The color of your car may have a bigger impact than you expect when you’re ready to sell. Here are the paint jobs that will help your car retain value.
If you’ve ever tried to sell your car, you know that there are several factors that can affect how much money you’re going to get for it. While some are fairly obvious, like mileage or wear-and-tear, one factor you might not give much thought to is the vehicle’s paint color. Studies by iSeeCars, a data-driven car search and research company, show conclusive data that the color of your car can increase or decrease its resale value when compared to others with the same make, year, and model — perhaps up to a $5,000 difference.
Using pricing data compiled over the past year from over 1.3 million three-year-old used cars, the latest study from the company highlights which colors typically sell for more money. “A vehicle’s color is among the primary considerations after shoppers have decided on a make and model,” said iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer. According to Brauer, you should choose your paint color wisely, as the right choice can help mitigate the depreciation all owners of pre-owned vehicles must deal with.
Last year’s report concluded that yellow, orange, and purple were the best three colors, in that order, to improve the resale value of a used car. However, depending on whether the vehicle is a sedan, SUV, minivan, truck, or coupe, those top colors could differ. However, just as with trends and tastes, people’s preferences tend to change over time. The latest report by iSeeCars shows some differences from last year of the best and worst color choices for certain vehicle types — along with one big similarity.Yellow is a great color choice for cars
In both the 2022 and 2023 reports, yellow cars showed the lowest amount of depreciation to their value after three years. This year’s report found that yellow cars lose 13.5% of their value (an average of $6,588) compared to the overall average 22.5 percent depreciation of all three-year-old vehicles ($9,674). That’s a difference of over $3,000 that car owners can earn from selling their used cars.
