Do you care about depreciation?

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Specialist_-Berry@reddit

I always wonder, with average salary at 30-40k in the UK, how come there are so many new cars on the road? They can't all be 'work cars' can they?

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aChocolateFireGuard@reddit

Youve taken this from all those facebook quotes, almost verbatim

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Specialist_-Berry@reddit

Almost got there with the punctuation, didn't you?

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aChocolateFireGuard@reddit

Only commenting on the grammar, like a true facebook warrior. Sorry i left out an apostrophe 🤡

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Specialist_-Berry@reddit

I will begrudgingly accept your apology

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Forsaken-Original-28@reddit

Most of the people I know who have a new car have got it on car schemes at work. A lot are motability cars as well

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clbbcrg@reddit

But the neighbours have a new car..

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Ashamed-Scheme-9248@reddit

Ahhhhh the Jones’ you MUST GET ONE

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Buying a new vehicle or vehicles is perhaps the fastest way to lose money for your average working person. The only other way I can think that you could write off tens of thousands so quickly would perhaps be the purchase of a static caravan or a motorhome. If you want a new car and you're willing to pay the premium for it, go for it. It is a lot of money to spend though, proportionally, for a few months of use. You could get more/better car if you were prepared for it to be even a bit less new. Buying an older car can be almost free if you're lucky with running costs (because you can see it for close to what you bought it for). As with all things though, some people are happy to spend the money, others wouldn't dream of it, and that's ok.

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Amazing-Visual-2919@reddit

I don't because I want the car for a good few years. Some people change every year so depreciation is important to them. A car a couple of years old is almost new but with a chunk of depreciation that it's first owner has paid.

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No_Scheme5951@reddit

When we bought our car, it would have been 16k new (9 years ago - those were the days!), but we bought it as a 6 month 'old' car with less then 10k miles on it for 12k. That's 4k less for a car that was barely ever used and needed absolutely nothing done to it for years. That is the only kind of depreciation I care about in a car. Why pay the premium of the absolutely new car, when the minute you drive it away from the dealership and tax it, it looses a good 20% of its value. I'd rather buy it then, get essentially a 20-30% discount on the same thing and still have all the benefits 🤷🏻‍♀️ That 4k you saved can then pay for a nice holiday 😉

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TheAireon@reddit

Some people don't plan on using it until it stops running, they plan on using it until another car they wants shows up and they'll sell their old one to buy the new.

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kaanbha@reddit

I've had my car since 2015. I bought it 'almost new' l, 2014 plate, had 400 miles on the clock. Honda. Nothing has gone wrong with it. Best purchase I've ever made. Will run it until it dies, but I reckon I could get another 10 years out it, or more.

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Stitch_Face_1982UK@reddit

Same, 2016 Honda, got it with under 1k miles, not had a single issue with it.

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hotchy1@reddit

My 2007 honda lasted me around 10 years. For the final 5 years of his life, I never serviced him, nothing ever went wrong. A woman then crashed into him. Leaking coolant etc and still drove me home as it nothing.. someone fixed it up as it went another few years and going by rhe mot this year near enough 20 years old rust finally killed it. Not the huge mileage, not the crash, not the complete disregard of servicing. Rust.

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jamesdownwell@reddit

Will run it until it dies, Good luck mate, it´s a Honda. That thing will still be around when apes are ruling the planet.

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Repulsive-Year896@reddit

Aliens will land on what’s left of the planet long after the human race and all traces of it are long gone. They dig up a fossilised Honda and god knows it’ll start first time. Interstellar species will study Hondas in billions of years time as if they were made by a god race

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Thunder_Punt@reddit

I'm getting my first car soon, gonna get a cheap Toyota Yaris just to get me started but when I have the money to get a proper car I'm going to spend it on either a Honda or a Toyota Corolla.

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boomerangchampion@reddit

This is it exactly. If you want a new, or nearly new car all the time and swap them out every few years, you pay heavily for it in depreciation. Takes all sorts like. People are quick to judge and on Reddit especially, the common wisdom is to buy an older car and run it for ages to try and spend the minimum amount of money possible. But someone has to buy the new stuff and it's still sensible to try and minimise your losses even if you accept a higher overall cost.

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Rerewhakaaitu@reddit

Not sure how people run these older cars without having a second car. I had an older car and, yes it works but if we didn't have a spare car at home I'd have been screwed. In the three years I owned it, it gave weeks off the road all in.

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Smooth-Bowler-9216@reddit

Yeah of course. Even if you’re only keeping it 3 years, and you bought it at 3 years old, you don’t want to be losing huge chunks of money in that time, as that pot funds your next car. That’s why EVs can be so precarious. No one wants to put down £25k on a car and find out it’s only worth £15k 2 years later.

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Unhappy_Clue701@reddit

*Someone* has to buy new cars, or there wouldn’t be any secondhand ones. It’s fine to buy a good used one (I do) but some people like the new car smell and having the latest number plate on their car. That’s fine too, there’s no right and wrong here. Having had numerous brand new ones as company cars over the years, I don’t get the appeal myself, hence generally buying a car at 2 to 3 years old and then running it at least another 5 years. After a year or so, it’s not a new car any more anyway.

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Philluminati@reddit

Fridge is an unfortunate comparison. Many break whilst being moved so buying a new one with a 3yr warranty means once installed it will likely work for 2 decades, but buying a second hand is far riskier. Plus the hygiene reasons are different for fridges. But applying the same comparison to something like washing machine makes sense.

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SomniaStellae@reddit

Depreciation is useful for understanding the lifespan of something. For example if you buy a fridge, you should set some money aside of it's lifetime so when it comes to get a new one. You have the money available. Same for a car. That being said, cars are so expensive now, quite often as long as you keep your total expenses under 15% percent of your income (this includes petrol, insurance, servicing), it is sustainable

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DrWkk@reddit

I have a friend who works in finance. Their view is: Regular cars are the worst kind of asset. They have running and maintenance costs and they depreciate. So my friend uses whatever is the lowest finance. Pays for the depreciation for two or three years, hands it back and gets a new one. My view is different. I don’t have their disposable income. So I am buying my car outright with a low % loan and am going to keep the vehicle for 8-10 years. I will create 3x less manufactured/embodied carbon by doing this and believe it’s more sustainable. From what I’ve read in the motoring press 8-10 years is about the life of a vehicle now and then the maintenance will get really heavy. I kept my last car 13 years before it reached that point. The depreciation curve flattens with time, so I’m not concerned about depreciation due to my intended ownership period.

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macinn-es@reddit

If you're buying a new (or new to you) car every few years depreciation is part of the cost. In 2020, you buy a car for £20,000. In 2025 you sell it for £10,000 and buy a new car for £20,000. In 2030, you sell that car for £8000 and buy another car for £20,000. In 2035, that car is now worth £9,000 (and because you own it as an asset, we'll subtract that from the spend). You've bought 3 cars for £60,000. You've sold (or continue to own in the case of the last one) 3 cars worth £27,000. Therefore the cost of owning a car (before accounting for running costs etc) over 15 years has been £33,000. If the depreciation is lower, the cost of owning a car will also be lower.

