How the Color of Your Car Impacts Its Depreciation
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How the Color of Your Car Impacts Its Depreciation
While the make, model and age of your vehicle are factors in determining your auto insurance premium, you may be surprised to hear that the color of your vehicle is not.
Vehicle color however is a factor in its resale value, according to a study by iSeeCars which compared the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP) of more than 650,000 recently sold 3-year-old used vehicles.
The study found that the vehicle color that tends to hold value best is yellow – which lost only 4.5% depreciation in the 3-year time period.
“Because yellow vehicles are so novel in the secondhand marketplace, people are willing to pay a premium for them,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer.
Rounding out the top five vehicle colors that tend to hold their values are orange, purple, red and green, the iSeeCars study found. Those colors depreciated between 10.7% and 14% of their MSRP in the same 3-year period.
The vehicle colors that have the highest depreciation are brown and gold due to their rarity.
“If a color doesn’t resonate with enough used car shoppers it will hurt resale value, even if it’s uncommon,” Brauer said.
The study found that because black, white and silver are the most common colors and are in steady supply, they won’t hurt the vehicle’s resale value but they also won’t help a vehicle maintain its value.
Maybe you’re not looking to sell your vehicle just yet. You should still make sure you have the correct coverage on your auto insurance with MAPFRE. Get a fast, free quote today on your Massachusetts car insurance policy to see how much you could save!
Please Note: This content is not intended to describe any specific coverage offered by MAPFRE Insurance. No coverage is provided, bound or guaranteed by this article. Available coverages, credits and discounts vary from state to state and are subject to eligibility criteria and policy terms/conditions, which will control in the event of conflict between this article and your insurance policy. For information about your policy, please review your individual policy contract and speak with your insurance representative.
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