🧰 ToolPicoAll Tools →

HomeBlogWhat's new: reference table + currency toggle

New in the Car Depreciation Calculator: Model Reference Table + Currency Toggle

Two small but genuinely useful additions just landed on the car depreciation calculator: a named-model reference table for spotting strong and weak resale performers at a glance, and a currency display toggle for anyone thinking in pounds or euros instead of dollars. Here's exactly what changed and how to use each one.

In this guide

The calculator's core job hasn't changed: enter a purchase price and age (or a current value, or an asking price) and get a modeled depreciation estimate. But two additions now sit right on the same page, aimed at two different reader questions — "which actual models tend to hold value?" and "can I see this in my own currency?" Both are live now, and both are covered below.

New: the "holds value best vs. worst" model table

What's newA new Cars that hold value best vs. worst section now sits on the calculator page, listing specific, commonly-cited vehicle models at the strong and weak ends of typical 5-year value retention — not just body-style categories.

A previous piece on this blog covered category-level tendencies — trucks generally beat sedans, luxury generally depreciates faster than mainstream. That's still true, but it left a gap: readers who wanted an actual named model to compare against, not just a body style. The new table closes that gap with a short, curated list of roughly 10 to 20 real, widely-discussed models, each tagged by category and a typical 5-year retention range.

The table lives in a new section on the calculator page, reachable directly from the Best/Worst link in the page's top navigation, right alongside the existing Reference tables for retained value by age and by vehicle type. Rows commonly cited as strong resale performers are visually flagged (shown in green), and rows commonly cited as faster-depreciating are flagged separately (shown in red), so you can scan the list quickly instead of reading every line.

How to use it: Find your model, or the closest comparable one, in the table. If it's flagged as a strong holder, try running the calculator with the Depreciation rate set to "Low" for that vehicle type; if it's flagged as a fast depreciator, try "High" instead. The table itself is a reference for direction, not a replacement for the calculator's own output.

Worth being direct about the nature of this data: it's an illustrative, rounded reference drawn from the kind of figures commonly cited in used-vehicle resale-value roundups, not a live pricing feed pulled from current listings. Treat it the same way you'd treat any general buying-guide table — a strong starting signal, not a certified number for the exact trim and mileage you're looking at.

New: the $ / £ / € currency toggle

What's newA Display currency toggle now appears above the calculator, letting every dollar amount on the page switch between $ USD, £ GBP, and € EUR with one click.

This directly answers a workaround mentioned in an earlier post on this blog, which suggested manually converting your purchase price into dollars before typing it in. That workaround is no longer necessary for simply viewing results in a different currency symbol — the toggle sits right at the top of the page, above the calculator card, as three buttons labeled $ USD, £ GBP, and € EUR, with USD selected by default.

Click either of the other two and every dollar figure shown on the page — the input placeholders, the big result number, the year-by-year value breakdown, the reference tables — switches its symbol accordingly. It's a straightforward one-click switch, not a settings menu buried somewhere.

Important distinction: This is a display toggle, not a live currency converter. It changes which symbol and formatting convention is shown; it does not pull a real-time GBP/USD or EUR/USD exchange rate to convert the number underneath. The depreciation math itself is percentage-based and currency-agnostic by nature, so the toggle doesn't need to touch the calculation at all — only the presentation layer.

In practice, that means if you enter a purchase price of 30,000 and switch the display to euros, you'll see "€30,000" — the digits stay the same, only the symbol changes. If your original price was actually quoted in a different currency, you'd still want to convert that number yourself first, the same way the earlier guide suggested; the toggle just saves you from having to remember which symbol to write in afterward.

Using both together

These two additions pair naturally. Say you're comparing your own vehicle against the new reference table and you think in pounds rather than dollars: switch the currency toggle to £ GBP first, then run your purchase price and age through the calculator, and skim the model table for your closest match. Every number on the page — your own result and the reference figures pulled from the calculator's other sections — stays visually consistent in the currency you picked, without needing to do any mental conversion as you scroll.

Neither feature changes how the core estimate is calculated. The Vehicle type and Depreciation rate dropdowns still drive the actual depreciation curve exactly as before; the new table and toggle are additive context and display options layered on top of that same, unchanged calculation.

What hasn't changed

Worth stating plainly, since "what's new" posts can sometimes blur into "everything is different": the three calculation modes (current value, future value, find original price), the vehicle type and depreciation rate selectors, the year-by-year value breakdown, the embed code, and the share/print options are all exactly as they were. Nothing about how the underlying percentage curve is computed has been touched — these two additions sit next to that calculation, not inside it.

See the new features live

Try the currency toggle and browse the model reference table for yourself — free, instant, no sign-up.

Try the free Car Depreciation Calculator →

Frequently asked questions

What are the two newest features added to the car depreciation calculator?
The two newest additions are a curated "Cars that hold value best vs. worst" reference table listing specific commonly-cited models, and a currency display toggle that switches every dollar figure in the calculator between $, £, and €.
Does the new currency toggle change the actual depreciation math?
No. The toggle only changes how amounts are displayed — the underlying declining-percentage depreciation curve is calculated the same way regardless of which currency symbol is shown. It is a display convenience, not a currency conversion using live exchange rates.
How specific is the new "holds value best vs. worst" table compared to before?
It goes a level deeper than category-level tendencies. Instead of just grouping by body style, it lists named, commonly-cited individual models at the strong and weak ends of typical 5-year retained value, so you can compare a specific model rather than just a body style.
Where do I find the new reference table on the calculator page?
Scroll to the "Cars that hold value best vs. worst" section on the calculator page, reachable directly via the Best/Worst link in the page's top navigation. It sits below the existing retained-value-by-age and by-vehicle-type reference tables.
Do the new features affect the existing Vehicle type and Depreciation rate settings?
No, both are additive. The Vehicle type and Depreciation rate dropdowns still control the calculation exactly as before; the new reference table and currency toggle sit alongside them as extra context and display options, not replacements.
Methodology note: This article describes features present in the car depreciation calculator as of publication. The reference table's figures are illustrative and rounded, based on commonly-cited patterns in used-vehicle resale discussions, not a live pricing feed or a statistical study. They are provided for general informational purposes only, are not financial advice, and should not replace checking a specific vehicle's actual market listings before a purchase or sale decision.