a man touching a car

How Much is My Car Worth?

May 30, 2023

If you are buying a car, selling a car, or applying for a title loan, you may be wondering, how much is my car worth?Whether you are buying or selling, you’ll need to know how much is my car worth? Vehicle value can help sell your car for the best trade-in value, buy a car at a fair price, or minimize car depreciation in your current car.


Access the Value of Your Car with a Title Loan.


How to Calculate How Much My Car is Worth

Are you wondering, how much is my car worth? If yes, then you need to first learn about car depreciation, how it works, and how you can minimize car depreciation as much as possible. 

Car value guides are a great tool to help figure out how much is my car worth. Some of the most reputable car value guides are Kelley Blue Book, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Guide, and Edmunds. These references take into account everything that affects your car's value like car depreciation, seasonal trends, local markets, geographical region, condition, and mileage. Use these guides to figure out how much your car is worth. 

person fixing car graphic

What is Depreciation?

If you want to know how much is my car worth then you need to know how depreciation works. The minute you buy a vehicle it begins to lose its value. Your car can lose more than 10% of its original value just by driving it off the lot you bought it from. It can then drop another 20% in the first 12 months of use, and then another 10% each following year.

Depreciation Definition

How to Minimize Car Depreciation

Your car is a fixed asset that you invested in. It helps you get where you’re going and can also be sold or traded on a later date. Cars are meant to be used, and usage naturally depreciates an asset’s value. So as the life of the asset progresses, the cost of the asset, or the cost you could get for the asset, goes down. This lost cost can be viewed as depreciation expenses

Small businesses can even get a tax deduction for depreciation expenses on assets like company vehicles. This tax deduction is given for the life of the asset in the form of an annual allowance claimed as a tax income deduction. When business owners are filing tax returns each year, they’ll need to include income statements along with the accumulated depreciation to help calculate this depreciation expense. 

 You can’t completely stop the value of your car from depreciating, but you can minimize car depreciation. By using your car less, doing more maintenance, and buying vehicles that hold their value better, you can maintain your car's market value longer. 

  • Keep up with car maintenance
  • Keep car mileage down
  • Maintain overall car condition
odometer graphic

Car Depreciation Chart

The following chart calculates depreciation based on the number of years a car is in use. The longer the life of the asset (the car), the lower the cost of the asset (the value). 

car depreciation curve chart

Kelley Blue Book Trade-In Values

KBB trade-in values are from the Kelley Blue Book company. They are a company that researches and evaluates the monetary value of vehicles so you can have a comprehensive guide for answering the question, how much is my car worth. 

Kelley Blue Book Trade-In Value Variables: 

Kelley blue book trade in value variables

In Conclusion,

Get the most out of your car by taking out a Check City Title Loan. Search your vehicle in the Kelley Blue Book or Nada Guide and contact your local Check City to see what loan amounts might be available to you.