Your choice of paint color for your next car could impact more than just how it looks, based on a study of vehicle depreciation.
Research compared the value lost by the 10 best-selling vehicles in the United States, matching this against five widely available paint colors.
To compile the data, NexusMedia used the EasySearch tool for Shopify, analyzing the depreciation of each color on SUVs, sedans, EVs, and trucks.
From the analysis, blue emerged as the color likely to lose owners the most money, averaging 27.11 percent in depreciation. This was equivalent to $12,449 in value lost.
Don’t go getting the blues
Depreciation for blue paint was not even across the 10 vehicles studied, of course. While a Honda CR-V loses 19.44 percent of its value, a Ford F-150 would depreciate by 42.57 percent in the same hue.
Black was rated as the second-worst color for depreciation, averaging a loss of 23.30 percent, or $10,084 across a five-year period.
Red claimed third place, losing 21.68 percent on average, equivalent to $8,776. It was closely followed by silver paint, at 21.32 percent – a value of $8,232.
Although white bodywork may not seem particularly exciting, it is the shade most resistant to depreciation. As the most stable paint color, white loses just 18.02 percent on average, seeing a loss of $7,067.
Making a lifestyle statement
The study also highlighted the startling differences paint color can have on particular vehicles. A white Tesla Model Y was found to lose an average of 0.83 percent in value, while opting for black saw the car’s value drop by 51.65 percent.
A spokesperson from NexusMedia commented on the study: “Car depreciation has evolved from a predictable financial reality into a complex interplay of psychology, technology, and market perception.
“While consumers focus on practical factors like mileage and maintenance, subtle aesthetic choices, including color, increasingly influence long-term value retention in ways that defy logical market behavior.
“This reflects a broader shift where vehicles are no longer purely functional assets but lifestyle statements, where even minor visual characteristics can significantly impact financial outcomes years after purchase, creating unexpected winners and losers in the resale market.”
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