Ford Mustang Mach-E in Cyber Orange Metallic.

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iSeeCars: The Best and Worst Car Colors For Resale Value

Written By: CarPro | Feb 28, 2023 3:30:00 PM

If you've ever wondered what's in a car color - the answer is, a lot.  The color of a vehicle can really impact its resale value - with some colors causing a larger drop in value than others.

Car Colors and Value


iSeeCars compared the prices of more than 650,000 recently sold three-year old used cars then determined the average three-year vehicle depreciation rate by car color.  Its researchers found that vehicles with the highest depreciating color lost nearly four times the value compared to the lowest.

Bold colors - with a low market share - tend to hold their value best. Jewel tones also do fairly well because they stand out without being flashy.  Popular colors like Black, White and Silver depreciate at a rate close to average.   If resale value is important to you,  you'll probably want to steer clear of gold and brown, colors that depreciate far worse than average.

Vehicle Depreciation by Car Color

 

Vehicle Depreciation by Car Color (ranked by lowest to highest % depreciation) - iSeeCars

Rank

Color

3-year % Depreciation

$ Difference from MSRP

Compared to Overall Avg

1

Yellow

4.5%

$3,155

0.3x

2

Orange

10.7%

$3,825

0.7x

3

Purple

13.9%

$5,461

0.9x

4

Red

14.0%

$5,399

0.9x

5

Green

14.0%

$5,596

0.9x

6

Blue

14.3%

$5,582

1x

7

Gray

14.3%

$5,635

1x

9

Beige

14.4%

$5,960

1x

10

Silver

14.8%

$5,499

1x

Overall Average

15.0%

$6,096

1x

11

White

15.5%

$6,490

1x

12

Black

16.1%

$6,993

1.1x

13

Gold

16.7%

$6,719

1.1x

14

Brown

17.8%

$7,642

1.2x

 

White, Black and Gray

White, black, and gray, known as "greyscale colors", are the most popular car colors and researchers say they depreciate at a rate close to average. So they won't help or hurt resale value to any great degree.

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Yellow, Orange 

While it may be among the least popular color choices, yellow is the vehicle color that holds its value best overall, depreciating 70 percent less than the average vehicle. You'll typically find it on sports cars and low volume vehicles that typically hold their value relatively well.  Orange ranks second, for the same reason. iSeeCars says you often find it on special limited edition vehicles and muscle cars.  The color on the Mustang Mach-E you see below is technically called "Cyber Orange Metallic." The color on the Genesis GV60 (pictured in the image slider) is technically called "Sao Paulo Lime" but it looks yellow to us.

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Jewel Tones

Aside from yellow and orange - if retaining value is important to you, look to jewel tones like purple, red, green and blue.  Researchers say they hold their value better than average.

2023-dodge-Charger-scatPack Widebody- Plum Crazy-credit-stellantis
2023 Dodge Charger ScatPack Widebody in Plum Crazy. Credit: Stellantis.
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 2023 Lexus LC 500 Convertible.
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2023 Toyota Crown in Supersonic Red.

The Many Shades of Blue

Blue is the most popular color aside from greyscale hues, according to another iSeeCars study. As you can see below, blues range widely in color as evidenced by models we spotted at the recent 2023 North Texas Auto Show.

camero-blue
2023 Chevrolet Camero in Rapid Blue.
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2023 Ram 1500 TRX in Hydro Blue Pearl-Coat
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2023 Honda Pilot Trailsport in Diffused Sky Blue Pearl.
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Ford F-150 Lighning in Antimatter Blue Metallic.
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2023 Subaru Outback Wilderness in Geyser Blue.
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2023 Ford Bronco Sport Heritage Edition in Robin's Next.
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Audi's Navarra Blue Metallic.
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2023 Kia Telluride in Midnight Lake Blue.
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2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV in Ice Blue Metallic.

 

Other Car Colors

You won't see a lot of beige cars out there (beige defined as off-white to light brown),  which depreciate at a rate close to average.  We're not sure where Lexus' Copper Crest falls in terms of popularity and long-term value, but it's one of the unique hues out there right now.

Lexus-RX-Fsport-copper-crest
2023 Lexus RX 350 F Sport in Copper Crest.
nissan-pathfiner-brown
2023 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek Edition in Baja Storm Metallic.

 

Colors by Car Segment

Car color depreciation varies by vehicle type.  iSeeCars analyzed the depreciation of each car color within the major vehicle segments.

The colors that retain the BEST value by segment are:

  • Yellow- SUV
  • Beige - Truck
  • Purple - Sedan
  • Yellow - Convertible
  • Orange- Coupe
  • Green- Minivan

 

Top 5 SUV Colors With The Least Depreciation

 

SUV Depreciation by Color - iSeeCars

Rank

Color

Average 3-year % Depreciation

$ Difference from MSRP

1

Yellow

-2.7%

-$1,437

2

Orange

11.5%

$3,635

3

Green

15.3%

$5,695

4

Gray

15.8%

$6,366

5

Red

15.8%

$6,078

 

Top 5 Truck Colors With The Least Depreciation

 

Pickup Truck Depreciation by Color - iSeeCars

Rank

Color

Average 3-year % Depreciation

$5,628

1

Beige

3.8%

$5,628

2

Orange

8.6%

$5,628

3

Gray

10.7%

$5,628

4

Blue

10.9%

$5,628

5

Brown

11.6%

$5,628

 

Top 5 Sedan Colors With The Least Depreciation

 

Sedan Depreciation by Color - iSeeCars

Rank

Color

Average 3-year % Depreciation

$ Difference from MSRP

1

Purple

10.7%

$4,053

2

Red

11.9%

$3,565

3

Green

12.8%

$5,515

4

Orange

12.9%

$4,229

5

Silver

13.1%

$3,927

 

The colors that DEPRECIATE the most by segment are:  

  • Brown - SUV
  • Green - Truck
  • Black -Sedan
  • Black- Convertible
  • White -Coupe
  • Red - Minivan

For a complete breakdown of the data by segment visit iSeeCars.com. 

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