechanic $500 and the car still runs fine for a couple years, then another $500 and another couple years. As long as the mechanic costs are under $1000 a year, it's still cheaper than getting another car.
I purchased a 2013 elantra limited last June for 21k. I will pay it off in four years and would like to keep it another 6-8 years with no payments. It also has a 10 year 100k mile warranty so repairs should be low.
When I pay it off I will make a payment of 400 a month into a savings account for 6-8 years. After 6 years I will have $28,800 and if I make the car last a total of 12 years (8 with no actual car payment), I will have $38,400 in the bank for a new car. I want this to be the last car I ever finance.
I also put about 7500 miles a year on my cars because I have a take home company car.
I guess in response to the OP, it depends on how you drive and how many miles you drive. The best bet is probably a 2-3 year old one owner certified car with a warranty. The purchase price will be lower than new, there will most likely be maintenance records, and a warranty will save you any expensive repairs.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Seems to be a bit of agreement on the $0.10/mile or $1000 / 10,000 miles rule that I use. Fortunately my daily drivers are only 1/10th that expensive.
50 mpg since 1976, no OPEC or dinosaurs required...
I weigh my repair costs very carefully, knowing I can get a replacement car VERY cheap.
I will probably buy another minvan due to their utility and ultra cheap insurance. (PLUS, one of the few vehicles you can actually LIVE in!!).
I have been known to buy a cheap car if I cannot find a cheap rental when I fly somewhere... I just don't register it, and leave it at the airport when I want to come home. Done deal.
In the past when there were lots of options for used car at a fair price, I usually settle for a 3 yr old clean title car with around 30K miles, in the price range of $13K. Now, good luck finding a 3 yr old car with 30K miles for $13K. All I see on Craigslist are Salvaged and 100K miles or more and still asking for $13K. LMAO.
I need to find a truck full of wood to knock on while making this post .... but I think the purchasing decision goes beyond depreciation
You can do calculations based on how certain makes/models hold up, trending of what is desirable in car, anticipated maintenance/repairs and what you want and how you use your car
There are a lot of variables into the decision
Strictly to depreciation most cars do depreciate the most in the first years and then it slows down considerably until it gets to it's final resting place in the $1k-$3k range for most options
How you get to that end point (if you do) is completley individual
My wife and I share a fairly similiar drive them to death mindset ..... we aren't in a hurry to replace cars, we look for something practical to our needs but do also desire and value reliability
Our last 3 cars were a 2003 Toyota Corolla bought new, a 2000 chevy cavalier bought used and a 2007 toyota sienna bought used.
The cavalier was a car I bought when I moved to AZ from places where I didn't need a car - it was a military family and a friend of ours that had their kid stationed long term abroad and they were looking to dump it .... they gave us a really good deal ... I bought it in 2004 for $4,600 and it had 24,000 miles on it ...... the thing took a lot of maintenance and I had a flurry of issues and it was more than once where I was needing to get to some place but my car thought otherwise ..... I traded it in for $1,500 when we bought the Sienna in 2010 .... it had about 115,000 miles on it and another slew of issues .... we needed the van for a growing family, but the car was forcing my hand as well as it was dying to the point where upkeep was starting to cancel out the savings .... however, even with all the upkeep and occasional headache this was still a good deal .... 6 years 90,000 miles - for the $3,100 in net vehicle cost that would be great ..... given that I probably had another $5k in repairs it's costing about $1,350 a year ($112 per month) which IMO is pretty good ... I feel fortunate at the cost, but would probably pay the corolla price for the reliability/comfort
Onto the Sienna - we were fortunate to find one that was single owner, low mileage (27,000) - this was nice because the warranty covers the first 100,000 miles so we will get 4-5 years of use before it's out of warranty - cost was just under $20,000 .... we're only about 2 1/2 years in so far and have had some issues, but toyota has been good about taking care of them even if actually working with their service department is a headache .... we'll see how this goes over time, but are hopefull - I'd like to get 8-10 years of use in total and then reevaluate .... we should be able to achieve a monthly use cost in the $170-$200 range when all is said and done
Since we needed to trade in a car, I took over my wifes car - the corolla she bought new for $23,000 .... I'm currently sitting at 175,000 miles and it's been a little over 10 years ..... we've had one expensive repair so far ($2,200) and a bunch of other more minor repairs ........ probably around $4k in actual repairs over the past decade ..... if I had to sell today I could probably get that repair cost back at the sale so it's been about $2,300 per year ($191 per month) for a reliable daily driver ...... so far a little more costly than the cav - but I anticipate getting at least one more year (if not two) out of it
IMO for me the sweet spot is probably around 3 years if you can find something with relatively low mileage .... I'm not sure I'd want to go above 5 given the length of use I typically desire .... I don't need the latest greatest features, I don't need the status of a new car or am even interested to the point where I like trying out and driving different makes/models .... If I were and I was looking at more short term ownership my qualifications would be different and I may even point more towards a lease if I could get the mileage to make sense
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