Car depreciation opinions

[rick28]

Hi all

I'm getting a little bored of my 04 A3 TDI now so I have been looking at the A4 Black Editions or the slightly older B8 Special Editions and I like what I see immensely (more so the Black Editions). I've never really been one to buy brand new so I would be looking at something up to 2 years old really. My question is, is there an optimal time to purchase a 2nd hand car in terms of there being a most cost effective time, when the car has already lost significant value? I want a car that will retain as much value as possible for next trade in in 5 years.

In 5 years from now, what can I expect an 11 plate A4 Black Edition to be worth? Bearing in mind, new models coming out before then etc.

I was looking at a depreciation calculator on What Car which reckons a A4 136 Black Edition with a brand new price of £30160 is worth just £16k after 1 year (wish they were!!). This cant be right, and certainly not when it comes to looking at these cars at 1 year old as they are around the 25k mark

http://www.whatcar.com/Advice/DepreciationIndexDelete?edition1=36919&edition2=6224&remove=6224

Its such a difficult choice too, theres the newer 136 engine, then the 143 engine on the slightly older one, or the 170, and then Quattro (but these seem expensive and less choice in the 2nd hand market)

 

[Audi Dynamik]

hello, if i were you i would ignore the depreciation calculators, if you got an a4 black edition for 5 years and you kept it in the best condition nice and clean not over high mileage and audi service history and sold it in 5 years private i would say you would get alot of money for it still if it is in good nick,

 

[audigex]

As a rule of thumb you lose half the value over 3 years/30k.

This tends to work out as about 25% after a year, and about another 12.5% for the next couple of years. Then you tend to lose about a further 10% a year.

It's all rough and depends on supply vs demand, but it tends to work. I'd generally aim for over a year old, but under 3 - you want some warranty remaining in case you notice something that the previous owner didn't.