Is now a good time to trade in my Jaguar?

At 74 years of age, I’m starting to think about what will be my last or second-to-last car, and trying to decide whether to replace my current car now or hold on to it for three years.

I bought a new Jaguar I-pace HSE in May 2019 for around £79,000 and it now has 6700 miles on it. I’m considering exchanging it for a new Kia EV6 GT Line S AWD, which has a list price of £54,000. I’ve been offered a discount of £3500 and a delivery date of March 2022.

The Kia dealer would rather not take the I-pace in part-exchange, but I’ve checked some selling options online and it seems I should be able to get around £50,000 for it.

I’d like your opinion on whether I’d be better off swapping cars now or keeping my current one. Also, in 2025, will it be easier to sell a three-year old Kia or a six-year-old Jaguar? Roy Izatt

WHAT CAR? SAYS…

Looking at CAP values for your Jaguar I-pace, it has lost around £25,000 of its value so far and is likely to lose a lot more by its sixth birthday. We’d suggest it could be worth around £25,000 after six years and 50,000 miles. That’s a depreciation loss of £50,000 (although with your low mileage so far, it’s likely to lose a bit less). At present, used car values are up to a third higher than they were at the start of 2021 because a computer chip shortage is reducing the number of new cars available. The situation is unlikely to change soon, so you could get around £54,000 for your I-pace early in 2022. What’s more, switching to a cheaper model now will save you money in depreciation. If you buy the EV6 for £50,500 and sell it after three years, you can expect to get around £30,000 for it. Your outlay for owning it will be around £20,500, which is £4500 less than if you kept your current car. The EV6 will probably be easier to sell in 2025 because it will be newer and will still have four years of Kia warranty remaining.