Estimate the current resale value of your vehicle based on market trends.
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Estimated Valuation Results
Estimated Current Value:$0
Total Depreciation:$0
Percentage Retained:0%
Understanding Car Depreciation
Depreciation is the difference between what you paid for your car and what it's worth now. For most consumers, depreciation is the single largest expense of vehicle ownership—often costing more than fuel, insurance, or maintenance.
How Car Depreciation is Calculated
Cars lose value the moment they are driven off the lot. On average, a new car loses 20% of its value in the first year. After that, it typically loses about 15% per year until it reaches its "scrap" or base floor value.
Mileage Impact: High mileage reduces value faster. Standard calculations assume 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year. Exceeding this "penalizes" the resale price.
Condition: A vehicle in "Excellent" condition with full service records can command a 5-10% premium over a "Good" condition vehicle.
The 5-Year Rule: Most cars lose approximately 60% of their total value by the end of year five.
Real-World Example
If you purchase a car for $30,000 and keep it for 3 years while driving 12,000 miles per year in good condition:
Year 1: Value drops to $24,000 (20% loss).
Year 2: Value drops to $20,400 (15% loss).
Year 3: Value drops to $17,340 (15% loss).
In this scenario, the total cost of depreciation is $12,660 over 36 months, or roughly $351 per month just in lost equity.
function calculateDepreciation() {
var price = parseFloat(document.getElementById('purchasePrice').value);
var age = parseFloat(document.getElementById('vehicleAge').value);
var mileage = parseFloat(document.getElementById('annualMileage').value);
var conditionMult = parseFloat(document.getElementById('carCondition').value);
if (isNaN(price) || isNaN(age) || isNaN(mileage) || price = 1) {
// Year 1
currentVal = currentVal * 0.80;
// Subsequent years
if (age > 1) {
for (var i = 1; i 0 && age < 1) {
// Pro-rated first year depreciation
var firstYearDrop = 0.20 * age;
currentVal = currentVal * (1 – firstYearDrop);
}
// Mileage Adjustment
// Standard is 12,000 miles. We penalize/reward $0.08 per mile deviation
var standardMileageTotal = 12000 * age;
var actualMileageTotal = mileage * age;
var mileageDiff = actualMileageTotal – standardMileageTotal;
var mileageAdjustment = mileageDiff * 0.08;
currentVal = currentVal – mileageAdjustment;
// Condition Multiplier
currentVal = currentVal * conditionMult;
// Scrap Value Floor (approx 10% of original price or $1000)
var floor = Math.max(price * 0.10, 1000);
if (currentVal < floor) {
currentVal = floor;
}
var totalLost = price – currentVal;
var percentRetained = (currentVal / price) * 100;
// Display Results
document.getElementById('resultsArea').style.display = 'block';
document.getElementById('currentValueDisplay').innerHTML = '$' + currentVal.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
document.getElementById('totalLostDisplay').innerHTML = '$' + totalLost.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
document.getElementById('percentRetainedDisplay').innerHTML = percentRetained.toFixed(1) + '%';
// Scroll to results on mobile
document.getElementById('resultsArea').scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'nearest' });
}