Brown and Gold Hues May Hurt Your Car’s Resale Value
Photo: Chevrolet
If you scan a parking lot, crowded city street, or even vehicles near you on the highway, you probably will see many neutral-colored vehicles. It may be a vehicular sea of white, black, silver, and gold. A recent study from iSeeCars.com has determined that although neutral hues are super popular, they may not be the best option if you want to retain the resale value of your car.
Ready to Buy: Calculate your trade-in value
Instead, it is bolder hues, like orange and yellow, that not only make a standout impression, but also help vehicles retain their value better than the traditional colors that dominate roadways, parking lots, and highways.
The iSeeCars.com reviewed the prices of approximately six million used cars ranging in model years of 2017 to 2020 for its color study.
“A vehicle’s color is among the primary considerations after shoppers have decided on a make and model,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “With resale value being the single biggest factor in how much a new vehicle ‘costs’ over the course of ownership, consumers should carefully consider their color choice.”
According to the iSeeCars.com vehicle depreciation by color study, yellow cars posted the least amount of depreciation after three years at 20.4 percent.
“Yellow may not be a widely desired car color, but there are enough people who want yellow, versus the number of yellow new cars being ordered, to make yellow cars more desirable than others on the used market,” said Brauer. “In fact, yellow is among the colors with the lowest vehicle share, and is most commonly a color for sports cars and other low-volume vehicles that hold their value relatively well.”
A neutral hue, beige, takes second place in the study posting 22.8 percent depreciation after three years. The third-place belongs to a bolder choice, orange, which earns a three-year percent depreciation of 27.1. The color green owns a three-year depreciation of 31.3 percent and the fourth place in the study, while gray takes fifth place with a 36.4 percent depreciation rate after the same time period.
Car Care: Tips for summer driving
Posting the highest rates of depreciation are the colors purple (41.2 percent), brown (42.1 percent), and gold (45.6 percent), according to the study.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.