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badgaleddy@reddit

Such a ramble

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Sorry-Programmer9826@reddit

It's more in the context of "why not buy a 1 year old car thats basically as nice and a fraction of the price" rather than looking at it like an investment.

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LaidBackLeopard@reddit

Exactly. We just bought a low mileage, 2 year old car for just over 50% of the new price. +£15k for an extra couple of years of warranty? Nah.

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Gratuitous_sax_@reddit

I did the same - 23 plate, 13k miles, £16k instead of £30k new. That’s over £1 a mile in depreciation, if I can get another 17k I’m in profit.

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random_character-@reddit

I misread this as "we paid +£15k for an extra couple of years of warranty" and nearly choked on my lunch 😅

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ooooomikeooooo@reddit

It's not just for an extra couple of years warranty though. You don't know what the previous owner has done to the car. They could have driven it terribly and you wonder why they got rid after only 2 years with it. There's obviously the chance they drove it normally and it's fine but you don't have any of those worries about a new one.

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iElvendork@reddit

They are typically ex-leases, so after 2 years they will just trade in for something new and the old car gets sold as 2nd hand (but it's still in good condition).

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wintermute023@reddit

Me too. These extended warranties are really getting out of hand!

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Emergency_Mistake_44@reddit (OP)

Yeah I can understand this, the idea of buying nearly new instead of new, but equally if I have the capital to just buy something new anyway and I want it, just get it?

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BrotoriousNIG@reddit

Of course. You should spend your money almost exclusively on things that make you happy. The question is whether the money saved on a year or more of depreciation could be used to make you happier than having a new car instead of a one-year-old car would. Could it help you pay a mortgage down quicker, pay for a holiday or some other experience, pay for house renovations, a new PC, an expensive hobby you’ve been thinking about, etc.

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Effective_Taro4601@reddit

The thing is 20% of a new car cost goes straight to the govt in VAT and that falls off the value as soon as you take ownership of the car. I can afford it, I just don’t want to pay it.

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xX8Havok8Xx@reddit

This is basically the how much money do I have to drop before its worth my time to pick it up. Most people are going for a a quid, some people a note and others would make more sense to pay another human a living wage to pick it up for you. If you have the money and dont care crack on, most other people could use that 5-15k on something else that could benefit their lives more than a few k less miles on their speedometer

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Sorry-Programmer9826@reddit

Sure, if you have oodles of money its probably worth it to not deal with the hassle. But cars are really expensive and most people wouldn't consider spending 10k extra to get a slightly newer car to be worth it.

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danddersson@reddit

I have oodles of money, but still prefer a nearly new car to a brand new one. My last car was 18 months old and half the price of a new one (saving me about £25k). It also had more extras than I would probably pay for, but came almost free. Have you ever specified a new car? There are so MANY options, and then you have to wait for it. Much less hassle just to search the dealers for the right car, by it, and get in a day or two.

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theModge@reddit

>I have oodles of money, but still prefer a nearly new car to a brand new one. Apart from anything else, that attitude is how one a) gets b) keeps 'oodles of money'

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

How is it oodles of money? A brand new Dacia Sandero is £14,500 — and 1 year old one from a dealership is around £13,000.

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redberrrrry@reddit

That sounds like a very rare edge case, but it also doesn't reflect the fact that the first person who bought the car didn't just lose a thousand as the dealer's price isn't what they bought it for.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

What do you mean edge case? It is the cheapest new car on sale in the UK today, mass manufactured, Dacia sell tens of thousands of them a year in the UK.

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redberrrrry@reddit

I was trying to be diplomatic. Redditors often cite numbers that aren't true when you look at them closely, especially around cars where knowledge is somewhat patchy and/or people take it very personally as something about cars makes them feel judged. I just did a check on Exchange and Mart for that model and prices vary by several thousand for the timeframe that you mention because of spec/colour and whatnot.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

And if you compare like for like new car with same spec/colour 1 year old car at main dealer?

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redberrrrry@reddit

I find the same. All you have to do on that site is play around with the filters so give it ago. Now let's say your claim is 100% accurate then you must know that is unusual, and Darcia's are sold on being low priced to begin with. Very few people sell their cars after a year so to be accurate you need to be looking at say three years vs new as that's a common term. That shows 40% loss on your figure, but again there's a lot of variation due to specs.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

I don't disagree at all about three years of depreciation, but the thread here is about buying new vs buying at 1 year old.

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redberrrrry@reddit

Then we come back to my point about probably not comparing like with like.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

But I was comparing like for like. In the past (especially pre COVID) 1 year depreciation was horrific, I absolutely grant you that. But today, in 2025, the landscape has really changed.

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Prize-Phrase-7042@reddit

The cheapest cars have very little depreciation. More expensive cars could easily lose £10k+ in the first year. Also, if you look at used cars from anywhere else than the dealers, you'll see you get a much better deal (which also means greater depreciation).

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

If you don't have oodles of money, you're going to be buying the cheapest cars, not a £60k BMW, for example. I wouldn't buy a 1-2 year old car private. Too risky, no consumer rights.

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Euphoric-Orchid488@reddit

Yeah if you’ve got the money you can do it. But is buying new over a year or 2 old, worth that much more? It’s about value for money and the difference between a brand new and a one year old car is going to be negligible to most and could leave them with money better spent elsewhere.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

I often thought about this but then you have to ask "is it worth spending an extra £5,000 for a seat no one else has farted or sweat in before?" — and the older I get the more appealing spending that extra £5k is.

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imtheorangeycenter@reddit

But I wonder if you ripped out the toilets when you moved into your current house? ;)

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evertonblue@reddit

I could not imagine moving house and not swapping the toilet seat itself. One of the very first things I do.

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Inside-Definition-42@reddit

Do you carry a fresh seat with you to work / friends houses / on holiday?

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evertonblue@reddit

No, but I am never as relaxed on them as I am in my own home. And would never sit down in a friends house.

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Enough-Moose-5816@reddit

What do you think is going to happen to you if you sit on your friend’s toilet seat?!? Be specific. 😂😂

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evertonblue@reddit

Sitting on the seat itself nothing, I just would never go no2 in someone else’s house.

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imtheorangeycenter@reddit

Why not? We all do it, and they'll be doing it at yours. Imagine that! So long as you clean up after yourself (and it really shouldn't be on the seat!!), it's all good.

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butterypowered@reddit

I think it says more about their own hygiene than anything else!

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OddlyDown@reddit

This is wild. I have bought a few houses and never considered changing the toilet seats. Did I give them a decent clean? Of course.

