What's The Best Vehicle Color For Resale Value?

Forbes

a day ago

Car covered in paint
A recent study by iSeeCars.com reveals that the color of your car, truck, or SUV makes a difference when it comes to resale value. And it's a bigger deal than most people think—a vehicle's color can impact its used value by more than $5,000 after just three years, according to the company's research.
iSeeCars compared pricing data for over 1.2 million 3-year-old used cars to determine the impact, if any, on resale value. The results were that yellow vehicles hold the strongest value—the average vehicle loses 31 percent ($14,360) of its value after 3 years, but yellow cars only lose 24.0 percent ($13,667). In second place is orange, with the hue losing 24.4 percent of its value ($9,951), followed by green at 26.3 percent ($13,152). 'Yellow and orange have been among the best colors for retained value since iSeeCars began tracking depreciation by color,' said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. 'These are not widely popular colors, but they have more demand than supply, and that translates to higher value on the used market.' Other above-average colors for value retention include beige, red, silver, brown, gray, and blue, says the company.
At the bottom of the list are black, white, and gold cars. Black cars lose about 31.9 percent ($15,381), white cars lose about 31.1 percent ($15,557), while gold cars lose 34.4 percent ($16,679). Those colors aren't ugly, as many people opt for white and black vehicles because they are easy to keep clean (white) and showcase styling (black). There's another reason, says iSeeCars. 'White and black are the two most common car colors, which suggests plenty of people want them,' said Brauer. 'But it also means those colors provide zero distinction in the used market, reducing their value and making it easy for buyers to shop around for the lowest-priced model in these shades.'
Interestingly, the iSeeCars study reveals that color preferences vary by body style. Orange cars hold strong resale in the pickup, SUV, sedan, coupe, and convertible segments. Still, the vibrant color didn't even make the list in the minivan segment—we can't think of an automaker offering an orange minivan in recent years.
Brauer is quick to point out that consumers should choose a color they like rather than trying to predict what other people will prefer in the future. 'Buyers should always choose a color they genuinely want versus a color they think others want. Plenty of people buy black/white/silver/gray cars, thinking it will be easy to sell them in the future. These depreciation rates suggest so many people are doing that it's hurting the resale of traditionally 'popular' colors.' And choose a color that suits the vehicle. 'If you're driving a convertible, you've already chosen a higher-visibility vehicle type,' he points out. 'Go ahead and get a brightly colored model, put the top down, and revel in your 'center-of-attention' status.'
Color has always influenced resale value, but iSeeCars points out that the impact is constantly fluctuating. In June of 2023, there was a 12.4 percent difference in depreciation across colors, but that gap has dropped to 10.4 percent today. It appears that consumer tastes are constantly evolving, whether in terms of brand, options, or color.
You can read the full study at iSeeCars.com