Does the difference in the value of the cars matter in divorce?

You need to look at the whole package. It may seem unfair that one spouse has a nicer car than the other. But it may also seem inappropriate that a large portion of one person's property in the asset division is tied up in the equity in a vehicle, which is sure to depreciate over the months and years. Normally, my clients and I make a spreadsheet of all their assets and liabilities. In that effort, a car that has a Kelley Blue Book value of $15,000 but has a $12,000 debt on it would be listed as a $3,000 asset. Once I have a list of all the assets and liabilities in one column, I convert the chart to two columns and start moving things from one spouse to the other until the total either balances equally or comes out to the percentages that the couple wants. That includes the value of the cars. Whatever the vehicles that each person is keeping are worth contributes to their total share of the assets and liabilities, so if they owe a lot of money on their vehicles, they won't factor as heavily into the division of property as if they were paid in full.