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libdemparamilitarywi@reddit

A friend of mine got pregnant because they didn't change the toilet seats

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MidsummerMidnight@reddit

No they didn't lol

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Enough-Moose-5816@reddit

That’s just what they tell the young ones around the neighborhood.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

I would always change the toilet seat, 100%. I did technically change my toilet as it was going on 40 years old I swear

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Mdl8922@reddit

Having worked in car sales for some time, I can tell you there's absolutely a good chance that someone has farted in the seat of even the newest of new cars.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

Are you farting in customers cars during the pre delivery inspection by any chance?

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Mdl8922@reddit

I'm not, but I've absolutely seen it done

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

With or without underwear?

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SpatulaWholesale@reddit

Every new car seat has been farted on at least once. They usually have 2 to 5 miles on the clock.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

I hope you're not working in the factory farting on every new seat that comes off the production line!

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karmacarmelon@reddit

That's done by robots now. It was a sad day when the last professional farter left the production line and hung up their trumping trousers for the final time.

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SpatulaWholesale@reddit

Pull my finger.

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theModge@reddit

If but it were only an extra £5k

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xX8Havok8Xx@reddit

Yea its more 15k

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Postik123@reddit

I believe that after farting and sweating in it yourself, your farts and sweat gradually erase those of the previous owner. After about 6 months of farting and sweating, I'm no longer scared to pick up the crisp that I dropped between my legs and eat it.

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Specialist_-Berry@reddit

It's like that thing of how big of a swimming pool could you be convinced to swim in with a shark - it's somewhere between a hot tub and an ocean size. It's like that but with farts

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No_Doughnut3257@reddit

Sam Allardyce is that you?

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RookieJourneyman@reddit

Depreciation is often the biggest cost of owning a car. People get so hung up about how much the tax costs and things, but if they have a newish car, they are "paying" thousands a year in depreciation.

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Freedom-For-Ever@reddit

I know all about the depreciation, but I can afford a new car, I can spec it as I want (tow bar and all the bells/whistles etc). I know how it has been treated. I like having a new car... That 1 year old car could have been thrashed by a sales executive for the whole year - how can you tell? People call me mad, but I'm happy with the situation...

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

the difference is, your fridge freezer is £1000 and your car costs many times more than that. If you buy a £30k car, you've lost multiple fridge freezers worth of cash the moment you've driven it off the forecourt

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Emergency_Mistake_44@reddit (OP)

Maybe I'm operating in the wrong financial mindset, I've never bought a car for more than £5k , maybe I'd see it differently if I was shopping in £30k markets.

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Strangely__Brown@reddit

You're not buying new cars then are you. There's a very different mindset in buying a banger and getting what you can out of it. To buying a new car and keeping it for 20+ years. If your bangers lasted 1 year and it cost you £5k a year just to own a car then you'd understand depreciation.

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redberrrrry@reddit

That does make your original question rather unfair then. You have in effect bought a car when nearly all the depreciation has occurred.

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

Yea, the original post said new car

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rachy182@reddit

Once a car is a few years old it doesn’t matter as much because you feel as though your getting your moneys worth even as it depreciates. Our car would have been 40k brand new but then 3 years later when we brought it, it was only worth 14k. To me that’s a big jump. Did the previous owners feel they got 26k worth of use out of it? A big thing is a lot of people get these cars on finance so if they need to sell them it might not cover the remaining loan. If there is an accident insurance will only pay out on the market value so you need to find another car while still paying the finance of the old car.

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Intruder313@reddit

I actually don’t I just consider anything I get on the trade in as a bonus but I work towards each car as if I have to pay 100%

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cleb9200@reddit

It comes down to basic resale value. You run a fridge until it breaks. You run a car until it reaches an acceptable threshold to recoup costs. This is like pretty basic economics

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nfoote@reddit

Additionally people tend to spend more money keeping a car running. At some point you have to decide to stop repairing, recoup what you can and spend to replace. Such a point is different for different people with cars but with fridges it's probably more commonly very little on repair and near zero on recoup.

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

or you're like me, and wait until there's not much left to lose on the car, then buy it! I started out with a £3k car budget in 2018. Ive had 2 cars in that time, and the current one I could sell tomorrow for £3k. I get that this wouldnt work for a lot of people, but it does me. I only do around 4k miles a year, and if for any reason it broke down, I couldnt care less as I work from home and have my emtb to trundle around on. I also seem to get really lucky with old cars, as Ive never had one that costs me a load in maintenance. This current one Ive had for 4 years and hasnt needed more than the odd sensor replacement, a cpl new tyres and an annual service.

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-WigglyLine-@reddit

Cars are a weird one. I remember my dad telling me when I was younger that buying a new car is pointless because you lose a quarter of the value just buy driving it off the forecourt of the dealership! Fast forward a few years, him and my mum were much more financially secure, so he decided to treat himself to a brand new car. A pay rise and a year later he traded it in for EXACTLY THE SAME FUCKING CAR with the new numberplate! So I guess the depreciation is relative to how much you’re willing to spend? I like to be as thrifty as possible with most of my purchases, particularly expensive or important stuff. I bought a £2000 MacBook Pro back in 2015, and two minor repairs later it still going. Will have to upgrade this year, but I’ve had a hell of a lot of value out of it. You get what you pay for in most cases.

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Tim_UK1@reddit

I consider cost per use, a pricey phone used every day or an expensive coat worn every day for half the year is a much better buy than a jacket that lives in a wardrobe or a camera never used…

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Fine-Huckleberry4165@reddit

Do I care? Yes. Do I take it into account when choosing a car? No. Because I can't predict what any car is going to be worth at the end of the 8 or so years I intend to keep it for. Because I don't want to be shopping for a new car every 2-3 years, I choose the car I want, in the spec I want, and buy new so I can keep up with the maintenance so it will last long enough. It's even harder now than it was last time to predict depreciation. Will petrol, diesel, hybrid or EV be more in demand in the used market in 2034? Will the Chinese brands that have recently entered the UK market be accepted as used cars, or be worthless, or will they actually be worth more because some of the legacy brands won't survive the next 8 years? Answers on a postcard, please.

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tubularfool@reddit

Main consideration is if people are taking out loans to buy the car. As a safety net or just to be able to keep your options open to changing it, you ideally want to ensure you don't owe more than the resale value at any given time. I would say not *enough* people actually consider or calculate this properly and end up under water if their circumstances change and they can no long afford or justify the repayments, go to sell it and realise they will still owe money on the original loan...

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No-Translator5443@reddit

I think it’s because most people will sell the car on after so long, stuff like fridges you don’t

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gettin-swole@reddit

You tend not to sell your fridge later down the line.

