There are a lot of things to consider when buying a new vehicle especially if you're concerned about resale value. Car color is one of the important decisions you'll make and some colors cause a bigger drop in value than others. A vehicle’s color can impact its value by up to $5,000, according to new research by iSeeCars.com.
Car Colors and Value
This year’s iSeeCars study compared pricing data for over 1.3 million 3-year-old used cars to determine the impact of color on resale value.
2023 Jeep Wrangler High Tide and 2023 Jeep Wrangler ‘Jeep Beach’ special-edition models Credit: Stellantis.
Yellow and beige both have great resale on the secondary market. So, too, do orange and green. The colors to steer clear from in terms of resale value are gold, brown and black.
- iSeeCars found that the average car loses 22.5 percent of its value after 3 years, but yellow cars only lose 13.5 percent, which equates to saving more than $3,000 compared to the average vehicle
- Yellow, beige, orange and green cars all lose less than 20 percent of their value
- Gold, brown and black cars drop the most in value, losing over $10,000 after 3 years
2023 Dodge Hornet GT (left), shown in Acapulco Gold, and 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T, shown in Blue Steele. Credit: Stellantis.
Vehicle Depreciation by Car Color
| Vehicle Depreciation by Color - iSeeCars Study | ||||
| Rank | Color | 3-Year % Depreciation | $ Difference from MSRP | Compared to Overall Avg. |
| 1 | Yellow | 13.5% | $6,588 | 0.6x |
| 2 | Beige | 17.8% | $8,411 | 0.8x |
| 3 | Orange | 18.4% | $7,023 | 0.8x |
| 4 | Green | 19.2% | $8,719 | 0.9x |
| 5 | Red | 20.6% | $8,538 | 0.9x |
| 6 | White | 21.9% | $9,695 | 1.0x |
| 7 | Blue | 22.0% | $9,216 | 1.0x |
| 8 | Gray | 22.5% | $9,425 | 1.0x |
| Overall Average | 22.5% | $9,674 | – | |
| 9 | Purple | 22.7% | $8,840 | 1.0x |
| 10 | Silver | 23.2% | $9,218 | 1.0x |
| 11 | Black | 23.9% | $10,867 | 1.1x |
| 12 | Brown | 24.0% | $10,305 | 1.1x |
| 13 | Gold | 25.9% | $11,546 | 1.2x |
2024 Mazda3, CX-30 and CX-5 Carbon Turbo Edition in Zircon Sand Metallic. Credit: Mazda.
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Colors by Car Segment
Car color depreciation varies by vehicle type. iSeeCars analyzed the depreciation of each car color within the major vehicle segments.
2023 Honda Pilot Trailsport in Diffused Sky Blue Pearl. Credit: Honda.
The colors that retain the BEST value by segment are:
- Yellow- SUV
- Beige - Truck
- Brown - Sedan
- Yellow - Convertible
- Yellow- Coupe
- Green- Minivan
For the complete data breakdown by segment visit iSeeCars.com.
