Car depreciation & the best time to buy
A new car loses about 41.8% of its value in five years — and most of that drop happens in the first two or three. So the cheapest way to own almost any car is to let someone else eat the cliff: buy it a few years old, hold it through the flat years, then sell. Using real year-by-year resale data plus typical upkeep, we compute each model's own best buy age — it isn't the same for every car. Here's the cost, by model. Every car page includes a depreciation chart and estimated resale values by model year.
Estimates as of July 2026.
| # | Model | Type | ~New price | 5‑yr depreciation | Best age to buy | $/yr if bought new | $/yr at best age | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda Accord | Sedan | $33,500 | 33.4% | 2 yr | $2,550 | $1,651 | 35.2% |
| 2 | Toyota Tundra | Truck | $52,000 | 23.9% | 4 yr | $2,958 | $1,708 | 42.3% |
| 3 | Toyota Camry | Sedan | $32,000 | 30.7% | 2 yr | $2,267 | $1,844 | 18.7% |
| 4 | Honda Civic | Sedan | $28,000 | 29.8% | New | $1,956 | $1,956 | 0% |
| 5 | Honda CR-V | SUV | $36,000 | 35.3% | 4 yr | $2,859 | $1,961 | 31.4% |
| 6 | Subaru Crosstrek | SUV | $30,500 | 29.2% | 3 yr | $2,165 | $1,977 | 8.7% |
| 7 | Toyota Tacoma | Truck | $40,000 | 21.3% | New | $2,077 | $2,077 | 0% |
| 8 | Tesla Model 3 | EV | $42,000 | 43% | 3 yr | $3,924 | $2,399 | 38.9% |
| 9 | Toyota RAV4 | SUV | $36,000 | 30.4% | New | $2,523 | $2,523 | 0% |
| 10 | Nissan Leaf | EV | $33,500 | 69% | 4 yr | $5,206 | $2,572 | 50.6% |
| 11 | Toyota Sienna | Hybrid | $46,600 | 25.8% | New | $2,837 | $2,837 | 0% |
| 12 | Jeep Wrangler | SUV | $50,000 | 40.6% | 4 yr | $4,601 | $2,971 | 35.4% |
| 13 | Chevrolet Corvette | Sports | $82,000 | 22% | 2 yr | $4,183 | $3,062 | 26.8% |
| 14 | Ram 1500 | Truck | $63,500 | 50.1% | 2 yr | $6,902 | $3,123 | 54.8% |
| 15 | Toyota 4Runner | SUV | $50,000 | 28.2% | New | $3,221 | $3,221 | 0% |
| 16 | Toyota Highlander | SUV | $47,300 | 36.3% | 1 yr | $3,815 | $3,429 | 10.1% |
| 17 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | SUV | $45,000 | 48.1% | 6 yr | $4,848 | $3,847 | 20.7% |
| 18 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | Truck | $57,900 | 44.8% | 1 yr | $5,745 | $4,168 | 27.4% |
| 19 | Tesla Model Y | EV | $51,400 | 51.4% | 1 yr | $5,933 | $4,355 | 26.6% |
| 20 | Ford F-150 | Truck | $53,000 | 35.5% | New | $4,378 | $4,378 | 0% |
| 21 | Audi A6 | Luxury | $66,000 | 63.5% | 5 yr | $9,094 | $4,579 | 49.6% |
| 22 | BMW 7 Series | Luxury | $100,000 | 61% | 6 yr | $12,861 | $5,538 | 56.9% |
| 23 | BMW X5 | Luxury | $74,000 | 55.4% | 4 yr | $9,109 | $5,671 | 37.7% |
| 24 | Maserati Ghibli | Luxury | $88,000 | 71.6% | 4 yr | $13,772 | $6,002 | 56.4% |
| 25 | BMW X7 | Luxury | $92,700 | 59% | 5 yr | $12,187 | $7,557 | 38% |
| 26 | Porsche 911 | Sports | $140,000 | 25% | New | $7,836 | $7,836 | 0% |
"$/yr" is the all‑in cost of owning for five years — depreciation plus typical maintenance — buying new vs. buying at the model's best age. "Best age to buy" is the age that minimizes that figure for each car (computed, not fixed), and the table is ranked by it. How we estimate this →
Frequently asked questions
Which cars depreciate the least?
Of the models we track, Toyota Tacoma holds value best — about 21.3% lost over 5 years versus a ~41.8% market average. The full ranking above sorts by what each model actually costs per year to own.
Why is a 3-year-old car the sweet spot?
Depreciation is front-loaded: a typical car sheds ~30% in its first three years, then only a few percent a year. Buying after the cliff and holding through the flat years minimizes cost per year — usually 45–58% cheaper than buying new, depending on the model.