How much does depreciation sway your buying choices?
Discussion
Hi PH community,
I’m in my 20s and looking at buying my first sports car in the £10–15k range. It’ll be a daily, probably 12–15k miles a year, and I’d expect to keep it around 5 years.
How much do you usually factor depreciation into the decision when comparing cars like this? Do you properly try to estimate it up front, or is it more of a “rough feel” thing?
At the moment I’m leaning towards something like a Mazda MX-5 RF or a GT86, but struggling to tell how much the long-term cost difference actually matters.
Interested to hear how others approach it.
Cheers
I’m in my 20s and looking at buying my first sports car in the £10–15k range. It’ll be a daily, probably 12–15k miles a year, and I’d expect to keep it around 5 years.
How much do you usually factor depreciation into the decision when comparing cars like this? Do you properly try to estimate it up front, or is it more of a “rough feel” thing?
At the moment I’m leaning towards something like a Mazda MX-5 RF or a GT86, but struggling to tell how much the long-term cost difference actually matters.
Interested to hear how others approach it.
Cheers
I generally don't because I buy at a point where I think the main depreciation is done.
I bought a 2019 MX5 RF and managed to get the price down to where I thought it was cheap enough. It meant more miles on the clock and not a garage queen low miler but I do low miles anyway so it averages out.
You can get an early MX5 ND for well under 10k these days and when you come to sell, a 2 seater sports car with negligible storage space is going to be harder to shift so it's not just a question of depreciation, it's a question of volume of potential buyers, in a few years.
I bought a 2019 MX5 RF and managed to get the price down to where I thought it was cheap enough. It meant more miles on the clock and not a garage queen low miler but I do low miles anyway so it averages out.
You can get an early MX5 ND for well under 10k these days and when you come to sell, a 2 seater sports car with negligible storage space is going to be harder to shift so it's not just a question of depreciation, it's a question of volume of potential buyers, in a few years.
It was a minor factor for me when deciding between a Jag F-Type and an Evora. F-Type values had been dropping a few years ago, so my man maths was thinking that a £25k F-Type would be cheaper to buy but would depreciate £5k over a few years. So I spent £5k more to get the Evora which I predicted would not depreciate.
Both actually seem to have kept their value.
Ultimately I chose on dynamics.
Forget using depreciation as a metric for a heart vs head sports car choice. Go with what you gel with and what gets the pulse going (and GT86/BRZs are flawed but fab).
Both actually seem to have kept their value.
Ultimately I chose on dynamics.
Forget using depreciation as a metric for a heart vs head sports car choice. Go with what you gel with and what gets the pulse going (and GT86/BRZs are flawed but fab).
Deprecation has never been a factor in a car purchase.
You can’t predict how the market will go in 5 years time.
Buy the car you want and enjoy it.
It won’t be worthless after 5 years so you’ll get something back, but you’ll also have 5 years of enjoyment, possibly some good road trips etc.
You can’t predict how the market will go in 5 years time.
Buy the car you want and enjoy it.
It won’t be worthless after 5 years so you’ll get something back, but you’ll also have 5 years of enjoyment, possibly some good road trips etc.
It's always been really important in my choices. It's quite irrational as I can't really do anything about it apart from trying to buy well but the lower the depreciation, the more I enjoy the car, even though it's only crystallised when I sell.
I think I have done really well over the years, through a combination of luck, a bit of research and perhaps good marketing when I sell privately. It's become a sort of sideline of its own really.
I think I have done really well over the years, through a combination of luck, a bit of research and perhaps good marketing when I sell privately. It's become a sort of sideline of its own really.
It never entered my mind when I was in my 20s, I just wanted to keep moving onto the next newer and better car!
40 or so years later I still just buy what I want and if it doesn't depreciate that's just a bonus. Life's too short to worry about depreciation.
Although GT86 prices do seem to be holding up pretty well.
40 or so years later I still just buy what I want and if it doesn't depreciate that's just a bonus. Life's too short to worry about depreciation.
Although GT86 prices do seem to be holding up pretty well.
I always buy at around five or more years old, keep for 3-5 years, and do the same again. Gets me something nicer than if I was buying new. The wife gets newer cars but hangs onto them for 5 or so years so depreciation is really quite low. We both do low mileage so prefer to avoid the depreciation on a brand new car.
