What Colours Will Increase Resale Value Down the Road?

by Lori Straus

When you buy a vehicle, keep future resale price in mind. Depending on how long you hope to own the vehicle, making the right choice when you purchase can add a few hundred dollars or more to your vehicle’s resale value when it comes time to trade it in. In this blog post, we’ll discuss if your vehicle’s colour can increase resale value in the future.

The Logic Behind Vehicle Colour and Resale Value

A dealership can more easily sell your vehicle if lots of other people want it. That’s not rocket science. So extending from that fact, the colour of your car could influence your vehicle’s resale value.

But it’s not that straightforward. For example, Kelley Blue Book Canada says that even though black, grey, white, and silver are still the most popular colours, an orange Chevy Corvette Stingray C8 would likely retain value if it’s the first of its kind. However, a bright yellow sedan may be less popular, both today and in the future, because it’s a “look at me” colour on an everyday kind of vehicle.

Most Popular Vehicle Colours

According to Carfax, Canadians have been sliding toward white as a popular vehicle colour since the mid-2000s, leaving silver in second place. This can of course make finding your car in snow difficult, but if you’re factoring resale value into your decision, consider this trend.

However, in their colour trends report for 2020-2021, BASF predicts that Redolent Red, Dark Seltzer, and Abstraction Blue will hit the top of car buyers’ lists in the coming years. In plain language, these are wine or burgundy, dark grey, and slightly dark blue. They explain why: “North America’s future color designs look to build off advancing colorant technologies that exhibit a greater sensitivity to the environment. Grace and simplicity will be the look of deep techno-sophistication.”

So, whether you prefer grace and simplicity in a car colour or a colour found on at least a third of the vehicles in a parking lot, choosing something popular could increase your chances of a higher resale value when the time comes.

The Role of Location

Location can also affect the popularity of your vehicle’s colour. If you’re trying to sell your brightly coloured sports car in a rural area, where such a vehicle is less practical, your resale value may diminish. As Carfax suggests, a truck with a neutral colour might be preferred in this locale instead.

Choose for You, Then for Resale

Paying attention to popular colour preferences might affect resale value in the future. But ultimately, there are no guarantees with colour and future resale value. There are just best guesses. Sticking with a neutral colour is typically a safe option, but if finding your car among a sea of similarly coloured ones will cause you enough stress to pull your hair out, then opt for something bright and eye-catching. In the end, you’re the one driving it for the next little while, right?