{
  "slug": "car-depreciation",
  "title": "Car Depreciation Calculator",
  "heading": "Car Depreciation Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-depreciation",
  "summary": "What your vehicle will be worth in 1–10 years.",
  "description": "New cars lose roughly 20% in year one and 15% a year after that. Buying a three-year-old vehicle lets someone else absorb the steepest part of that curve.",
  "formula": "Value = Price × (1 − annual depreciation rate)^years.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=car-depreciation",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Purchase price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "firstYear",
      "label": "First-year depreciation",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 60
    },
    {
      "id": "annual",
      "label": "Depreciation after year one",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 40
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years to project",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 15
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "value",
      "label": "Estimated resale value",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "lost",
      "label": "Total depreciation",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pctLost",
      "label": "Share of value lost",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "perYear",
      "label": "Depreciation per year",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "perMonth",
      "label": "Depreciation per month",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "year1",
      "label": "Value after year one",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Purchase price: 40000 $",
      "First-year depreciation: 20 %",
      "Depreciation after year one: 15 %",
      "Years to project: 5"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Estimated resale value: $16,704.20",
      "Total depreciation: $23,295.80",
      "Share of value lost: 58.2%",
      "Depreciation per year: $4,659.16",
      "Depreciation per month: $388.26",
      "Value after year one: $32,000.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter purchase price ($).",
      "Enter first-year depreciation (%).",
      "Enter depreciation after year one (%).",
      "Enter years to project.",
      "Read your estimated resale value on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "price": 24000,
        "firstYear": 12,
        "annual": 9,
        "years": 3
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "price": 40000,
        "firstYear": 20,
        "annual": 15,
        "years": 5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "price": 64000,
        "firstYear": 32,
        "annual": 24,
        "years": 8
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the car depreciation calculator work?",
      "a": "New cars lose roughly 20% in year one and 15% a year after that. Buying a three-year-old vehicle lets someone else absorb the steepest part of that curve. The underlying maths is: Value = Price × (1 − annual depreciation rate)^years."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "4 values: purchase price, first-year depreciation, depreciation after year one, and years to project. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the estimated resale value result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-per-mile"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Car Depreciation Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-depreciation)"
}