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Hot_Photograph_5928@reddit

As soon as I hear someone saying 'I'm going to invest in a really nice car' I immediately know that they don't understand the meaning of the word investment. An investment is something that produces value - either the capital sum increases, or it creates an income stream or a combination of both. Any thing that you buy that is not an investment is consumption. Buying a car is consumption. A fridge / freezer is consumption. You bought if for £1k, and it say you bin it after 10 years - the annual cost of that thing is £1k plus the aggregate sum of energy consumption over 10 years. (I'm simplifying by not using the captial cost of the £1k, because reddit). You'll only ever know what the true cost of your car has been the day you get rid of it. I always do a little back of the envelope calc when I sell a car, to figure out what it actually cost me. it goes something like this; 1. Purchase price minus selling price (e.g. 10k - 2k = 8k) 2. Cost of repairs 3. Cost of maintenance 4. estimate of fuel cost (average mpg x cost of average litre of fuel) 5. Other costs, MOT, tax, insurance (estimated) That gives you a total that is roughly accurate. Then divide that by how many miles you did. Most people are surprised at how high the actual price is when they look at like that!

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Few-Proposal-4681@reddit

I think you just have a very definition of the word “invest”.

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steadvex@reddit

What if your investing in your own happyness?

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Hot_Photograph_5928@reddit

that is not 'investing'. that is consumption. we all consume goods and services for 'happiness', with varying degrees of success. Usually less successful that we had hoped.

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ItsDominare@reddit

In my opinion it's only really stupid to buy a brand new car if you're doing it on finance. If you're paying cash and really like that new car feeling, go nuts. Buying a depreciating asset is one thing, but borrowing money at high APR to do it is just idiotic.

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themcsame@reddit

I give a shit when I'm buying. After that? Don't care. It sells for what it sells for... Last one I got rid of when the electrics were playing up and corrosion was becoming a problem. At that point, anything above scrap value was a score.

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budgiebirdman@reddit

I don't use my car much. If I looked at lost value/mile it would be astronomically high on a brand new car. Instead I have a 16 year old Honda Civic Type-R which is probably at least holding its value and if the prices do go up, it will be more for the lower mileage ones. That wasn't why I bought it but it's nice to know.

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elbapo@reddit

Yes. A car is the largest purchase many will make outside of their home. Homes and improvements to them tend to retain or create value. Investing in a car is an oxymoron. Yes, the same logic applies to a fridge- but you aren't going to lose 14k just by driving it off the forecourt. Well done if you have enough f you money to be able to do that, and thanks from the rest of us for taking the hit for society to function. But even then if I was advising you financially, I'd say I vest it in something more sensible

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chosenbyyoutoday@reddit

I treated myself to a brand new car. In my 40s and never had one before. I'm not getting any younger and I can afford it. It's exactly what I want. It's the only car that I've owned that I've ever been completely happy with. I couldn't care less about the money I've lost. I've found myself just staring at it (sad I know), I just love everything about it. I've always loved cars, driving or looking at them. I probably won't be able to do it again but I can't see myself ever selling this one. Especially as it's one of the last all petrol cars made by BMW.

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enygma999@reddit

If you plan to sell, it might be important to you. There's a big difference between buying a new car and selling it after 3 or 4 years (when it will have lost 60% of its value or whatever) vs doing the same with a used car. The cost per year of those 3 or 4 years will be greater on average for the new car than the used one. On the other hand, if you don't plan to sell but run it into the ground until it's essentially scrap, you don't care about the end price. If you want a car specced to your requirements and are comfortable with the cost over the lifetime, depreciation doesn't matter.

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dowhileuntil787@reddit

For large purchases, I do a discounted cash flow calculation. That factors in depreciation, running costs and the time value of money. I even switched from Android to iPhone because the deprecation on Android is awful. For small purchases like clothes I don't sit and do a calculation, but it is a factor. If I expect it to fall apart in the wash after 3 wears, I'm not going to pay as much for it.

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xe0n1@reddit

Remember this, a fool is easy to part with his (or her) money. People buying motors and losing huge amounts of money are simply that, a fool. I guess its their right... Anyway, remember likely 3/4 of the new cars you see on the roads are loaded with debt. Buy reliable used old car, learn how to look after it and you will save thousands each year... literally.

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Lazy_Helicopter_2659@reddit

>...i recently bought a fridge freezer for £1k and didn't think once about it's vakue going down after time. I use it daily and plan to until it can't. I bought a graded fridge freezer for 40% off. My food stays cold or frozen just as much as yours. I paid 40% less... Also, not everyone wants to keep their fridges or vehicles until they get scrapped.

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RetiredFromIT@reddit

My two cars before the current one were well timed. Each time, when the model changed, I picked up their demo car. A year or two old, but only demo and local journeys, both times I got an "as new" car for a used price. But the current car was bought as a retirement present to myself, and so I went for new. Didn't care about depreciation, I driven it for 4 years, and intend to drive it for at least another 4.

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sihasihasi@reddit

You're comparing apples with oranges. It's incredibly rare for someone to buy a car new, and scrap it at the end of its life. Therefore depreciation is relevant. White-goods are typically bought new and replaced when they die, so depreciation is _not_ relevant.

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shadow-season@reddit

Depreciation, on the 10 year old cars I can afford? No, it doesn't concern me

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Ok_Data1512@reddit

If I buy something brand new, I'm buying with the foreknowledge that it will immediately lose value the moment it is owned by me. Virtually no one will pay full price from a private/second hand seller.

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Truewit_@reddit

People treat cars like houses for some reason and it’s entirely made up.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

It's because people are naturally loss-adverse. But sma losses people can sort of rationalize (oh it's only a month's salary), but as soon as that number hits 5 figures people lose all grasp on reality.

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

Im not sure I'd call being sensible with your money and not wanting to lose a 5 figure sum 'losing all grasp on reality'.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

But no one here is arguing in favour of financial recklessness. But basing purchasing decisions on depreciation is a good way to suck all the joy out of life. Buying a different car than the one you wanted because you're worried about depreciation? Buying a different house than the one you wanted because you're worried it won't increase in value as another house the other side of town? Putting off a new kitchen or bathroom because you are worried you won't get the money back when you sell the house?

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

depending on your outlook, position and a variety of other factors, they are all sensible thoughts to have. We earn finite money throughout our lifetimes, and we cannot - well, most of us cannot, just throw money away on everything we want. We have to compromise.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

If you keep it until it's no longer economical to own, I don't really think depreciation matters so much. What's more of a problem is cars have become culturally disposable. It's now embedded in so many buyers that a car is something you change every 3 years, which seems kind of wrong.

