By 1995, it took 27 weeks. Luxury cars and sport utility vehicles have the highest depreciation. Many people are leasing cars now, and this can work to your advantage. If someone leases a new car for a couple of years, they eat the depreciation and then the car goes back to the dealer they leased it from, and usually goes on sale as a used car. This is a good way to pick up a late-model used car that someone else has already eaten the depreciation on.
New cars depreciate the fastest in the first couple of years, and then the rate eases up.
Some cars that are only a few years old are also still covered by their manufacturer's warranty, which can oftentimes be extended up to 100,000 miles or sometimes even to the life of the car. The only value of a new car is simply vanity and sheer luxury, and more Americans seem to be realizing this. So, used cars are not as dicey of a proposition and they used to be, and you can easily find a late-model used car that is as clean, beautiful and warrantied as a brand new one. The only real difference is in your mind. The only reason to buy a new car is if you have the extra money to throw into a new car to enjoy it as a sheer extravagant luxury.