There are many different things that can affect vehicle depreciation. Some things that have an effect on how fast a vehicle depreciates are the current state of the economy and the type of car. Additionally, vehicles that have been involved in accidents, regardless of make or model, tend to have less value than those that have not. Many people say that a vehicle loses lots of value as soon as it is driven off the lot, and this is typically true for the majority of vehicles. Every mile that is added to the odometer usually takes a little bit of value away from a car.
The economy can affect vehicle depreciation either positively or negatively. A good example of this may be gas prices, which tend to fluctuate depending on the economic state of a given country. When gas prices are high, vehicles that have low gas mileage tend to depreciate faster because consumer demand for them goes down. SUVs (sport utility vehicles) are automobiles that usually get very few miles per gallon of gas. When gas prices are on the lower end, vehicles like SUVs tend to start depreciating slowly because consumer demand for them goes up.
Another thing that affects vehicle depreciation is the make and model of a particular car. If a certain brand of car has a long history of reliability, it will usually depreciate more slowly than cars with histories of multiple repairs or recalls. Cars that score well in crash tests may also depreciate more slowly than cars that score poorly. If a certain car is known for being reliable, it is likely that there will be a high consumer demand for it even after it is three or four years old. This means that car dealerships can often keep these cars for sale at profitable prices for quite a while after their initial release.
Regardless of the type or reliability of a certain vehicle, an accident is most likely going to negatively impact vehicle depreciation. Even if a certain car was involved only in a minor fender bender that was easily repaired, it could still make the car worth much less than it would be compared to identical cars in similar condition that were never involved in an accident. This is why it is important for a person buying a used car to ask about the history of the vehicle. If someone wants to buy a car to fix up and then resell for more than what was paid, a previous accident on the history of the car could make this difficult.