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

ok, so you've changed your tune a little bit with this last comment. I'm early 50s and changing the car every 2 years was what my parents did when I was a young bairn. So that isn't anything new. I think its more being driven by lease and HP agreements nowadays. I personally wouldn't ever buy a car that hasn't nearly depreciated as far as its going to go. I get no joy whatsoever out of cars - I just want them to get me from A to B when I want to get from A to B. But by being prudent with this and worrying about depreciation, it allows me to spend as much money as I want on things that do give me joy - like mountain biking. My mountain bike costs about 4x what my car does. Like I say, compromises are needed

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

> I personally wouldn't ever buy a car that hasn't nearly depreciated as far as its going to go. But do you apply this to just cars, or all large purchases? What about computers, phones, washing machines, furniture, (pedal) bikes? And if you're happy to buy new white goods, but not happy to buy new cars, what is the decision factor here? Is it just the total amount of money, or is it something else?

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

I evaluate every situation on its own merits. But I don't enjoy cars and I think they're a waste of money that could be used better for other things I enjoy. If I didn't live in a countryside town, I wouldn't even bother to have one. If I had unlimited funds, Id have a nice car (but only as id have run out of joyful things to own). But I don't, and in the list of things I need to enjoy my life, having a new car thats going to lose me loads of money Id prefer to spend on other things is way, way down my list. >No one here is arguing in favour of financial recklessness, so that worry we can put behind us. >But basing purchasing decisions on depreciation is a good way to suck all the joy out of life. > I'd also argue that those 2 statements are contradictory. Not considering depreciation as part of a purchase decision, is, in my eyes, financial recklessness. Especially with the amount new cars cost nowadays.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

I don't think that's the definition of financial recklessness most people would think of though, to be very honest. Your definition of financial recklessness is tied to buying new **things**, but I don't think it's reckless if you wanted them and you plan to keep them. It doesn't matter to me if it's a car of a £1000 Miele washing machine. It's not reckless to buy over a £20 washing machine from Facebook.

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CriticalCentimeter@reddit

no, I haven't defined financial recklessness at all, outside of this very specific conversation. And I think you'll find most people would think it being a bit reckless not considering depreciation on a spend as high as is needed to buy a new car nowadays. Sure, after considering it, they might deem it irrelevant to their circumstance. And thats perfectly fine. What I said was not considering it at all is reckless. Your initial comments were stamping all over anyone who dare even consider depreciation as part of their purchasing decision making. Which is reckless. Anyway, Im moving on with my life now and going to earn some money.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

> And I think you'll find most people would think it being a bit reckless not considering depreciation on a spend as high as is needed to buy a new car nowadays. To me this only makes sense if you are going into the purchase with the intention of selling it later. If that's the case I do agree with you. Sorry I misunderstood what you meant around the definition of recklessness. Sure have a good day!

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SerendipitousCrow@reddit

Exactly, they're tools to be used, not assets to invest in

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Euphoric-Orchid488@reddit

Because it’s a lot of money. If I’m spending multiple thousands on a car, I’d like to think I’ll be able to get some of them back when I sell it. I’m not in a position to just think nothing of spending that much money. I need to make my money work best for me and that means considering if the vehicle will hold some value

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steadvex@reddit

I honestly don't, I buy a car, keep it until I want to change it or it needs changing. If I worried about depreciation I'd be driving the cheapest cars on the cheapest pcp deals being smug in the knowledge Mike down the road who plopped 50k on a car that he loves driving has less money than me whist I'm driving around in a misery box that actively gives me road rage on account of it being so horrible to sit in and drive.

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New_Line4049@reddit

Difference is most people dont plan to run a car till it dies. They plan to run it for some years, then sell it and extract value to put into purchasing their next car. Taking a large amount of depreciation is a bad deal in that scenario. If I pay 20K for a new car, and its then worth 10K when I sell it I now have to either buy a car thats only worth 10K to replace it, or I have to find another 10K in my pocket to throw into the mix. If I buy a 20K used car it might be worth 17K when I sell it Im only 3K out of pocket. This is much better. Im almost always going to be out of pocket, but I can minimise the amount by avoiding the worst depreciation. Of course, ultimately its what its worth to you. Some people would argue that the 10K I was out of pocket with the new car is worth it to have a brand new car, some argue its not. There is no right or wrong, its your money, spend it as you like.

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Radiant-Mycologist72@reddit

I worked with a guy who would buy brand new BMW's every few years. He'd lose 5 figures worth in depreciation on cars ever year but balked at the idea of paying a few extra pounds a month for a full broadband package.

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strangercheeze@reddit

With a fridge freezer you typically buy it and keep it until it dies. With a car, some people do that, but often people look to upgrade their car purchases more often, while the old one is still ok, so selling it on as a going concern becomes a valid financial consideration. You’re always going to resell at a loss, but that loss can be minimised by not buying brand new to begin with.

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ImBonRurgundy@reddit

the things you are talking about - fridge, Tv, clthes etc people tend to keep until they die, so the depreciation is always going to be 100%. cars, most people don't keep until it dies, a lot of people will keep for 3-5 years and then sell. the depreciation therefore becomes important because it forms a large chunk of the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) example: you buy a car foir, say, £20k, sell it 4 years later for £10k and inbetween spend £3k on tax and insurance, £3k on fuel, £2k on maintenence. your TCO is therefore (10+3+3+2) £18k, or £4500 per year. an alternative car might have much lower depreciation, but much worse fuel economy, or maybe higher maintenence or insurance costs that brings the TCO to a higher or lower number.

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rynchenzo@reddit

Only a third of new car sales are private purchases, and most of that chunk are Motability schemes.

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rynchenzo@reddit

You aren't likely to keep the fridge for 3 years and then sell it on to get a new one.

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SpatulaWholesale@reddit

When I was young, yes, and the idea of a brand new car was ludicrous. What an obscene waste of money. Buy a 3+ year-old model. Since my 30s, being in a good tech career, a new car is just lovely, and depreciation isn't really a concern.

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Impetuous_doormouse@reddit

Car-wise, my perspective is that I'm not buying it as an investment - I'll drive it until the wheels fall off, so if I'm not going to sell it on, why worry about what it's worth? And I think that's why folk don't worry so much about a fridge depreciating, because it's seen as something that you buy, use until it's scrap and then replace. Whereas a lot of folk see cars as something that you buy, use and then treat as the deposit/ trade-in on your next one - Which I'm not saying is a bad way to look at it, it's just a different perspective. I also view most stuff I own like that - I don't plan on selling any clothes, or jewellery, so I don't worry if wearing them causes depreciation.

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ScumBucket33@reddit

A car is probably the only time I’d ever think about depreciation as a car a couple of years old could save a fortune.

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romeo__golf@reddit

Depends on the context. Most often people who buy brand new cars do so with some sort of finance (I think it was over 90% last time I read about it) and the finance rates are usually much more favourable on new than used, with both lower interest rates and often "deposit incentives" which are effectively a discount... so even if the used car has depreciated, the cost could be just as high as a new one with the increased interest.

