How Does the Colour of My Car Affect Its Value?

One of the first things you think about when shopping for a car is its colour. Unlike the more technical aspects of a vehicle, it’s easier to imagine what a car would look like if it’s black, white, or red. And it’s only right that you spend time deciding on the car’s colour because it has a significant impact on the vehicle’s price, both when you’ll buy it and when you resell it. To help you decide, let’s take a look at the most popular colour for UK cars. 

Black

In the UK, about one in every five cars is black. It’s a popular choice among car buyers even though it’s harder to keep it clean compared to other colours. Also, black cars easily reveal blemishes and other cosmetic damage. Nonetheless, people find black cars to be stylish and simple. Cars of this colour can easily command a good resale price as well.

Grey

Grey is another popular colour among car buyers in the UK. It is without a doubt that one of the main reasons for this is because it is the preferred colour of both Mercedes Benz and BMW. While grey isn’t the most exciting colour there is, it’s one of the few colours that don’t affect the price of the vehicle, either when you’re buying or reselling the car. 

White

White has always been a favourite colour for car buyers. However, recently, it has become even more popular because of the “Apple effect.” As you know, Apple products come in white as the main colour. You can resell white vehicles for a good price. However, many buyers also don’t like this colour because white cars need to be washed more often compared to other colour vehicles. 

Other Car Colours

• Blue is the fifth most preferred colour for cars. It has been consistently in the top five most popular car colours. 
• Silver cars have not been selling as much as they used to be but they’re predicted to bounce back. In the secondhand market, there’s a big demand for silver vehicles. In fact, silver cars sell for higher prices compared to other colours.
• Red used to be a favourite colour among car owners in the UK. There was a study published that suggests red attracts more bird droppings than other car colours. Maybe there’s some truth to this, that’s why car buyers are avoiding this colour. 
• Green has been popular with the Mini Cooper and the E-Type Jaguar. However, its popularity among car buyers has been declining over the past decade. 
• Yellow is a colour that car buyers are not so sure about. At times, it’s fashionable, and other times, it’s just not that hip to have a yellow coloured car. Nonetheless, yellow doesn’t affect the value of the car that much. 

What’s the Car Colour’s Effect on the Resale Value

If you think that since black is the best-selling car colour, then it follows that it can command the highest price in the secondhand market, right? It’s true that many car buyers are willing to pay extra so they can get their preferred colour when buying a car. And black cars can actually hold their value well even as a used vehicle. 

However, it may surprise you that the colour that gets the best price according to a study is yellow. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, yellow is the kind of colour that car buyers either really love or really hate. The second reason is that there are only a few yellow cars produced every year. 

With these two factors, what happens is that the demand for yellow vehicles is high for a small number of car buyers that really want them. And since there’s not a whole lot of yellow cars in the market, the prices for yellow secondhand vehicles are driven up. This is great news if you’re a seller. However, if you’re a buyer who loves yellow cars, then be ready for a high price tag.

Should I Pick a Car Colour with a Better Resale Value?

So, when buying a car, should you think hard about what colour to choose so you can have a better resale value for the vehicle? If you plan on reselling the car after a few years, then it’s important to consider the colour and how it affects the car’s value. 

But the colour of the car shouldn’t be your top concern. Of course, you need to consider the car’s overall quality and how it feels like on the road. The condition of the car, along with its history are the top factors that buyers look for, not so much the colour. 

Keep in mind that once you’ve found the right car but you don’t like its colour, you always have the option of getting the colour changed. It will cost you extra but at least now you have a car you really love.