Car Buyers Prefer Neutral Colors
The color of your car is likely to affect its trade-in value. With everything else being equal, black, white, silver or gray cars have more trade-in value than vehicles in brighter colors in both the UK and the US. Car buyers in these countries are generally quite conservative when it comes to the color of their vehicles and they opt for these neutral colors above stronger and more vibrant colors.
In the UK, used car pricing expertsCAPstudied the performance of hundreds of thousands of vehicles over a five-year period and confirmed that, for mainstream cars, the color white was the best performer in the used car market. They found that white cars, bought from new, typically hold around five per cent more of their value than the market average for a used vehicle, when traded in after three years. Black, brown or gray mainstream cars also performed consistently above the market average, with silver performing just below the market average. However, maroon or turquoise cars were more than four per cent below the market average, with gold or green cars over two per cent below the average. Other colors that were below the market average, but only by a relatively small margin, were blue, orange and red.
The present popularity of white cars among consumers in the UK is in stark contrast to the days when used car dealers would label such cars '60-day white' because they generally took a long time to sell on their forecourts. The demand for white cars today means that such vehicles can command significantly higher prices on the used car market when they are three years old than identical vehicles of a less popular color. White beats blue by up to six per cent and green by up to eight per cent - representing a whole load of cash.
While white provides the most trade-in value for mainstream family cars, other quirkier colors can also do well, according to the CAP study. This is because niche or sporting cars painted indigo, purple, pink or yellow tend to prove popular.
When you go to buy a new car, think ahead to the time when you will trade it in a few years later. The research shows that white, black, gray, silver or brown cars will appeal more to consumers - unless preferences change - in the used car market and vehicles in these colors are likely to retain more of their value.
Conversely, if you a buyer looking for a bargain on the used car market today, check out the maroon, turquoise, green or gold cars that are around three years old. A large proportion of the depreciation will already have occurred on these cars and you could save a substantial sum.