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smushs88@reddit

No, as I can’t imagine I’ll ever be in the position to purchase a vehicle new! If I’m buying it second hand it will have already depreciated and will continue to do so but I think I read somewhere a while ago that the depreciation curve slowly levels off the older it gets so no where near as bad as a “new off the forecourt” crash.

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ProfessorYaffle1@reddit

I think mosst people keep things like fridges or washing machines until they no longer work, whereas many people trade in their car much more frequently. If you are expecting to replace the car within a few years, then depreciation is relevant, and the majority of the drop in value is wheyou drive it away the first time. Personally, I tendd to keep a car until it's no longer reliable so I don't give a lot of consideration to depreciation . - for instnace , I had each of my last 2 cars 12 years, the first of those I replaced because someone rear ended it and it was written off by the insuers and the other had a major Mo fail and given th car was 18 years old, it didn't make economic sense to repair . I had to replace my car last year after 12 years use. My new car was 10 months old when I bought it, in perfect condition with less than 5,000 on the clock and cost about 25% less than buying the same model new. It was beautifully valeted and spotlessly clean, and I ended up getting a free dash cam and a couple of other biys as well. (that said, ironicallyth only time I did eveer buy a brand new car it turned out to be exceptional in terms of depreciation, but I did hve it for 12 years and payout from the insurance co. when it was written off was more than it was really worth, !)

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Milky_Mint@reddit

In the context of new cars, very few are bought outright and most people are really financing the depreciation. Therefore, a car that holds onto more of its value should be cheaper to finance. The situation is complicated by manufacturer supported promotions offering incentives, such as large deposit contributions or 0% interest, on harder to sell models. For white goods and such like, nobody is really counting on it having any future value and therefore assumes 100% depreciation.

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Jealous-Honeydew-142@reddit

I bought my car at two years old. It had lost 60% of value from new. It’s new to me, immaculate and I’ll run it 10+ years.

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CeaselessWatcher00@reddit

Depends how much you're spending. If you're paying Audi or BMW money it makes sense to buy a car that's 12/18 months old and substantially cheaper. However at the bottom end of the new car market, I paid £16k for my car new. Cars that were a year or so old were still £14-15k. For me it was worth the small amount of extra money to have a brand new car.

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Rem1988@reddit

I think most of those other big purchases (A fridge, a TV, etc) There is an expectation to run them into the ground, be worthless when packed in and then just replace. With a car that is owned, there is a likely expectation (for the average person) that it will be sold on/part exchanged maybe 3-5 years after purchase, so residual value is very pertinent. Not many people intend to buy cars to drive them for +10 years. It also doesn't help that the depreciation profile on cars is reducing balance, so it's front loaded. Just the psychology of knowing a car can depreciate 50% in years 1-3, but in years 4-6 will only depreciate by a further 20% makes for a compelling argument of just buy a car that's 2-3 years old. And in that logic creates a negative narrative for buying brand new out right

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linkheroz@reddit

If you care about depreciation, you'll never buy anything that's modern. Everything depreciates unless it's at the bottom of the market.

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yearsofpractice@reddit

Hey OP. Good question and I completely share your point of view. Things either appreciate or depreciate*. It’s knowing the difference, understanding the value you’re getting from the depreciation and balancing those three things that people seem to struggle with. As a family, we own a car via an all-inclusive workplace lease. I accept that the convenience and comfort of this situation costs £700 per month and that’s all I get - comfort and convenience. I’m happy doing so because - as a family - we also invest far more than the cost of the car for future benefits - pensions etc But yeah - I think you’re right - some people struggle to assign a value to abstract things (comfort/convenience etc) and just see the costs. (* I am well aware there are some things that can both appreciate and depreciate. ***I know***. If anyone wants to raise any points about that, please send answers on a postcard to “I Can’t Tell The Difference Between An Example For Discussion And A Statement Of Fact, PO BOX 69, Swindon”)

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Hot_Photograph_5928@reddit

Depreciation is just another cost. Cost to own and use a car all makes a difference.

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Icy_Mango6803@reddit

Well, I don't expect to need to sell my freezer to part fund my next freezer, so I only think about depreciation when it comes to cars. And paying tens of thousands more for something that (in my opinion) doesn't deliver that much more value makes me feel like a chump.

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ArtichokeDesperate68@reddit

I would NEVER buy new. Always 1-2 years old, low mileage. I will wait for the right car, even if I have to travel for it. I got a car with a list price over 50k for 26k that was 8 months old. It will likely serve me for 6-8 years with a manufacturers warranty.

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50_61S-----165_97E@reddit

Depreciation is a meaningless concept if you intent to keep an asset until the annualised replacement cost outweighs the annual maintenance costs.

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Mertespackers@reddit

This is exactly why I buy older classic cars. The only way the prices go are up. I’ve managed to make money one every car I have sold with this method

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WitShortage@reddit

I care about cars that depreciate faster than I can use them. For me, I need to use the car enough that the utilisation offsets the financial loss of the depreciation. That way, it's not depreciation per se (i.e. asset value loss) but the cost of having that vehicle at my disposal.

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walkwalkwalkwalk@reddit

Honestly since owning a car and realising how much value I get out of old cars, I've started applying it to other things in life. I have refurbished phone, laptops, used PC parts, tools etc. Saves loads and works great

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oktimeforplanz@reddit

No. There's virtually nothing I buy with the thought about what it might be worth X years down the line because generally, I'm planning to use it until it's no longer economical to keep it. My only recent thoughts about depreciation was with respect of my car - but only in the sense that I just bought it off of the lease company for £14k at 2.5 years old, when it was £36k brand new. That's a lot of deprecation. So it makes me glad it was on salary sacrifice with insurance, tax, servicing, and maintenance included. But I'm planning on keeping it now until the warranty runs out and I'm okay with it being worth basically zero by that time. It won't be, chances are, but it's fine as far as I'm concerned if it was only worth scrap.

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Legal_Release_4402@reddit

Typically people don't keep cars forever, so resale value is important if you plan to sell again. Cars are also typically vastly more expensive. Buying a £20k+ car with no thought of depreciation seems mental to me. I'm fortunate enough to afford the purchase price of a fresher car, but I cannot justify the depreciation. Losing £3-5k per year is a killer, so I bought lower value knowing it'll not lose anywhere near that just for existing for another period of time. If in the market for a new car, it's all a game of losing the least amount of money, because depreciation is by far the biggest cost associated.

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helpnxt@reddit

Depends on the item, as your example of the car no I don't because I am buying it to use and as a tool in my life not as an investment (that being said I never bought a new care cos well money). But if it's something arbitrary that will just sit around not being used then I will care

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redunculuspanda@reddit

Depends on the item. A car yes, even an iPhone has residual value if you upgrade every two or three years. A fridge - you are likely to keep for over a decade and will have no residual value.