A little.
I'm unlikely to buy a car i know has a lot of depreciation still to come. Therefore its unlikely ill own any car newer than 10 years old... about 12 years old seems to be my sweetspot for buying.
Then once ive got it, try and hold on to it until average depreciation is £500 a year.
Bought a BMW 330d for £5k 5 years ago... that's probably depreciating £500 a year, same as my boxster.
There are a few cars if bought sensibly won't depreciated at all... early boxsters have stabilised and are now sold on condition, not age.
I'm unlikely to buy a car i know has a lot of depreciation still to come. Therefore its unlikely ill own any car newer than 10 years old... about 12 years old seems to be my sweetspot for buying.
Then once ive got it, try and hold on to it until average depreciation is £500 a year.
Bought a BMW 330d for £5k 5 years ago... that's probably depreciating £500 a year, same as my boxster.
There are a few cars if bought sensibly won't depreciated at all... early boxsters have stabilised and are now sold on condition, not age.
funky_turtle14 said:
Hi PH community,
I m in my 20s and looking at buying my first sports car in the £10 15k range. It ll be a daily, probably 12 15k miles a year, and I d expect to keep it around 5 years.
How much do you usually factor depreciation into the decision when comparing cars like this? Do you properly try to estimate it up front, or is it more of a rough feel thing?
At the moment I m leaning towards something like a Mazda MX-5 RF or a GT86, but struggling to tell how much the long-term cost difference actually matters.
Interested to hear how others approach it.
Cheers
I apply the 50% every three years rule of thumb - certainly for anything someone would run as a daily driver and do those sort of miles in anyway.I m in my 20s and looking at buying my first sports car in the £10 15k range. It ll be a daily, probably 12 15k miles a year, and I d expect to keep it around 5 years.
How much do you usually factor depreciation into the decision when comparing cars like this? Do you properly try to estimate it up front, or is it more of a rough feel thing?
At the moment I m leaning towards something like a Mazda MX-5 RF or a GT86, but struggling to tell how much the long-term cost difference actually matters.
Interested to hear how others approach it.
Cheers
I used to be in the motor trade so i try to buy the right car at the right price, with the above in mind.
I tend not to go much above £30K and keep a car 2-3 years, so looking to return £15K after 3 years. If i do better than that its a bonus.
£5K pa depreciation feels tolerable.
That said, if you bought an MX5 or a GT86 then i think you'd easily beat that. I'd try to root out a low miles example given you do a bit above average. Come resale time too high a miles can be off putting to many.
Edited by Deep Thought on Tuesday 10th February 20:06
I buy cars I fancy, thinking I will roughly budget £2k a year for repairs, servicing and depreciation.
So if it's £6k and doesn't need mending, I'm happy to get 3 years out of it and any longer life or residual value is a bonus.
I work on 10 or 12 k miles a year, so I look at cars and think about how tired they will be after another 40,000 miles.
A car with 150k miles on it is going to depreciate a lot by 180k.
I'm seeing a lot of 130k mile cars looking like worse value than some 80k mile cars, when you look at dividing the price by the remaining life.
I tend to keep cars until they are worth 3 figures, and bike until they are either worth more as parts or worth more than I paid for them.
I think with EVs and all that, the world is changing so predicting value in 3 years time or whatever is bulls
t.
Also at my end of the market, a car that's £5k to buy is £2k WBAC sale value, so depreciation is not linear.
I enjoy my cars more when I've mentally got to the point of 'it doesn't owe me anything'.
So if it's £6k and doesn't need mending, I'm happy to get 3 years out of it and any longer life or residual value is a bonus.
I work on 10 or 12 k miles a year, so I look at cars and think about how tired they will be after another 40,000 miles.
A car with 150k miles on it is going to depreciate a lot by 180k.
I'm seeing a lot of 130k mile cars looking like worse value than some 80k mile cars, when you look at dividing the price by the remaining life.
I tend to keep cars until they are worth 3 figures, and bike until they are either worth more as parts or worth more than I paid for them.
I think with EVs and all that, the world is changing so predicting value in 3 years time or whatever is bulls
t.Also at my end of the market, a car that's £5k to buy is £2k WBAC sale value, so depreciation is not linear.
I enjoy my cars more when I've mentally got to the point of 'it doesn't owe me anything'.
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