You Won't Believe How Much the Correct Paint Color Boosts Your Vehicle's Value

A vehicle's paint color can impact its resale value by up to $5,000, according to new research by iSeeCars.com. After combing through pricing data for more than 1.3 million three-year-old used cars, here's how the study found color impacts retail value.

One color stands out

The average three-year-old car loses 22.5% of its value. Let's say a car was originally worth $30,000. That means its resale value three years later can be expected to be around $23,250.

That's the "average" vehicle. A yellow car, on the other hand, only loses 13.5% of its original value. So, a three-year-old yellow car originally worth $30,000 can be expected to resell for approximately $25,950. The seller is left with $2,700 more to save or invest than they would have if they were selling a less in-demand vehicle color.

According to iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer, it's not that many people want a yellow car. However, fewer yellow cars are manufactured, leading to more people who want one than what is available. The scarcity of yellow cars helps explain why they do so well when it's time to resell.

Above-average value retention

These vehicle colors were found to be somewhere in the middle. They don't retain their value as well as yellow cars, but do better than other shades of paint.

Relatively few orange and green vehicles are manufactured, suggesting that scarcity in the secondary market also contributes to them holding their value.

The study found that gray cars lose, on average, 22.5% of their value, putting them smack dab in the middle.

The biggest losers

Vehicle colors likely to put the least amount of money back into your checking account are:

With a three-year-old car depreciation rate of 22.5%, purple vehicles remain within a hair of average, likely due to the few purple cars on the road.

Another iSeeCars study found that white, black, gray, and silver are the most popular car colors in the U.S. So why are gray and silver among the vehicle colors that depreciate most? It's likely due to the same issue that helps yellow cars retain value: Demand and supply. Simply put, enough black and gray cars are in circulation to fill the demand for used vehicles. A buyer doesn't have to offer a premium price to drive away in a black or gray vehicle.

Where the picture shifts

The statistics above are an average of all used three-year-old cars. The picture changes a bit when the type of three-year-old vehicle in question is factored in. For example:

• SUVs: Yellow is again at the top of the heap when it comes to SUVs, but yellow doesn't fare as well among some other vehicle types.
• Off-road trucks: By a fairly impressive margin, beige off-road trucks depreciate less than trucks of other colors.
• Sedans: Brown was at the bottom of the heap when all vehicle types were averaged together. When buying a used sedan, though, shoppers are more attracted to this color. A brown sedan only depreciates by 16.8% in three years.
• Convertibles: Yellow is once again king of the hill. Some convertible buyers may be looking for something other than a subtle car.
• Coupes: According to the Society of Automotive Engineers, a coupe is a car with less than 33 cubic feet of interior space. Typically, coupes are sporty cars, which may help explain why yellow is once again the color that depreciates the least.
• Minivans: Green and brown are popular colors with minivan buyers, with green depreciating by 19.8% and brown by 20.8%.

We haven't touched on how a vehicle's condition impacts resale value. Naturally, if faced with two choices, a buyer is more likely to buy a well-maintained, low-mileage car than an abused vehicle. After all, no one wants to take out an auto loan on a vehicle that may immediately need repairs.

There are ways to save besides choosing the right vehicle color when you first purchase a car. For example, you can search for the cheapest auto insurance available or download an app like GasBuddy or Gas Guru to locate the least expensive gasoline prices in your area.

Ideally, the vehicle you purchase will be painted a color you like. Worrying about whether it will resell for more down the road may rob you of the chance to drive a car that makes your heart flutter.