What is The Best Car Color to Buy?

Henry Ford is famous for telling his customers they could have any car color Model-T as long as it’s black.

In the early twentieth century, car manufacturers offered few color options purely because of economic reasons, and for the average consumer, it was not a pressing concern. Back then you were very lucky if you even owned a vehicle!

Does Color Really Matter?

But now there’s a whole spectrum of colors available -from plum purple to bronze metallic. Some people still don’t mind what color car they drive as long as it runs well, especially when they’re shopping for a pre-owned vehicle. But for car buyers that do care, the choices are vast.

Some consumers, especially when they’re buying a new car, will have a definite color preference, or they may just want something different that reflects their personality. You can make a bold statement in your sunset orange metallic BMW and rock your Antigua Blue Audi!

But five years down the road, will you be able to sell such an exotically hued vehicle if you needed to?

Bright Colors Could Lose You Money

That’s just one of the concerns that experts point out when discussing car color. Most agree color can impact the residual value of your vehicle. A popular color now will most likely appeal to a potential buyer in five years, whereas an unusual color may hinder a sale. Your flashy yellow, orange, or purple car could even depreciate by hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on the make and model.

So what are the best colors to buy?

It’s generally agreed upon that neutral colors are the safest bet-black, white, grey, and silver. So it’s always best to stick to these basics when deciding on your vehicle’s color.

Silver, white and black come out on top

The top three overall popular colors are silver, white, and black. Silver comes out on top of the list in every category except Trucks/SUV’s/Minivans, which is dominated by white, closely followed by silver, then black. For luxury cars, silver tops the list, with white metallic and white in second and third place respectively.

Black, which used to dominate the luxury category, is now much lower on the list. Silver, white, light brown, and black are the most popular colors for sedans, wagons, and hatchbacks. And popular colors for convertibles and coupes, which makes up 14.1 % of the new vehicle market, including silver in the top spot, then black, followed by medium dark blue, then white and bright red trailing in fifth place.

Car color does matter!

So if you want to make a smart purchasing decision, car color actually really does matter. The key is to keep it simple by sticking to neutral tones. Leonardo da Vinci put it beautifully when he said: ‘simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’