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Vehicle colour choice- impacts on depreciation and visibility

28/11/2012 by Mark Schneider in Lifestyle

Choosing a colour for your new car is one of the most exciting aspects of buying a vehicle. Everyone has a different method when choosing their car’s colour – do you pick your favourite colour, or be practical and choose a common shade?

This article focusses on the latter, as colour selection can actually affect your vehicle and safety in ways that may not be initially obvious.

Depreciation

Most people don’t often think about car colour in relation to a car’s depreciation, but choosing the right colour can add thousands to its resale price. While the car colours that depreciate the least depend on the make, model and interior trim, there are some basic rules to follow when picking a car colour that will be easy to resell.

According to a survey conducted of cars sold in the Asia Pacific by leading paint supplier PPG Industries, the 5 most popular vehicle colours (white, silver, black, natural and red) retain on average 39% of their value over time.

White is the colour that is statistically the safest – hardly surprising considering that it is also the most visible on the road. Darker colours however, are the least visible during daylight – silver, blue, red and black are more likely to blend into the dark coloured roads. However the statistics do change when in different light conditions.

Car colour from a fleet perspective

Fleet buyers generally still prefer the traditional car colours of white, silver and blue – often because it ensures consistent resale value, and matches a more traditional corporate identity. Standard vehicle colours, particularly white, are also popular for fleets as drivers are happy to drive a car in an inoffensive colour, and they are fairly easy to maintain and repair.

Final thoughts

Although we have laid out several reasons for you to choose a sensible colour for your car, ultimately you want something that you are going to be happy with in the long-term. These are simply points to consider when making your selection. At the end of the day, it is your new car and the colour choice should be one of those fun aspects of the vehicle purchase!

Did you know with a Fleetcare novated lease you can pick any car you like? click here to find out more. 

Written by
Mark Schneider

Mark is a successful copywriter with over 20 years of professional writing experience.

We welcome him as a guest blogger to Fleettorque.

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