Data & Methodology

What the vehicle dataset represents

Each model page starts with a representative recent U.S.-market configuration, not a live dealer quote and not a promise that a particular trim can be ordered at that price. Manufacturer suggested retail prices and published specifications are the starting point. Efficiency is cross-checked against official manufacturer material and the U.S. government's FuelEconomy.gov database where a matching configuration is listed.

Residuals, depreciation curves, insurance, and maintenance are modeled estimates. They synthesize publicly visible listing ranges, auction outcomes, published lease programs, owner-cost surveys, service schedules, and specialty-insurance planning ranges. They are deliberately rounded because a false extra digit would imply precision the market does not have.

Lease calculation

The calculator uses the standard U.S. closed-end lease structure: monthly depreciation plus the rent charge, then tax. Residual value is calculated from MSRP. The rent charge is the net capitalized cost plus residual value, multiplied by the money factor. Multiplying the money factor by 2,400 gives a conventional shopper comparison shorthand, not the lease contract's loan APR. The dollar rent charge and total of payments are the figures to audit.

Estimated residual adjustments for term and mileage are planning aids only. The leasing bank's residual table controls the real transaction and is not negotiable. Taxes are simplified to one user-entered rate because states differ in what they tax and when they collect it.

Lease-versus-buy comparison

Buying is measured on a net-cost basis: cash paid plus loan payments, minus the equity remaining in the car. Equity equals modeled market value less outstanding loan principal. Leasing is measured as the economic value surrendered at signing plus all scheduled payments. This prevents a trade-in credit or down payment from disappearing merely because it lowers the monthly bill.

Total cost of ownership

TCO adds depreciation, insurance, maintenance, fuel or electricity, and annual registration or property-tax estimates. It does not include financing opportunity cost, parking, storage, detailing, track use, fines, accident damage, or income-tax treatment. Maintenance is lighter during early warranty years and rises as the car ages. EV energy uses the EPA definition of 33.7 kWh per gallon-equivalent.

Watch and yacht estimates

Watch pages compare authorized-dealer retail with rounded secondary-market asking ranges, then add insurance and scheduled service to a five-year holding model. A market premium is not treated as guaranteed investment return: dealer access, condition, box and papers, transaction fees, and the bid-ask spread can change the result materially.

Yacht pages combine value loss with crew payroll, premium dockage, insurance, maintenance and refit reserve, and fuel at a user-selected operating profile. Charter comparisons use base weekly rates before taxes, crew gratuity, and the advance provisioning allowance. Builder quotes, surveys, marina contracts, and actual duty cycles should replace every default before a purchase decision.

Handbag estimates

Handbag pages compare boutique list prices with resale asking ranges for an excellent-condition example in a house-standard colourway, then model five years of ownership: sales tax paid at purchase and never recovered, a scheduled insurance premium, reconditioning charged only in the years it falls due, and a consignment commission on sale. The commission default is 25%, the working middle of the 15 to 40% range platforms and consignment boutiques charge.

Cost per wear divides the net cost of ownership by an assumed number of wears per year. That assumption is the least reliable input on the page and the one that moves the result most, so it is editable everywhere it appears. Condition, colour, hardware, and whether box and receipt survived can move a real resale price 20 to 30% in either direction from the modeled figure.

Jewelry estimates

Jewelry pages carry two values rather than one. The branded value is what the piece fetches second-hand as that piece, modeled from resale listing ranges and decaying over the holding period. The intrinsic value is the metal and stones alone at trade prices — gold at a refiner's payout rather than spot, stones at trade rather than retail — and it compounds with the metal price instead of decaying. The realistic value at any point is the higher of the two, because no owner sells a gold piece for less than the gold is worth.

The metal growth rate is an assumption, not a projection, and it is the input that most changes the answer. The site default is deliberately below the frequently cited long-run figure for gold, which itself conceals two decades of no return at all. Weights and stone specifications behind each intrinsic value are approximations from published specifications and observed trade pricing, not assay results, and no refiner or dealer is obliged to pay them.

How to use the estimates responsibly

• Replace the money factor and residual with the bank's exact numbers.
• Use an insurance quote for your driver profile and garaging address.
• Enter the negotiated transaction price, not an advertised monthly payment.
• Stress-test resale value above and below the modeled curve.
• Confirm tax treatment with the relevant state or local authority.

Source hierarchy and editorial review

We separate sourced facts from model assumptions. Government publications, manufacturer specifications and service material, and official public rate sheets are the preferred sources for rules, dimensions, intervals, and posted prices. Public listings, auction results, insurer ranges, and owner-cost surveys inform market estimates only when a primary source cannot answer the question. Those estimates are rounded and labeled rather than presented as quotes.

Each long-form guide shows its review date. Guides with tax rules, service intervals, or posted fees include their supporting references on the page. Before a material update, the arithmetic is rerun against the same calculator functions used on the model pages, through the verification scripts kept in the repository.

Corrections and update policy

Luxemetry reviews the dataset at least annually and sooner when a model is replaced or the market moves materially. If you spot a stale specification or a calculation that does not reproduce, email hello@taegye.com with the model, the value, and a public source. We prioritize corrections that change a user's decision.

Read the terms of use for the full limitation language and the privacy policy for data handling.