Car Depreciation & Resale Value Calculator
A new car sheds value fastest in its first two years, and how fast depends on segment and fuel more than brand. This car depreciation calculator estimates resale value year by year, compares it with the insurer's IDV schedule, and finds the best year to sell. Treat it as a planning estimate, not a live used-car valuation.
Your car
Fills the base-variant ex-showroom price — adjust the segment if the guess is off.
Depreciation conventionally runs on the ex-showroom price — road tax and insurance paid at purchase don't come back at resale.
Assumes: ex-showroom price basis, SUV segment, petrol, average running (8,000–15,000 km/year), value after 5 years — edit above.
Depreciation formula: Estimated resale value = ex-showroom price × the retention curve for your segment, fuel and car age, adjusted for annual running.
Year-by-year depreciation table
The table opens with a worked example — a ₹10.00 Lakh (ex-showroom) petrol SUV on average running — and recalculates live as you change the inputs above. Values are midpoint estimates rounded to the nearest ₹1,000; the headline range applies around each of them.
| Year | Estimated value | ₹ lost that year | Cumulative loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ₹10,00,000 | — | 0% |
| 1 | ₹8,60,000 | ₹1,40,000 | 14% |
| 2 | ₹7,90,000 | ₹70,000 | 21% |
| 3 | ₹7,20,000 | ₹70,000 | 28% |
| 4 | ₹6,60,000 | ₹60,000 | 34% |
| 5 | ₹6,00,000 | ₹60,000 | 40% |
| 6 | ₹5,40,000 | ₹60,000 | 46% |
| 7 | ₹4,90,000 | ₹50,000 | 51% |
| 8 | ₹4,40,000 | ₹50,000 | 56% |
| 9 | ₹4,00,000 | ₹40,000 | 60% |
| 10 | ₹3,60,000 | ₹40,000 | 64% |
Showing: ₹10,00,000 ex-showroom · SUV · Petrol · average running.
Car depreciation rate in India, segment by segment
The table shows how much of its ex-showroom price a typical petrol car retains at each age — the same curves the calculator uses (curves reviewed 2026-07). Diesel runs a few points lower from year 5 onwards, CNG a few points higher in the early years, and EVs fall faster in years 1–3 — switch fuels in the calculator to see each curve.
| Car age | Hatchback | Sedan | SUV | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| After 1 year | 85% | 84% | 86% | 77% |
| After 3 years | 70% | 69% | 72% | 57% |
| After 5 years | 58% | 56% | 60% | 44% |
| After 7 years | 47% | 45% | 49% | 34% |
| After 10 years | 34% | 32% | 36% | 23% |
% of ex-showroom price retained, petrol variants, average running — modeled estimates, not quotes for a specific car.
IRDAI IDV depreciation schedule
IDV (Insured Declared Value) is what your insurer pays on total loss or theft, and it follows a fixed depreciation schedule on the ex-showroom price — not the used-car market. A brand-new car's IDV starts near 95% of ex-showroom (the 0–6 month band below), which is exactly how insurers quote first-year policies.
| Age of car | IDV depreciation | IDV as % of ex-showroom |
|---|---|---|
| 0–6 months | 5% | 95% |
| 6 months–1 year | 15% | 85% |
| 1–2 years | 20% | 80% |
| 2–3 years | 30% | 70% |
| 3–4 years | 40% | 60% |
| 4–5 years | 50% | 50% |
| 5+ years | Negotiable between insurer and owner | |
Standard IRDAI age-band schedule for private cars. Beyond 5 years, IDV is set by agreement between insurer and owner at renewal.
The schedule is also why a zero-depreciation add-on exists — it pays claims at part value without applying these cuts. Our zero-depreciation insurance guide covers when it is worth the premium.
How is car depreciation calculated in India?
There is no single official market-depreciation formula — this calculator models it as value = ex-showroom price × segment retention at that age × a usage adjustment, with retention curves anchored to the IRDAI IDV bands at the young end and to published used-car segment guides at the old end. The convention matters: depreciation runs on ex-showroom, because the road tax, registration and first-year insurance inside an on-road price are not resellable. The one formula that is fixed is the insurer's IDV schedule above — a flat percentage by age band, regardless of condition.
