Depreciation of new cars over 1-2 years

Eonel

Go to whatcar.com, it will draw you individual car model depreciation curves.

As someone mentioned above - most cars at not purchased at their list price ( which is where the curve start )

Also be aware if the curve is a buying or selling price. There is a 1-2k difference between the two.

vikingaero

There's a Value My Car service that is free (apart from optional junk mail) on the Vauxhall site:

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/offers-finance/value-my-car.html

vikingaero

OmegaSupreme wrote: »

Hi all, first time poster here, hope you can give some help..

I am looking to buy a new car but don't see myself being in the country for much more than a couple of years. Does anyone know where I can find some useful data on how different cars depreciate in the market over this time period? Obviously I don't want to buy something that will lose a lot of its value over that time.

Thanks!

Depreciation can be a real double edged sword. Motoring magazines and journalists often talk BS on depreciation because they base depreciation percentages and figures on unrealistic list prices. What matters the most is the transaction price.

For instance which car has depreciated the most?:

BMW 3 series, list price £32,000, transaction price £30,000, value in 3 years £15k.

Ford Mondeo,, list price £25,000, transaction price £15,000, value after 3 years £5,000.

Using the motoring magazines the BMW has a better residual value because it has only lost 50% of it's value and the Mondeo has worse residuals at 33%.

But on monetary value the BMW owner has lost £15,000 and the Mondeo driver £10,000. This doesn't even factor in the higher capital outlay for the BMW driver.

There are ways to counter depreciation by buying a car that is in high demand. A premium brand will be easier to re-sell. It really depends on what new car you are looking for.

Trebor16

Notmyrealname wrote: »

I bought a 2 year old Ford Mondeo TDCi 140 Zetec. I paid £8700 for it. I believe they were just over £20k new.

It would help knowing how long ago it was you bought this car and what mileage it had on it at the time to put the price you paid into a proper perspective.

forgotmyname

As viking aero said. The fact a car only loses 30% of its value over 3 years is rather pointless when that 30% if more than your car cost.

Cars with the highest depreciation are probably those that cost little to start with or heavily discounted when new.

If you buy a £6000 car you cant lose more than £6000 no matter what the depreciation figures are.

After 5 years it may lose 100% of its value sell it for scrap for £100. But the £30,000 car will have lost £15,000 - £20,000