QOTD: What do you think is an acceptable amount of depreciation? v. daily driver

EmersonHart13

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Jul 18, 2007
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Today's Question of the Day (for no particular reason) is what do you consider in acceptable amount of depreciation?

For example after you have owned your ride for 3 years and you sell it and lost 27% is that okay?
Or I have driven my car for 27k miles and lost $10k dollars?
Or is it some combination of both? Is there another factor?

(These were totally random numbers)

This excludes collectibles, summer cars, exotics, etc... aka cars that don't depreciate like a car you drive every day in all four seasons.

There is no right answer, so begin shitstorm!

Thanks for playing,

John
 

Gone_2022

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Sep 4, 2013
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Its hard to say. Some cars lose value like crazy and some dont. Also it depends on starting price. A daily driven Mercedes is going to depreciate worse than my cruze. I say if you went 2 or 3 years and only lost 10k on a 35-40k vehicle that is pretty good. Not talking trade in value, talking for sale value
 

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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May 24, 2007
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Its hard to say. Some cars lose value like crazy and some dont. Also it depends on starting price. A daily driven Mercedes is going to depreciate worse than my cruze. I say if you went 2 or 3 years and only lost 10k on a 35-40k vehicle that is pretty good. Not talking trade in value, talking for sale value

there is way too much rhetorical information here.


are we comparing percentages too or overall drop? it's all so relative...
 

IceCreamAssassin

When in doubt, throttle out
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If I've kept a car three years it means I really really liked it. So I couldn't care less how much I lost because I enjoyed the car enough to not care. The only time I find myself mad about how much I lost on a car value is when the car sucked and I hated driving it, or it had to be repaired all the time.
 

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
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Today's Question of the Day (for no particular reason) is what do you consider in acceptable amount of depreciation?

For example after you have owned your ride for 3 years and you sell it and lost 27% is that okay?
Or I have driven my car for 27k miles and lost $10k dollars?
Or is it some combination of both? Is there another factor?

(These were totally random numbers)

This excludes collectibles, summer cars, exotics, etc... aka cars that don't depreciate like a car you drive every day in all four seasons.

Thanks for playing,

John

Statistically I think most cars take 2.5-3.0 years to 'Break Even' where you owe what its worth.

I purchased my cars both as last year of their generations for pretty aggressive prices (and with a hunk of money down on one). The Mustang with $0 down took less than a year to 'Break Even' with about 8,000 miles on it, and I find that acceptable on a brand new car. I assume it will only be worth maybe $15k when its paid off.

When it comes to a used car that you are going to put into the ground, I've almost never lost money on a used car transaction (And haven't purchased a used car that I've put enough miles on too to impact its resale value).

If I were to buy an 'appliance' like DD, I would pick something that holds value well for exactly the reasons you are mentioning (So if I bought a 2 year old Hyundai you'd eat a higher loss than a 2 year old Civic if you put 20K miles on both I'd imagine.) But again, this is under the assumption that I'd be selling/trading it in on something else eventually, otherwise I'd just buy whatever is the best value and assume it will have $0 residual value when I'm done with it.

there is way too much rhetorical information here.


are we comparing percentages too or overall drop? it's all so relative...

Agreed.

If I needed a DD appliance, realistically I'd buy something dead-reliable for under $3000 and assume it will be worth > $1000 when I've basically put it into the ground.
 

Turk

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner
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Jan 21, 2008
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This is a good question and one I ask myself frequently when trying to decide if I should upgrade my DD. the fiancé has given me the green light on a Golf R. If the depreciation is close to that of a GTI I may pull the trigger. 10k over 4 years sounds good to me, and I'm talking 10k from the purchase price, not msrp
 

Primalzer

TCG Elite Member
Sep 14, 2006
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For as short as I keep my cars, I really should think more about depreciation and resale value, because I've really gotten hosed. People generally don't want a manual car for a daily driver.

Also, it boggles my mind, a few cars that retain their values so well. Like Jeep Wranglers retain their value stupid well. Like over 90% after 2 or 3 years in some cases. That's outrageous to me. Just buy new at that point and have a warranty and better financing options.
 

EmersonHart13

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Jul 18, 2007
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I took a pretty nice beating on the Beetle, but I got a good deal on the trade and what I bought. It seems odd when I explain it to people.

I don't want to pay for something I don't want so I was okay taking the extra depreciation hit. We didn't own it long enough (17 months) and that adds up to taking a hit. I remembered again why I usually buy used cars and need to stick with that going forward.

So yes I think about it, but I don't worry about it. 10k over 4 years sounds amazing though! I was over halfway to that in a year and a half.
 
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