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The Daily Insight

Why does a car depreciate after driving off the lot?

Author

Henry Morales

Published Feb 22, 2026

Why do cars depreciate? Cars, as well as any other piece of equipment used, depreciate because they’re a resource that loses its value through gradual wear and tear. The more mileage your car racks up, the higher the probability of you having to pay to fix or maintain something.

Do used cars depreciate when you drive off the lot?

A new car depreciates or loses value almost immediately after you drive it off a dealer’s lot. As a quick rule of thumb, a car will lose between 15% and 20% of its value each year according to Bankrate.com.

How quickly do cars depreciate?

New cars depreciate faster than used cars, with the value of a new car typically dropping by over 20% after the first year ownership then continuing to depreciate by 10% or so each year after that. After five years, your car could be worth roughly half of what you initially paid for it.

What’s the best way to depreciate a car?

Depreciation deduction methods There are two basic methods to depreciate a vehicle: the straight-line method which gives you equal deductions each year except for the first and last year; and accelerated depreciation, which provides you with larger deductions the first few years you own your car.

When does depreciation start on a new car?

New cars lose about 14 percent of the value within the first three years of ownership and up to 60 percent in five years. Thankfully, there are things that you can do to reduce your vehicle’s depreciation before and after buying it. What is Car Depreciation?

Which is the most depreciated car in the world?

The research prepared by iSeeCars enables you also to find cars that depreciate the most. On the top of the list of the vehicles that lose their value the fastest, you will find mainly alternative-fuel vehicles: Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and Ford Fusion Energy.

Can a depreciation deduction be taken on a business vehicle?

The vehicle depreciation deduction allows you to write off that value. You can’t take this deduction if you’ve already deducted business drives, though. That’s because the standard mileage rate already factors in depreciation.