Depreciation cost of ownership

richy999

I was trying to work out the other day, how much money I have lost in depreciation on cars over the years.

My most expensive car to date was £9600 which was a 6 month old Fiesta… and my cheapest car was a Ford Focus at £2400.On average, I have changed my car every 2.1 years.

The fiesta cost me the least on a per year/month basis, but then I kept it the longest.

I came out with a figure of £133 per month over the last 12 years (I can’t remember the figures for my cars prior to this).

I am interested to hear how this price per month compares with other folk?

motorguy

Finger in the air stuff here as both are current cars

2013 Nissan 370GT - approx £300 a month
2005 Jag X Type 2.2D Sport Estate - approx £75 a month

Previously
2012 BMW Z4 - £14,000 depreciation in 3 years = £388 a month
2012 VW Golf Diesel - £4,900 depreciation in 18 months = £272 a month
1999 VW Caddy VR6 Van - £0 depreciation in 4 months = £0 per month

Probably going back we'd be hitting £350-400 a month on our main car, and anything from zero depreciation to £100 a month on a second car.

At our very worst, we've had two new "main" cars, and that could be anything up to £800 a month in total in depreciation.

Typically, the older the car the less the depreciation, and the longer you keep it, the less the depreciation.

So i guess the trick would be to buy an old car and keep it a long time, as opposed to buying a new car and keeping it a relatively short time which is what we do....

Herzlos

Last car I sold I bought for £5500 and sold 7 years later for £500, which works out at £59/month in depreciation. But the running costs were fairly high, and it was a pretty undesirable car.

Current car I bought for £5500 and expecting about £2000 when I sell it after 3 years, so about £97/month in depreciation. If I kept it for the full 7 years it'd probably come down to the £59 again, but I think I'll want something bigger by then. Car is a bit more desirable to the right people this time.


Because depreciation is on a curve, the longer you keep it, the lower the average will be. Starting older means you'll have lower depreciation too.

gibby9

My current car was bought for £8,500. I've had it for 5 years this month so average of around £92 per month based on estimated trade in value of £3,000.

dcouponzzzz

Bought a 2011 Megane 7.5k traded in after 15 months for 5k, £166 p/m depreciation.

Strider590

Car 1 (Vectra 7 years) = £30 p/m of ownership £3000 down to around £500

Car 2 (Kit car 15 years) = £10 p/m of ownership £7500 down to around £5500-£6000

Repairs wise neither have cost anywhere near the cost of depreciation on a newer car, or even the VAT on a brand new one.

bazster

Current car purchased in 2002 for about £5,000 IIRC. Probably worth about £500 now. Approx £30 per month depreciation.

DUTR

richy999 wrote: »

I was trying to work out the other day, how much money I have lost in depreciation on cars over the years.

My most expensive car to date was £9600 which was a 6 month old Fiesta… and my cheapest car was a Ford Focus at £2400.On average, I have changed my car every 2.1 years.

The fiesta cost me the least on a per year/month basis, but then I kept it the longest.

I came out with a figure of £133 per month over the last 12 years (I can’t remember the figures for my cars prior to this).

I am interested to hear how this price per month compares with other folk?

If you purchased the car and then not used it, then you would have lost money. In between buying and selling the car, the owner has use of the vehicle.
My house is paid for and I'd certainly get more than double what I paid including the interest, however the money gained would buy me the same house in the same road.

I went into asda with £20 and purchased a radio for £15 so with the radio and the £5 change I still have £20 worth plus the use of the radio.

The 'loss' is covered by the enjoyment of the vehicle over the years.

Wh05apk

Current car, Hyundai Santa fe auto, paid £12k 7 years ago, now worth about £3k, so about £110pm, but have averaged 18,000 miles a year with low maintenance costs.


The secret to low car costs are to buy a decent car, and keep it for a good few years, changing every couple of years will always give you massive depreciation.

InsideInsurance

Wh05apk wrote: »

The secret to low car costs are to buy a decent car, and keep it for a good few years, changing every couple of years will always give you massive depreciation.

Broadly its true but it depends on your buying/ selling skills and the age of the cars you are talking about.

As a flipside my first car was a Mk1 Ford Fiesta that was almost exactly 2 years younger than me. Bought it for £500 and sold it 2 years later for £600 and so technically it appreciated over the time I owned it.

Obv this is a bit of an anomaly but when you start talking about older vehicles their rate of depreciation is much lower and assuming its a cheap car too then switching every couple of years could be cheaper than buying a newer more expensive car and switching every 5-7 years.

Wh05apk

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Obv this is a bit of an anomaly but when you start talking about older vehicles their rate of depreciation is much lower and assuming its a cheap car too then switching every couple of years could be cheaper than buying a newer more expensive car and switching every 5-7 years.

Possibly, but personally I would rather buy a "decent" car and keep it longer.