London, England - Traditionally, insurance actuaries have always told us green cars are more likely to be involved in accidents than any other colour - and they should know.
But does that still hold true, especially for small dings and scratches? Maybe not; according to UK paint repair specialist ChipsAway, green cars don't even make the top five.
Simple arithmetic suggests that the more popular a colour, the more often cars finished in that colour will need touch-ups - but it's not that clear-cut, apparently. Here are the five colours that come in most frequently for minor paint repairs.
5 RED
Although red is making a comeback as a colour choice among new car buyers, red cars make up only nine percent of the minor repair business - possibly because they don't fall victim as often as less conspicuous colours to the "Sorry mate, I didn't see you" syndrome.
4 GREY
Grey is the third most popular car colour in the UK; 14 percent of the cars registered there in the past year were grey, and they were responsible for 14 percent of the minor paint repair jobs - a case of life imitating mathematics, perhaps?
3 BLUE
Blue has been losing ground in the colour stakes in recent years. Only 13 percent of the cars registered in the past year in Britain were blue - but they collected 18 percent of the minor scrapes and chips. Not a lucky colour, we would say.
2 BLACK
Despite the difficulty of keeping it looking smart, black has always been a popular car colour choice for British buyers. Until recently, black cars, at 21 percent, were providing the biggest percentage of the small repair business - reputedly because they're more difficult to see in low-light situations - but they have now been overtaken by….
1 SILVER
Almost one in four (24 percent, to be exact) of the cars that come in for minor paint repairs are finished in metallic silver, which means either silver is the new bad-luck colour, or the owners of silver cars are simply more fastidious about repairing the tiniest blemish on their pride and joy.
… AND HERE'S A SURPRISE
The most popular car colour in Britain last year was plain white, accounting for 22 percent of new-car registrations, yet white cars made up only seven percent of the minor paint repair workload. Possible reasons for this, say industry insiders, are that white is most often chosen by more cautious drivers, or that white cars are simply more visible.