Used Car Value Calculator

Used Car Value Calculator estimating private-sale and trade-in values from your model’s 5-year loss in the iSeeCars study, adjusted for miles, condition, and your state tax credit.

Used Car Value Calculator From Real Depreciation Data

The Used Car Value Calculator estimates what your car would sell for privately, what a dealer is likely to offer on trade, and what the trade is worth once your state’s sales tax credit is counted. It starts from the actual five-year value loss for your model, then adjusts for mileage, condition and accident history. Use it before you look up the big pricing guides, so you know what range to expect.

Pick the make, model and year, then enter the odometer reading and condition. Picking a model fills in its typical price new, which you can raise for a higher trim, and the second panel adds title history, your state and the price of your next car, which sets the trade-in tax credit. All values are in US dollars and miles.

Where the Starting Value Comes From

The model data comes from the iSeeCars 2026 depreciation study. It analyzed more than 950,000 five-year-old used cars sold from March 2025 to February 2026. The average car lost 41.8% of its value in five years, 3.8 points better than in 2025.

The spread between models is huge, more than 50 percentage points from best to worst. The table runs the same $30,000 price new through four of the study’s figures to show what that means five years later.

By segment, iSeeCars found electric vehicles lose 57.2%, while trucks lose 34.2% and hybrids 35.4%. For models outside the list, the calculator uses those segment averages, so an unlisted EV starts from 57.2% and an unlisted pickup from 34.2%.

iSeeCars also gives each model’s dollar loss, and the calculator works back from it to the price new. The RAV4 lost $7,731, which at 25.2% points to a price new of about $30,700. A 2021 RAV4 valued in 2026 is treated as five and a half years old, and it keeps about 75.4% of that price, or $23,139 privately.

Mileage Against the FHWA Average

The benchmark for mileage is the FHWA figure of 13,476 miles per driver per year. The same table shows how much that varies, from 16,550 miles for the average man to 10,142 for the average woman and 7,646 for drivers over 65.

The calculator compares your odometer with 13,476 miles times the car’s age. It adds about 2% for each 10,000 miles under that and takes 2% off for each 10,000 over, capped at 25% either way. That rate is the calculator’s own convention, not a published standard.

The default RAV4 would be expected to show about 74,118 miles at five and a half years. At 60,000 it is 14,118 miles under, which adds about $635 to its value. The same car at 120,000 miles would be over by nearly 46,000 and lose about 9% for mileage.

Condition and Accident History

Condition moves the estimate by the calculator’s own settings. Excellent adds 8%, very good adds 3% and fair takes 12% off, with good as the baseline. On the default RAV4, marking it fair instead of good takes about $2,780 off the private value.

A reported accident takes 7% off for minor damage and 20% for major damage, and a rebuilt or salvage title takes 35% off. CARFAX builds its own value on this kind of history, tied to the car’s VIN. The alert flags that many dealers will not take a rebuilt title on trade at all.

Trade-In, Private Sale and the Tax Credit

The calculator sets a typical dealer offer at 77% of private value, which is its own convention. Real gaps vary by car. On the Edmunds forums, a 2005 Acura MDX with 84,000 miles was put at $3,000 to $3,500 on trade and about $6,000 selling privately, so older cars often trade in well below 77%.

In states that credit the trade-in, tax narrows that gap. The Texas Comptroller charges motor vehicle tax on the sales price less the trade-in. On a $35,000 next car, the default $17,817 trade saves $1,114 of tax, which makes it worth $18,931.

California gives no such credit, since the CDTFA taxes the full price regardless of the trade. The out-the-door price calculator shows how the trade and its tax credit change the total you pay for the next car.

Used Car Value Questions

Why do KBB, Edmunds and other guides give different values?

Each guide uses different data, and CarGurus explains that Kelley Blue Book gathers weekly data from wholesalers, dealers and private sales, while CARFAX leans on vehicle history. CarGurus itself analyzes over a million listings daily, and J.D. Power, which now owns NADA, uses dealer sales, auctions and manufacturer data.

Edmunds bases its value on dealer transactions, including CarMax’s, since CarMax has owned Edmunds since June 2021. Consumer Reports uses Black Book, which is updated weekly from auctions and retail sales. Because each guide sees a different slice of the market, the calculator’s alert suggests checking several and pricing near their average.

Do options and upgrades raise a used car’s value?

Usually by less than they cost. Consumer Reports notes that used-car shoppers focus on basic transportation and budget, so optional equipment and packages often add little or nothing at trade-in or private sale.

Trim level is different, because a higher trim starts at a higher price new. Raise the price-new field for the trim, but leave dealer add-ons out of it, since Consumer Reports’ point applies to those too.

How is an insurance total-loss value different?

An insurer values a totaled car from recent sales of comparable cars near you, not from a pricing guide. The insurer then adds or leaves out tax and fees depending on your state.

The Total Loss Calculator takes that value and a repair estimate to show whether the car would be totaled. If you still owe more than the car is worth, the Gap Coverage Calculator shows what would be left on the loan.