<prompt> Human: I bought a 2015 Honda Accord for a total loan balance of 29k. After a year, Im down to 23k. The interest on this loan is 3.97. I know purchasing new is not the way to go, but I was 21 with a 50k salary living free with my parents. The Accord is a SUPER gas 36mpg highway economical car and Hondas are great at retaining value. The question is: When is the best time to sell the car for optimal least amount of money lost gains? Wouldnt it make more sense to sell it after 4-5years for 10k instead of 4k after 10 years? Even though now that Im a homeowner I think my next car will be a used suv or truck, I love all the features new cars come with so I might end up buying new in the end again. EDIT: It looks like Ill be keeping my car for at least 10 years since Id be losing less money that way. The tough part will be not getting seduced by new cars and their latest features. Im all about safety and appreciate that the Accord was a top safety pick. But cars are starting to drive themselves and brake when an accident is sensed. This might be tough for me not to bite in the 10 year span.  <response>: The older a car gets, the less it depreciates. You observed that youre down 6k after a year. This next year, youll probably be down more like 3-4k. Once youre past 150k miles or so, your cars value will hardly decrease at all as long as its still running well.From a strictly financial standpoint, youre best off holding on to the car until some very expensive component breaks that makes it uneconomical to repair. There are other perfectly valid reasons to want to replace a car, though, such as concerns about safety or reliability, or needing a different sort of car due to changes in lifestyle or location, or just getting bored of your old car. 