Best and Worst Car Colours: Top 16 Revealed

Research suggests that residual values are better in white cars

I drive past a well-known mainstream marque main dealer each day on my commute to work and there is one thing that always astonishes me: the shiny showroom stock cars are virtually all white. This is something that you would never have seen in years gone by and to be honest, I am still a little taken aback by it all even now.

Surely, it would make sense to fill your showroom with a variety of colours in a bid to attract buyers? It turns out that no, this is not actually the case. Because modern-day buyers are intent on buying white right now and in doing so they are being pretty savvy; white is the best colour to go in terms of resale figures, according to recent CAP Automotive.

Colour trends

In years gone by, mainstream car buyers would usually opt for silver or black cars and there were times (back in the 90s) when vibrant colours like turquoise and mint green made quite an appearance. So cars have followed trends just like clothes, pretty much - and we have gone with the flow.

Vibrant colours are still very much in vogue; for certain sporty cars yellow and red are popular choices for manufacturers when they want to show off their wares to full potential.

However, one trend that has exploded - I think, as a result of the recession - is the white car. The one colour that used car dealers used to mark down (and expect to carry forward as aged stock) is now in vogue and it's showing no real signs of going anywhere.

Why white cars make financial sense

Like I said above, buying a white car makes little practical sense. It is by far the most difficult colour to keep clean. But the experts at CAP reckon that you will get around 5 percent more for your car when you come to sell it on if you buy a white one.

Of course, may people have reported on this but they are forgetting that this is all also down to the car - some cars look great in white, others not so. You do have to use a little common sense when interpreting research and apply a little logic. A basic budget-car with bumpers lack door handles and will look far less appealing in white than a more stylish colour-coded white car, for example (in which instance it would be a better idea to go for the budget-buy in black, for example).

The top colours for new cars

5 year CAP looked at new mainstream production cars - below is a list of their best and worst car colours in descending order.

1. White
2. Indigo
3. Purple
4. Pink
5. Yellow
6. Grey
7. Brown
8. Black
9. Silver
10. Red
11. Orange
12. Blue
13. Gold
14. Green
15. Turquoise
16. Maroon

Summary

I know CAP and trust them implicitly with their research but I have to say that I am a little surprised at the results. Indigo, purple and pink all outperform black and silver - now that is something I thought I'd never see. Even in sports cars.

Perhaps I'm just getting old - but that's just between me and you, of course.



Written by @MotorMistress
Share: