Choosing the Color of Your Car

Resale value is the primary reason to spend time thinking about car color in picking your next vehicle. Color can easily affect your vehicle's resale value by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Popular colors are more valuable on the used-car marketplace than unpopular colors.

What colors are safe? Those black, white and silver vehicles may sound boring, but they may stand a better chance of returning a little more at resale time than an oddball or fad color, like today's brown, orange or, yes, pink cars, especially if the wild color gets dropped, experts say. Although many drivers say they like to see brightly colored cars on the streets, a large number of drivers disclose they'd prefer not to own a brightly colored car.

Here's another interesting reason why car colors matter more than you might think: Color can affect safety and theft statistics. One study suggests that white cars are less likely to get involved in accidents. Also, vibrant colored cars are more frequently stolen than cars painted in a muted color.

There are other considerations, too. Lighter-colored cars are less inclined to show dirt and scratches. Car colors don't appear to affect insurance rates, but the question is open about whether a flaming-red sports car is more likely to catch the eye of a traffic cop.

Since there are always exceptions, it's good to remember that certain colors look better on specific vehicles, for instance, a little yellow convertible is much more desirable than a bright yellow minivan. While we don't essentially believe a driver obsessed with yellow should decide on a silver car to make a wise financial move, we do think it's important to spend some time thinking about the color choice for your next vehicle before signing the papers.