Since last update one month ago, I drove 1,400 miles and my car mileage is now 36,800. (For new readers of this site, I started a monthly habit to track my car value since October.)
Here is the current value of my Camry 2000 LE according to Edmunds.com:
Trade-In Value: $11,044 (Last Month = $11,353, Change = $309)
Private Party: $12,571 (Last Month = $12,864, Change = $293)
Dealer Retail: $14,281 (Last Month = $14,514, Change = $233)
I must say compared to prior months this month sees a pretty rapid drop of my car value. For comparison purpose here is a breakdown of my monthly car value record (using Trade-In Value only):
Month
|
Trade-In Value
|
Monthly Change
|
Change vs Oct 2003
|
Avg Monthly Change
|
Odometer Reading
|
Monthly Usage
|
Change vs Oct 2003
|
Value Loss Per Mile
|
Book Value
|
Trade-In as % of Book
|
Oct-03
|
$11,711
|
|
|
|
32,200
|
|
|
|
$10,050
|
117%
|
Nov-03
|
$11,628
|
$(83)
|
$(83)
|
$(83)
|
33,400
|
1,200
|
1,200
|
$(0.07)
|
$9,875
|
118%
|
Dec-03
|
$11,752
|
$124
|
$41
|
$21
|
34,100
|
700
|
1,900
|
$0.01
|
$9,700
|
121%
|
Jan-04
|
$11,353
|
$(399)
|
$(358)
|
$(119)
|
35,400
|
1,300
|
. 3,200
|
$(0.04)
|
$9,550
|
119%
|
Feb-04
|
$11,044
|
$(309)
|
$(667)
|
$(167)
|
36,800
|
1,400
|
4,600
|
$(0.04)
|
$9,400
|
117%
|
Two findings out of the table:
1) By simple math, each additional mile driven equals to 4 cents of additional depreciation. (Of course the relationship is not linear -- car value will drop over time even it is locked in the garage all the time.)
2) My bookkeeping is still conservative: the trade-in value is 17% higher than the value I reported in my monthly net worth report. (This fact is comforting that I don't over-estimate my net worth over time.)