How the numbers are made
What “asking today” means
Asking today is the median asking price of live US used listings for that model year and trim scope, retrieved on the date shown. It is an asking price, not a sold price: dealers list high, and real transactions usually run a few percent lower. The latest refresh covered 24 models and 6,869 listings, retrieved Oct 4, 2026.
The dollar gap is original MSRP minus asking today. Percent lost is that gap divided by MSRP. Per month is the gap divided by 36.
Data source
Listing statistics come from the MarketCheck Cars API: one query per tracked model per month, asking only for aggregate statistics (count, median, 25th/75th percentile price, median miles). We never request, store or show individual listings, VINs, dealers or photos.
MSRP
Original MSRP is entered by hand from manufacturer pricing for the stated trim scope and excludes destination charges. Each car page shows its MSRP source. Most cars were sold with options, so the real first-owner loss is usually larger than shown.
Trim scoping
Some rows cover all trims of a model (for example the S-Class); these compare base MSRP to an all-trim median, which understates the loss. Where trims differ a lot in price (911, Corvette, 8 Series), the row is limited to named trims and says so on its page.
The Wait Grade
| Grade | Percent lost | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 45% or more | Strong wait — the first owner absorbed most of it; a 3-year-old is near the floor |
| B | 35–44.9% | Good wait — a typical luxury curve |
| C | 25–34.9% | Fair — waiting helps, not dramatically |
| D | 10–24.9% | Weak — buy on condition, not timing |
| F | under 10%, including negative | Waiting doesn’t help; it may ask more used than new |
The grade is a summary of percent lost — not a prediction and not a recommendation to buy.
Exclusions and small samples
- Rows with fewer than 15 listings in a month are stored but not graded; their pages say “Not enough listings this month” and show the last full month if there is one.
- Samples under about 50 listings are noisy; every page shows n.
- Coverage is US franchise and independent dealer inventory. Private-party sales are excluded.
Refresh cadence
Data refreshes automatically on the 1st of each month. One snapshot per month means moves within a month are invisible. The month-over-month changes page appears once two snapshots exist.
Corrections
Spot a wrong MSRP or a mis-scoped trim? Tell us and we’ll fix it in the next update.