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Forsaken-Original-28@reddit

I care about it. That's how I can justify getting my kid a good quality mountain bike. I could get a cheap new bike that's worth nothing when they grow out of it or I could spend more and get a second hand specialized or giant or other higher quality brand and then when I sell it I won't have lost much at all. Same with kids toys, crap from argos ends up at the charity shop where as things like schleich hold their value quite well and are easy to sell when they grow out of them

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toady89@reddit

People don't usually buy a new car with the intention of running it into the ground, they want something shinier and with the latest features whereas nobody sees your fridge so people are less inclined to keep updating it. New cars get sold on with 80-90% of their expected lifespan still there but at a much lower price than when they were new.

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Fit_Maximum_71@reddit

I think depreciation only really matters if you plan to sell or swap it soon. If you’re keeping a car long term and using it daily it’s just a tool, same as a fridge. People just fixate on cars more because the numbers are bigger and more visible.

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kendallmoonlace@reddit

I think people care more with cars because they’re expensive and easy to resell, so the value drop feels real. A fridge losing value doesn’t hit the same since no one’s flipping Whirlpool units on the side.

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Swimming_Possible_68@reddit

My current car cost £6k about 10 years ago. Its still going strong with 190k on the clock. I will drive it until it dies and then do the same again. I don't care about depreciation, but then I'm done buying cars worth a huge amount of money and changing them every few years.

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wingman0401@reddit

It's so nuanced though isn't it. What immediately springs to mind is that without new car sales, there are no used cars being "made". Secondly, new cars typically have attractive financial incentives, like low interest rates, and service packs, which can sometimes make buying a new car cheaper than buying a slightly used one. Purely financially it's almost always more expensive going new but it's not as if it's for nothing, either. For me personally the sweet spot tends to be 2-3 years old. Still modern, likely has been serviced and looked after, lowish miles, maybe even a year left on the warranty. Anything newer, you might as well go new. The British do have a fascination with what things are worth though, don't we? The same argument can be leveraged against houses. The conversation is always about price and value first, and actually having somewhere to call home second.

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UnCommonSense99@reddit

Modern cars are very expensive, lose a lot of value in their first 2 years, last a long time. For example, I bought my current car for 50% of new price, and I'm still happily driving it, but thinking about replacing it..... 10 years and 130000 miles later

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jasovanooo@reddit

None of my recent cars have suffered any

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Asleep-Software-4160@reddit

I do care because a car is one of the few expensive items that I might not keep until it dies (although I usually do) or might need to change for other reasons (if I lost my job I might sell my car because I need the money and no longer commute; I would still need my fridge). I have, OTOH, never bought a car that was less than five years old.

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kcgpuma@reddit

A lot of people only look at their monthly payment and if they can afford the new car payments then they go for it. You should look at the total cost of ownership. Depreciation is a huge factor if you buy a new car, but you also need to look at how much running the car would cost. I drive a 12 year old Volvo. It loses maybe £500 a year in depreciation, but it has needed a couple of more expensive maintenance jobs due to its age/mileage. Then you need to roll in insurance, VED and fuel economy. Then you have the true idea of what each vehicle costs you and whether you want to pay the depreciation cost of driving a new car or not.

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bacon_cake@reddit

If you don't pay attention to it, it's the kind of thing that bites you in the bum without you even realising it. It's an interesting quirk of the human brain that we'll faff about researching the best value punnet of strawberries and getting annoyed when our weekly shop goes up by £5. But when we buy a car worth thousands of pounds and then re-sell it we tend not to be too bothered whether it goes for £5,000 or £6,000 even though the cash difference is massive. You can't really bring fridges into discussions about depreciation because few people replace fridges before they need to.

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Mediocre_Shallot1659@reddit

In terms of cars, I honestly dont care. I swap my car every 3-4 years for a different one using HP agreements as I dont have the money to buy a car out right and I would much rather do it that way than buy a car outright, have it for XX number of years, but have to pay £££ when things goes wrong with it. So I would rather just do it this way, although I dont bother with new cars anymore. Its better to just get secondhand low'ish milage. Been doing that since 2004. Dont bother downvoting, I honestly don't care.

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TobsterVictorSierra@reddit

Depreciation only happens when you sell or dispose of an asset (unless you're a business or rich and doing a tax fiddle). Your car being "worth nothing compared to what you bought it for" doesn't matter if you intend to keep running it for a decent number of years; it's insured against the value of all the other same models anyway so just gets replaced like for like regardless of value if it's written off. Buying a brand new car with the intention of selling it in a few years time is schmuckery of the highest order. Everything else is fine.

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Delldax@reddit

In my opinion your comparison is apples to oranges. I care about the depreciation of my car as I intend to drive it a few years and then sell it so I can get another one (not everyone does this but most do) A fridge freezer, I wouldn’t care about depreciation as I’d have no intention of selling it down the line. Id probably use it until it broke completely.

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Chilledinho@reddit

If you buy something for £10,000 and sell it for £5,000 3 years later you’ve lost £5,000. If you buy something for £25,000 and sell it for £10,000, you’ve lost £15,000. Unless you’re made of money it’s a big difference to most people.

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NaturalOk2492@reddit

Buy 3/4 year old from approved used and you can’t go wrong, just bought a car with 50k on clock full Eletric for 21k was 61k in 2021. Came with 3 year warranty on Eletric stuff and 1 year on the car. Top spec. 1 owner. I’ll use it for 3/4 year get shot maybe I’ll get 10k back. Buy a new car if you plan to keep it 10 years. You’ll see people all over now driving nice new cars on lease but they have a net worth less than 100k. In 25/30 years there is going to be a pension crisis like never before.

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BlokeyBlokeBloke@reddit

I don't usually expect to sell my freezer in a few years to help finance the purchase of the next one.

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manual_typewriter@reddit

Isn’t it funny how houses don’t seem to depreciate.

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ActionBirbie@reddit

I'm with you OP, I never buy anything as an "investment" to sell on or make money back on, always to use for it's purpose. I've always thought it was a weird way of looking at purchases, glad I'm not alone!

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Kapika96@reddit

Not a car person, at all, but generally no. I don't buy things with the intention of selling them later. I buy them with the intent of using them until they're literally unusable and worth nothing.

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DaughterOfATiredMech@reddit

Yes and no. Personally I buy cars 8-10 years old because the depreciation has already happened. I’ll usually keep the car till it dies or my circumstances change. I would never buy a new car. But I would buy a second hand one that’s new. Because yes the mark up is extortion I also do think like that for some other things. I bought a switch 2 recently but I didn’t buy it brand new from the shop instead I bought it second hand lightly used boxed with extra accessories for 100 less than rrp. On the other hand there are somethings I would never buy second hand. Fridge being one of them

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Silvagadron@reddit

I never buy anything with the expectation that it'll be sold again in the future. The cost up front is sunk immediately and if I get anything back for it then that's a bonus. Very rarely I'll even make more. I bought a coffee machine on offer for £250 (about half its RRP) and sold it for £400 after four years, and it now retails for £630 new.

