the average new car loses 10% of its value as soon as you purchase it. So if you buy a $20,000 new car, and then its wrecked a week later, youre only going to get $18,000 from the insurance company because thats all the car is worth.The depreciation continues as you drive it. After four years, the typical new car has lost an astounding 50% of its initial value. To put that into concrete terms, a new car that you buy for $30,000 will be worth only $15,000 in four years. Youve watched $15,000 in value simply disappear. Thats equivalent to $75 each week in lost value. Can you imagine pulling $75 out of your wallet every Monday morning and tossing it your window as you drive to work? If you borrow money to buy that new car, the problem is even worse. The value of the car falls quickly, often much more quickly than the balance on your loan. Its very common for new car buyers to end up underwater on their loans, owing more money to the bank than the car is worth. If you have a bad wreck or other financial emergency in life, this debt liability can leave you very dangerously exposed. So, lets review. When you buy a new car, you lose 10% of the value of your purchase immediately, and 50% after four years. But past that four-year mark, the depreciation of the car slows down to a much more reasonable rate. Which means that you can buy a four-year-old used car, drive it for a few years, and then turn around and sell it for a price thats reasonably close to what you spent on it. In other words, the first four years are the most expensive years in the life of a vehicle. If you buy a new car, youre paying a huge premium for that new car smell, or for the bragging rights, prestige and excitement that you associate with owning a new vehicle. Sadly, that four-year mark is exactly the time when many people start itching to upgrade so they start the process all over again. The new car habit turns into a vicious cycle youre always paying top dollar for the premium years of car ownership. At the end of your driving career, you will have paid tens of thousands of dollars in extra money just for the enjoyment you get in having a new car.
Repost from the other topic
to be fair, this is more of an argument for used than buying/leasing though (unless you trade up all the time)