How much are you driving in those 3 years? I am also referring to vehicles that cost 20-30k (the truly poor, after all, are spending 2-5k then pouring money

How much are you driving in those 3 years? I am also referring to vehicles that cost 20-30k (the truly poor, after all, are spending 2-5k then pouring money into parts, maintenance, and towing charges) and using them for 100-200 thousand miles. Mileage is a more useful indicator of car age than model year, though, so I can't directly comment on your situation. A 3 year old Honda civic with typical mileage would have maybe 60k miles on it after 3 years, and would still maintain a lot of its original value (my guess would be ~75% of its original value).