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Postik123@reddit

There's lots of different ways of looking at this. If I buy a 1 year old car which has lost say £4k in value then I'm buying something "almost new" but saving £4k that I can spend on something else. On the other hand that £4k is worth it to some people to have something brand spanking new that nobody else has used. My penultimate car I kept for over 10 years and sold it for £300, whereas my last car I kept for 14 years and just sold it for over £3k. That's partly because used car values have increased but also because my last car held its value much better. That £3k helped to fund my new car purchase whereas the one I sold for £300 I might as well have given away. For me depreciation matters more when buying than selling. I want a car to have depreciated as much as possible when I buy it second hand. I'm less bothered about depreciation when I come to sell because I keep them so long, so I've had the use out of them. It probably becomes more relevant when you buy new, keep for 3-4 years, sell it and then rely on the value to fund your next new purchase.

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redberrrrry@reddit

I'd suggest you aren't comparing like with like. Firstly, there is a massive cost difference between a car and a household appliance and that means you are getting into a very different level of decision. And secondly, many people aren't replacing their fridge every three years (or other timeframe) and run them until they did unlike cars. And that means you need to factor in resale value.

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Educational_Skirt_81@reddit

I’ve never really thought about it. I haven’t ever bought a brand new car but I don’t think it is because I see it as a poor investment. I don’t think I look at cars as an investment at all actually. The first one I had was about 12 years old, then I had an 8 year old one that turned into a 16 year old one. Current car is now like 7 years old and was 5 when I bought it. I just use them till they don’t work anymore. The 16 year old one was also pranged by somebody crashing into it so I’d maybe still have that lol.

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spannerintworks@reddit

The only way to answer this is to simply say people have different priorities, financial education, and funds. If you plan to keep your car from dealership until it's scrap then in theory it doesn't matter if it were to lose 50% of it's value in the first year and then the remaining over the next 20 years vs. a steady decline in value. What that would though then mean is that actually in the first instance you could've bought a 1 year older version of your car and saved yourself 50% of the cost of the car! Depreciation loses you money. Anything you buy you should be considering whether you are getting good value out of it. Therefore i'd argue that depreciation should be considered when buying any item! At least in the context of 'how long until I need to replace this'. If my £500 dishwasher needs completely replacing in 5 years it's effectively depreciated by £100 a year. By the end of our lives we will have earned a finite amount of money, and we wish/need to acquire a certain amount of items/services. If you are constantly having to re-buy these items sooner than necessary, or, at a higher outlay, then there will be less left over for other things, namely enjoyment.

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nikkijxd@reddit

I go for 2nd hand as the equivalent cost per year decreases if you get one a few years old. My current car was a 2 year old cat N with 8k miles that I got cheap and my car previous was a then 3 year with 13k miles that was quite well priced. My old car cost me 2.5k to maintain over the 5 years (I got it for £7k)I had it and decreased in value by 2.5k with an additional 65k on the clock.

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barriedalenick@reddit

Well I care about getting value for money so rather than buying a brand new car, I'd go for one that is 12-18 months old and get a large discount for a slightly used item. I'm not overly concerned about what happens to the price after that but I don't see the point in buying new if I am effectively spending 1000s I don't really need to. Most new cars are sold into fleets or lease agreements

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lan0028456@reddit

Cars are expensive so depreciation is more significant in absolute amount. Plus many people would not keep the same car until it stopped working. So resale value matters. If you plan to keep a car for 5 years and sale it. For a new car you'll "lose" half of the value in 5 years. For a 5 year old car you'd bought with halfw the value will lose much less than that. For a fridge technically you could buy a used one and it would work just fine but there are limited options and you are saving juat a few hundreds max.

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Boboshady@reddit

We're weird when it comes to how we perceive value and and depreciation. Another example is how we were happy to spend $500 on a new phone every year (yes, I realise some people were not), but expect a $400 TV to last us at least a decade. Note I said 'were' because I do realise a lot of people upgrade less often now that flagship phones are $1,000+. It's also why some people swear by leasing, and some won't touch it. Dead money etc. We rarely attribute the ongoing cost of ownership, and when one does it's usually quite comparable to leasing costs, especially when the various conveniences are worked in, too.

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IntrepidMight4098@reddit

I get it if you plan to buy and sell etc, but we paid a fair chunk for cars, not new, but about 25-30k. I fully expect to drive it until it dies.

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Leading_Weather_1177@reddit

I get a car allowance which stipulates that the car can be no more than 8 years old. So I aim to buy at 3 or 4 years old and sell at 8. In my situation depreciation matters more than purchase price.

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notouttolunch@reddit

I'll keep my fridge and freezer until they quite literally break. By comparison, I changed my car relatively frequently because I'll put 50,000 mi on it in 3 years and will then sell or part exchange it because the amount of maintenance it requires will consume a lot of my time and money. The ordeal of buying a car, choosing a model and make, finding the right colour and a specification that suits your driving is quite a challenge. Buying a new car makes that much easier because you just write down exactly what you want, however, the extra 5 to £10,000 this would set you back every few years is not insignificant and in my case it wouldn't buy me any extra years with the vehicle. By comparison, my fridge cost £250 and the freezer ever so slightly more. 5 years later, fridges and freezers are generally the same, have no technological progress and are still roughly the same price.

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yiddoboy@reddit

I bought a brand new car for £24,000 and sold it 6 years later for £6,000. That's 3 grand a year on top of running costs. If I'm happy to pay that much to run a car, then fine. But I'm not, there are much cheaper ways, so since then I have bought second hand.

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Sharktistic@reddit

No I don't. My car, just like my fridge, my phone, and my TV, are all tools. They are to be used and enjoyed. This weird idea that you should be able to buy something new, enjoy it for three years, and then sell it for almost the same price that you bought it for is ridiculous. Yes there is a huge dip in the value of a car as soon as it leaves the lot, but the purchaser does get something for that money. They get a new car, and peace of mind. I always have a good idea of what a car will be worth when I have finished with it but it doesn't actually factor in to my decision on buying it in the first place. I can't do anything about it and worrying about it is just pointless.

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Benreh@reddit

Had my car over a year and it was in lovely condition, my Mrs passed her test after co driving perfectly for a year and a week later reversed the car into the house, followed by the neighbours car, what is resale value...

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Particular_Tune7990@reddit

I care only in terms of this is the reason why I won't buy a new car. My cars have always been bought at like 6 months to 3 years old when most of the depreciation has already happened and I have a (self judged admittedly) confidence that the car is basically still mostly OK. After that all my cars have been driven until they are scrap.

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CuteMaterial8497@reddit

If you think depreciation on cars is bad wait until you see the depreciation on my food bill. No one wants second hand it seems

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