Page 23 - On The Move - Volume 18, Issue 3

ainstream colors such as white, black, and silver
ainstream colors such as white, black, and silver
are popular among automotive consumers. But
M Mare popular among automotive consumers. But
are those the best colors for helping a vehicle maintain
are those the best colors for helping a vehicle maintain
its value? The answer is no, according to a new study
its value? The answer is no, according to a new study
from car search engine iSeeCars.com. .
from car search engine
iSeeCars.com

Actually, more obscure colors tend to hold their value colors with the highest depreciation. Those also have
better than common and popular colors, said iSeeCars low market share, but they depreciate far worse than
executive analyst Karl Brauer. average.

Overall, the vehicle color that holds its value best, “Rarity alone does not equal value,” Brauer said.
depreciating 45.6% less than the average vehicle, is
yellow. He also said, “If a color doesn’t resonate with enough
used-car shoppers, it will hurt resale value, even if it’s
“Yellow may not be a widely desired car color, but there uncommon.”
are enough people who want yellow, versus the number
of yellow new cars being ordered, to make yellow cars Black, white, silver, gray, red, and blue are the most
more desirable than others on the used market,” Brauer common car colors, and they are all close to average in
said in a news release. Brauer also said, “In fact, yellow terms of depreciation.
is among the colors with the lowest vehicle share and is
most commonly a color for sports cars and other low- “Because there are so many of these vehicles in the used-
volume vehicles that hold their value relatively well.” car marketplace, buyers can shop around more easily if
they’re interested in these colors, reducing the amount
iSeeCars compared the prices of more than 6 million of pricing power for dealers,” Brauer said. “This means
new and used cars between 2017 to 2020, determining black, white, and silver are the safe colors to buy if you’re
which colors help, hurt, or have minimal impact on a satisfied with average value retention, but not if you’re
vehicle’s resale value. trying to do better than average.”

Brauer said that, like yellow, orange is most often The iSeeCars study also highlighted car color depreciation
found on low-volume sports and muscle cars. Orange by vehicle segment, noting that yellow SUVs hold their
ranks third among vehicle colors that hold their value value best, but beige SUVs depreciate the most. As
best. “Orange is such a novel color that it is often the for trucks, beige retains value the best. Brown trucks
choice for popular special edition vehicles, like the 30th depreciate the most. In the convertible category, bright
edition Mazda MX-5 Miata, which are typically limited colors retain the most value. Neutral-colored convertibles
production vehicles,” Brauer said. depreciate the most.

Another uncommon car color is beige, which is the vehicle Blue is the lowest-depreciating color for minivans, and
color with the second-lowest depreciation, according to yellow holds its value best in the sedan segment.
the study.
iSeeCars said consumers selecting a vehicle should
“Beige cars also comprise a small vehicle share of less understand that color choice is more than just a cosmetic
than 1 percent,” Brauer said. “Although the term ‘beige’ decision.
has become synonymous with boring, it encompasses a
spectrum of hues from off-white to a light brown and “A car’s color affects its value, which is especially
stands out in a parking lot while still being a neutral important for drivers who plan on turning in their
color.” vehicle after a few years,” Brauer said. “While bolder
or less common hues may seem like they would hurt a
But rarity is not the only factor in how much a vehicle car’s resale value, there are many instances where the
depreciates. Purple, brown and gold are the three paint opposite is true.”

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On The Mo
On The Move 2021 21