Used vs New Cost
Compare the cost of buying used versus new, including depreciation.
About Used vs New Cost
A new item loses value fastest in its first years, so a used purchase avoids much of that while retaining most of the useful life. Buying used captures value lost in someone else's ownership period, which is the core financial argument for used goods.
Formula
Used vs New Cost
Compare ownership cost after depreciation for new vs used
- depreciation
- Annual value decline
Worked example
With the default values below, Used vs New Cost returns New After Depreciation of $11,122.20. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- New price
- 30,000
- Used price
- 18,000
- New yearly depreciationaccepts 0–50 %
- 18 %
- Years ownedminimum 1
- 5
Results
- New After Depreciation
- $11,122.20
- Used After Depreciation
- $10,164.75
- Savings with Used
- $957.44
- Percent Saved
- 8.61%
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Used vs New Cost
- 3New After Depreciation= 11,122.20
- 4Used After Depreciation= 10,164.75
- 5Savings with Used= 957.44
- 6Percent Saved= 8.61
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Used vs New Cost calculated?
Compare ownership cost after depreciation for new vs used A new item loses value fastest in its first years, so a used purchase avoids much of that while retaining most of the useful life.
Why does Used vs New Cost matter?
Buying used captures value lost in someone else's ownership period, which is the core financial argument for used goods.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 4 inputs: New price, Used price, New yearly depreciation, Years owned. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.