Depreciation
Depreciation Against Every Other Cost, Side by Side
Add up every published figure and depreciation is 64 per cent of the annual bill at low mileage. The measured curve also says year one is not the worst year.
Owners budget for servicing, insurance, tyres and fuel because those arrive as invoices. The largest cost never does. Setting the published figures from across this site side by side on one car at 250,000, depreciation is 64.1 per cent of the annual total at 2,000 miles a year and 47.9 per cent at 10,000. Everything else combined is the smaller half.
Everything on one page
| Cost | At 2,000 miles | Share | At 10,000 miles | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depreciation, year one | 15,000 | 64.1 % | 15,000 | 47.9 % |
| Insurance | 3,125 | 13.4 % | 3,125 | 10.0 % |
| Scheduled service | 2,925 | 12.5 % | 2,925 | 9.4 % |
| Fuel | 1,275 | 5.4 % | 6,373 | 20.4 % |
| Tyres | 375 | 1.6 % | 375 | 1.2 % |
| Clutch | 354 | 1.5 % | 1,770 | 5.7 % |
| Brakes, steel | 343 | 1.5 % | 1,714 | 5.5 % |
| Total | 23,397 | 100 % | 31,283 | 100 % |
Three lines account for 90 per cent of the low mileage total: depreciation, insurance and scheduled servicing. Tyres, clutch and brakes together are 4.6 per cent, which is roughly the share of attention they receive multiplied by ten.
Across three years, where the studies actually reach
Year one is a snapshot. The published supercar curve covers three years, so the honest comparison runs over that period. Depreciation of 20 per cent on a 250,000 car is 50,000.
| Line | At 2,000 miles a year | At 10,000 miles a year |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation over three years | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| Everything else, three years | 25,190 | 48,848 |
| Total | 75,190 | 98,848 |
| Depreciation share | 66.5 % | 50.6 % |
Even on a car covering 10,000 miles a year, which is a great deal for this class, depreciation is still slightly more than half of everything spent.
The finding hidden in the curve
The received wisdom is that the first year is the worst. On the measured supercar figures it is not. The study puts the loss at about 6 per cent after one year and 20 per cent after three, which means years two and three together account for 14 points, or 7 points each.
| Period | Loss | In money |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | 6 points | 15,000 |
| Years two and three | 14 points | 35,000 |
| Each of years two and three | 7 points | 17,500 |
On these figures each of years two and three costs 2,500 more in depreciation than year one did. That runs against the shape most owners assume and against the shape of the ordinary car market, and the likeliest explanation is the one the study itself points at: launch demand and allocation premiums hold the first year up, and both unwind afterwards.
It also has a practical consequence for anyone planning a short ownership. A one year hold on a well received model is not the expensive proposition it appears to be. A three year hold carries the full 20 per cent, most of it after the first anniversary.
What is controllable, ranked
- Which model, and what was paid. A car that holds value against one that does not can differ by 20 percentage points over three years, and a premium over list is lost before depreciation starts. On a 250,000 car that is up to 50,000, decided on the day of purchase.
- How long it is kept. The annual loss falls in each year after the third on a normally produced car, so a longer hold lowers the average.
- How far it is driven. Counterintuitively, driving more lowers the cost per mile of every calendar based line, and adds only 0.986 per mile in fuel, clutch and brakes.
- Where the work is done. Real money, at a published 2.27 multiple between dealer and specialist on one job, and still a rounding error against the first item on this list.
Questions readers ask
What share of supercar running costs is depreciation?
On a 250,000 car at published midpoints, 64.1 per cent of the annual total at 2,000 miles a year and 47.9 per cent at 10,000. Over three years it is 66.5 and 50.6 per cent respectively.
Is the first year the worst for depreciation?
Not on the measured supercar figures. The published curve is about 6 per cent after one year and 20 per cent after three, so years two and three carry 14 points between them, 7 points each, which is 17,500 a year against 15,000 in year one.
Why would year two cost more than year one?
Launch demand and any premium over list support the price early and unwind afterwards. The study reads the early strength as a supply effect rather than a durable one.
What are the other big costs?
Insurance at 3,125 and scheduled servicing at 2,925 a year on these figures. Together with depreciation they are about 90 per cent of the annual total at low mileage. Tyres, clutch and brakes together are 4.6 per cent.
Does driving less save money?
In total yes, by 7,886 a year between 10,000 and 2,000 miles, and it raises the cost per mile from 3.13 to 11.70 because the calendar based costs are unchanged. Less use makes the car cheaper to own and much more expensive to use.
What single decision matters most?
Which model, at what price. A 20 percentage point spread over three years on a 250,000 car is 50,000, larger than three years of every other cost combined at low mileage, and it is settled before the first service.
Sources
- Hagerty UK, modern supercar depreciation, published 19 May 2021, for the 6 per cent one year and 20 per cent three year figures and the per model spread behind the 20 point range.
- Bavarian Rennsport, Huracán maintenance costs over five years, for the service tiers, tyre and brake figures behind the maintenance lines.
- Norton Insurance, how much does supercar insurance cost, published 13 July 2026, for the 1 to 1.5 per cent of insured value benchmark behind the insurance line.