Which cars hold their value best?
Segment first: in our curves a petrol SUV retains about 60% of its ex-showroom price after 5 years, a petrol hatchback about 58%, while a luxury car keeps only around 44% — big-ticket badges fall hardest and earliest. Within a segment, brand factors decide the rest: a wide service network, cheap and available parts, and strong new-car waiting lists all prop up used prices. That is why high-demand mainstream models routinely beat these averages. See our detailed pages on Hyundai Aura, Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Venue for variant-level prices to feed into the calculator.
Petrol vs diesel resale: the NCR 10-year rule
Delhi-NCR bans diesel cars older than 10 years (petrol gets 15), and the effect shows up nationwide because NCR is a huge used-car market: our diesel curves run steeper after year 5, ending near 26% retention at year 10 for an SUV against 36% for petrol. If you drive enough kilometres, diesel's lower running cost can still win — but plan to sell a diesel by year 6–8 rather than holding it to the deadline, when the buyer pool shrinks to non-NCR states only.
Depreciation vs IDV: why the insurer's value is lower
Market depreciation prices what a buyer would pay; IDV prices what the insurer will settle. IDV follows the fixed IRDAI schedule — down to 50% of ex-showroom by year five — while a well-kept car usually trades above that, so the two numbers diverge by design. Never read IDV as your resale estimate: it caps a claim, and you can negotiate a higher declared IDV (for a higher premium) if the schedule undervalues your car.
When should you sell a car?
Years 4–6 are the sweet spot for most cars: the brutal early drops are behind you (a petrol SUV goes from 66% retention at year 4 to 54% at year 6 — a far gentler slide than year 1 alone), yet the car is still new enough for easy used-car finance and strong buyer demand. Hold much past year 7 and you keep the car through its slowest-depreciating but hardest-to-sell phase; sell before year 3 and you eat the steepest part of the curve yourself. Diesels in or near NCR are the exception — exit earlier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will a car be worth after 3, 5 and 7 years?
For a ₹10 lakh petrol SUV on our current curves: about ₹7.20 Lakh after 3 years, ₹6.00 Lakh after 5 years and ₹4.90 Lakh after 7 years — roughly 72%, 60% and 49% of the original price. Hatchbacks shed value a little faster, diesel retention depends heavily on local ban rules, and luxury cars fall fastest of all. Enter your own price, segment and fuel above for the full year-by-year table.
How much does a car's value drop after 5 years?
A mainstream petrol car typically retains 45–55% of its ex-showroom price after 5 years; diesels and luxury cars retain less. The steepest single drop is year one — around 15–20% the moment the car is registered.
Why is the first-year depreciation so steep?
A registered car becomes "used" regardless of mileage — the next buyer can't claim the new-car warranty start date, the registration clock has started, and GST/road tax paid on the new purchase isn't recoverable. That structural gap, not wear, is the first-year drop.
Why is the insurer's IDV lower than what my car sells for?
IDV follows the IRDAI depreciation schedule — a fixed percentage by age band, ending at 50% by year five — and it is a claims-settlement ceiling, not a market estimate. A well-kept car usually trades above its IDV; you can also negotiate a higher declared IDV for a higher premium.
Does colour really affect resale value?
Yes, modestly. White, silver and grey resell fastest in India and hold a few percent more value; loud or rare colours narrow the buyer pool. Condition, ownership count and service history still matter far more.
Why can't a calculator tell me my exact resale price?
Because the last 20% of a used car's price is condition, city, ownership count, accident history and season — things only an inspection can price. This tool gives the honest range a normal car of that age and segment lands in; a marketplace quote prices your specific car.
Data Sources & Methodology
Depreciation curves are modelled segment by segment and fuel by fuel from retention bands in published Indian used-car listing and resale data, and sanity-checked against the insurer IDV schedule. The IDV comparison itself follows the age-band depreciation table insurers use to fix IDV under the Indian Motor Tariff (General Regulation 8). This is a planning estimate, not a live valuation: it does not model your city's demand, ownership count, accident or service history, or condition — an inspection prices those.
Estimates, not quotes. Computed from published state tax slabs, IRDAI-notified insurance rates and daily fuel price feeds; your dealer or lender's final figure can differ.
