So which car colours hold value best?

White cars such as this Suzuki Swift hold their value better than blues or greens.

White cars such as this Suzuki Swift hold their value better than blues or greens.

Published Jul 4, 2012

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White cars hold their value best - while greens and maroons are the kiss of death in terms of depreciation, according to used-car pricing experts.

In a study comparing second-hand values to new prices, a srecent study found that white cars typically held about five percent more of their value than the market average for a typical used car.

The trend marks a complete turnaround from the days when dealers used the name '60-day white' to reflect the tendency of white cars to outstay their welcome on the forecourt.

But blue cars still languish below market average values, continuing to earn the trade's disdain with the popular label of 'doom blue'.

TOP PERFORMER

The study analysed the UK trade market performance of hundreds of thousands of vehicles over five years and found that, for mainstream vehicles, white was consistently the top performer.

The analysis also revealed that green remained relatively unpopular in the used car market, and the colour most likely to cost owners heavily in depreciation was purple.

The resurgence of white means that a typical white car can be worth several hundred pounds more after three years than an otherwise identical blue one.

In some cases, niche or sporting models prove especially popular in 'quirkier' colours and this accounts for the strong performance of pink and yellow cars.

But in the mainstream market for typical family cars, consumer tastes tend to be more conservative.

Editor Chris Crow said: “Reviewing disposal data over the past five years black, silver and grey all performed consistently in line with the overall market.

“However, colours such as blue, orange and red underperformed whilst gold, green, maroon and turquoise were complete howlers, costing their unfortunate owners anywhere between four and six percent against benchmark trade values.

“However, it is white cars which outperform the whole market, beating other widespread colours, such as blue, by up to six percent and green by up to eight percent, depending on colour, type and condition.” - Belfast Telegraph

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